The Minnesota Vikings have clinched the NFC North title, leaving the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions fighting for wild-card berths. The two teams are out of the NFL playoff picture in Week 16, but there’s a good chance that one of them will make the postseason.
The Packers improved to 6-8 by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 24-12 on Monday night, putting them 1.5 games behind the Washington Commanders for the final spot in the NFC playoff picture. The Lions are 7–7 and only a half-game behind the Commanders in the wild-card-standings.
The Seattle Seahawks have the same record as the Lions and are the first team out of the postseason. The New York Giants are a game ahead of Washington and still looking to lock down their spot in the playoffs.
With just three weeks left in the 2022 regular season, the Packers and Lions have little margin for error. They likely need to win the rest of their games in order to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Packers have an 8% chance to get a wild-card spot. The model gives the Lions a 40% chance to make the playoffs for the first time in six years.
The Packers are scheduled to visit the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day before hosting the Vikings in Week 17. The Lions will visit the Carolina Panthers in Week 16 and host the Chicago Bears in Week 17.
In the regular season finale, Green Bay will host Detroit in a matchup that could have serious playoff implications. The odds suggest that the Packers will be eliminated from contention when Week 18 arrives.
Green Bay is an underdog in Miami, and it could be in the same position against Minnesota. The Dolphins are in the AFC playoff picture. The Vikings easily beat the Packers 23-7 in Week 1 and are five games ahead of Green Bay in the NFC North.
Aaron Rodgers is hoping that the Packers can extend their two-game winning streak to five games and make the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
“Well, it’s three now,” Rodgers told reporters Monday. “We’ve got two. Got two in the bag. I don’t know. Look, before the Bears week, we knew we had a bye afterwards, and those of us who sometimes peek ahead knew that we had to win five and then have a lot of things go our way. So, we’ve won two and just about everything we needed to happen has gone our way. Just about, right? So, things are looking up.”
The Lions are favored to beat the Panthers and will be expected to defeat the Bears in Week 17. Detroit has a much easier schedule than Seattle, which is forced to visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Eve. The Commanders are set to visit the red-hot San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
If the Lions win on Christmas Eve and both the Seahawks and Commanders lose, Detroit will start Week 17 in the playoffs. The Seahawks defeated the Lions earlier this season, giving Seattle the head-to-head tiebreaker. Detroit already has a win over Green Bay.
Because the Commanders and Giants both have ties, it’s highly unlikely they will finish with the same record as the Seahawks, Lions or Packers. The Giants hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Commanders.
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