The Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs and will kick off their run in just under an hour. Of course, in a city named Titletown, the Packers are looking to do much more than simply say they made the playoffs.
They are trying to win, and win the whole thing. With the Packers qualifying for the postseason as the NFC’s seventh seed, their playoff scenarios are pretty straightforward.
What Are the Packers’ Playoff Scenarios?
The Packers made the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record, which was good enough to secure the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs.
That puts them on the road to take on their arch nemesis, the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in the first round.
This will be just the third playoff meeting between the two teams, with the most recent playoff matchup coming in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. The Packers won 21-14 and secured their spot in Super Bowl XLV that day.
If the Packers win on Saturday, they’ll move on to the divisional round. The path is already chosen for them. They will head to Seattle to take on the Seattle Seahawks.
Green Bay and Seattle have some famous postseason meetings in recent memory. The most recent playoff matchup between the two came in the 2014 NFC Championship Game. The Packers looked poised to head back to the Super Bowl, leading 19-7 with less than five minutes to play.
A collapse happened from there, highlighted by a botched onside kick from Brandon Bostick, and the Packers ultimately lost 28-22 in overtime.
The other famous postseason meeting came following the 2003 season, where Matt Hasselbeck famously told the Lambeau Field crowd after winning the overtime coin toss, “We want the ball, and we’re gonna score.”
Hasselbeck would throw an interception to Al Harris that was returned for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 33-27 victory.
The Seahawks have one of the best defenses in football, which is led by their head coach, Mike MacDonald.
MacDonald was hired two years ago and has helped inspire a dramatic turnaround. The Seahawks were not a team that was often picked to win the NFC West, let alone have the best record in the conference.
An offense led by Sam Darnold, Kenneth Walker, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba has Seattle fans dreaming of their first playoff win since January of 2020, when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
Green Bay will have its work cut out for it on both sides of the ball if it were to win and advance to the divisional round.
Can the Packers Host a Playoff Game?
In short, no.
The Packers looked like a team poised to compete for the top seed in the NFC, let alone their division, when they beat the Chicago Bears 28-21 on December 7.
They have not won a game since that day, and as a result, were rewarded with the last seed in the conference.
The only teams that host playoff games are those with higher seeds. The Packers will never be a higher seed than any team they play in the postseason.
If you’re looking for good news, the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl, they were the sixth seed, and won three road playoff games en route to their victory in Super Bowl XLV.