Packers Earn No.1 Seed; Here’s Why This Is Significant GREEN BAY, Wis. – Sunday night’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings gave the Green Bay Packers the No.1 seed in the NFC playoffs and home-field advantage. Despite last year’s humiliating loss in the NFC Championship Game, this is a significant reward.
- All 14 teams that reached the Super Bowl in the seven postseasons from 2013 to 2019 were either the No.1 or No.2 seed, meaning a first-round bye.
- That changed during the expanded postseason last year.
- The NFC South runner-up Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the No.5 seed won three road games to advance to the Super Bowl, which they won on their home field.
After the game, coach Matt LaFleur said, “I don’t think anybody in that locker room is going to take a deep breath and say, ‘Hey, we’ve arrived.'” Every game from here on out is essentially win-or-go-home, and you must prepare throughout the week to be at your best; we know this going into every game.
Are the Packers currently the top seed?
Packers – With a win over the Vikings and a Cowboys loss to the Cardinals, Green Bay has secured the No.1 seed in the NFC for the second consecutive season. Week 18 will be meaningless for the Packers as they travel to Detroit. Remaining appointments: at DET
How can the Packers obtain the number one seed?
GREEN BAY – It’s possible that the Packers will take the field Sunday night with a chance to clinch the No.1 seed in the NFC playoffs, and only one other game matters in this pursuit. By the time Green Bay (12-3) takes the field against Minnesota (7-8) in prime time at Lambeau Field, the Packers will know the outcome of Arizona (10-5) versus Dallas (11-4) in Week 17’s late afternoon window.
- The Cowboys continue to pose the greatest threat to the Packers’ pursuit of the conference’s top spot due to Dallas’ perfect record against NFC opponents.
- Green Bay must finish with a better record than Dallas to earn the No.1 seed, which includes a playoff bye and home-field advantage.
- A tie for the best conference record would place Dallas in first place based on the conference record tiebreaker.
Therefore, if the Cowboys lose on Sunday night, the Packers will have a chance to clinch the top seed. If the Cowboys win, the Packers would need to defeat the Vikings in order to maintain their position atop the NFC North heading into the final week of the regular season.
- Therefore, after multiple weeks of rooting against Arizona, which held the top spot in the NFC three weeks ago but has now lost three in a row, it is now time to root for the Cardinals to defeat the Cowboys and provide the Packers with an early opportunity to secure the No.1 seed.
- As for the other 11-4 NFC teams, the Buccaneers and Rams, they would lose any tiebreaker with the Packers for playoff positioning, as Green Bay has a better conference record than Tampa Bay and defeated Los Angeles in a head-to-head matchup.
However, it wouldn’t hurt for the Packers to gain some breathing room in the final two weeks, so root for the New York Jets to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens to defeat the Los Angeles Rams. There is nothing else in Week 17 that will significantly affect the Packers’ playoff positioning.
- On Sunday night, the only other consideration would be whether Green Bay fans want the Packers to officially eliminate the NFC North rival Vikings from playoff contention.
- Philadelphia and San Francisco, both 8-7 and one game ahead of the Vikings, are the current front-runners for the final two wild-card berths in the NFC.
Minnesota is still in contention for one of those spots. If the Eagles defeat Washington and the 49ers defeat the Texans, the Packers will have a chance to effectively end the Vikings’ season on Sunday night.
How often has Aaron Rodgers been the number one seed?
San Francisco 13, Green Bay 10 – Rodgers led the Packers to a touchdown on their first drive of the game. On its subsequent nine possessions, Green Bay scored only three points. Since their 27-7 loss to Atlanta in the 2002 Wild Card round, the Packers’ 10 points were their fewest in a postseason game.
- Rodgers admitted afterward, “I didn’t have a great evening tonight.”
- At the beginning of the 2022 season, Rodgers’ greatest accomplishments include:
- • Rodgers is second all-time in MVP awards with four, trailing only Peyton Manning (five).
- • Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing three touchdown passes and leading the Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- • Rodgers was one of two quarterbacks (Tom Brady) selected to the 2010s All-Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 48-member selection committee.
• He is tied for second in NFL history (minimum 1,500 attempts) in career passer rating (104.5), trailing only Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City. • His two single-season passer ratings are the highest in league history (122.5 in 2011, 121.5 in 2020). • He is the all-time leader in touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.83, 449/93) and interception percentage (1.31).
- His three seasons with 40 or more touchdown passes are tied for the most in league history with Tom Brady’s.
- Rodgers has been selected to the Pro Bowl ten times in the last twelve years (2009, 2011-12, 2014-16, 2018-21).
- His 10 selections in his career are the most in franchise history.
- He has led the league in interception percentage six times in his career, an NFL record (2009, 2014, 2018-21).
Rodgers is one of the most competitive athletes I’ve ever encountered, according to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. It is evident on a daily basis. Not only on the field, but also in the conference room. I just enjoy our communication. I enjoy the difficulty.
- You’d better know what you’re talking about, because he’s a highly intelligent, experienced player.” This offseason, Rodgers and the Packers agreed to a three-year, $150.8 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
- Now, he must perform accordingly in the postseason.
This will be difficult, as Green Bay’s wide receiver position is in flux following the trade of All-Pro Davante Adams. However, as the highest-paid player in the history of the league, Rodgers is required to do so. Rodgers is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the 10 to 15 greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
Why do the Packers have the tiebreaker over the Buccaneers?
GREEN BAY – Well, the playoff scenarios for the Packers have become much simpler over the past week. Monday night’s victory by the Rams over the Cardinals propelled Green Bay to the top spot in the NFC. At 10-3, the Packers, Buccaneers, and Cardinals are tied for the best record, with Green Bay holding the tiebreaker for the best conference record.
- The Packers are 8-2 against NFC opponents, while both the Buccaneers and Cardinals are 6-3.
- Green Bay also has a head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona, but it would only apply in the event of a three-way tie.
- Regardless, if the Packers win out, they will earn the NFC’s top seed, along with the bye and home-field advantage that comes with it.
Thankfully, Green Bay does not require any further assistance. However, any additional losses by the other NFC contenders would give the Packers a cushion, which would be advantageous. So let’s go over the summary. First and foremost, the Packers are one win away from clinching the NFC North.
In other words, a win by Green Bay or a loss by Minnesota would end the division race. Therefore, a Packers victory in Baltimore on Sunday would render Monday night’s matchup between the Vikings (6-7) and Bears (4-9) irrelevant for Green Bay fans, allowing them to root for whichever division rival they dislike the least.
If the Packers were to lose, or if you would prefer Minnesota not to earn a wild-card spot, you should root for the Bears to defeat the Vikings. As for the remaining NFC opponents, Dallas (9-4) trails the Packers by one game and faces the New York Giants (4-9).
It wouldn’t hurt to gain more separation from the NFC East leaders, so cheer for the Giants to defeat the Cowboys. Similarly, the Los Angeles Rams (9-4) are now one game behind the Green Bay Packers (10-3) after their impressive victory at Arizona. Even though Packers fans were just rooting for Los Angeles, and as difficult as it may be, Packers fans should now root for Seattle to defeat the Rams.
Arizona (10-3) will travel to Detroit (1-11-1) in one of the most lopsided matchups in history. However, the Cardinals have a short week coming off an emotional letdown, so who knows? Wish for the Lions to pull off an upset. Sunday night, immediately following the conclusion of the game between the Packers and Ravens, Tampa Bay (10-3) will host New Orleans (6-7).