The Green Bay Packers’ playoff future is pretty simple… until it isn’t.
The simple part is this: beat the Detroit Lions and you’re in.
The more complicated part is this. The Packers could end up as high as the No. 3 seed or they could end up sitting on their couches next week.
So let’s start at the top. The Dallas Cowboys are locked into the No. 1 seed in the NFC at 13-2. The No. 2 seed will come down to the Atlanta Falcons (10-5) and Seattle Seahawks (9-5-1). Seattle would have to win and Atlanta would have to lose for the Seahawks to end up with the No. 2 seed. Even if both Atlanta and the Packers finish at 10-6, Atlanta is the higher seed because of the head-to-head win.
Here’s what needs to happen for every other possibility to come to fruition.
No. 3 seed: Packers beat the Lions, Seahawks lose to 49ers.
No. 4 seed: Packers beat Lions, Seahawks beat 49ers.
No. 5 seed: The New York Giants are locked into the No. 5 seed.
No. 6 seed: Packers lose to the Lions, Redskins lose to the Giants.
No playoffs: Packers lose to the Lions, Redskins beat the Giants.
The Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only other two teams alive for the playoffs, besides those that we’ve discussed. Tampa Bay would need a miracle to make it, so for practical purposes, we are not including them in this discussion.
Washington, which plays the Giants Sunday afternoon, will make things simpler. If they lose, the Packers are in regardless. With that in mind, the only games that are of interest besides or own this week are Seattle-San Francisco and Washington-Giants.
#3 Seed would be nice.
Get a home Wild Card game, avoid going to Dallas in the Divisional Round, and (presumably) go back to Atlanta to give them a second taste of 2010.
Don’t forget…the vikings can still get in the playoffs if………
Ok, ok,….that was heartless and cruel.
I’m very, very sorry.
Here’s the real deal.
Every year, since 2011, all we talk about is Green Bay winning the NFC North, Rodgers struggles (or successes), Mike McCarthy and his buffoonery, Dom Capers and the defense —- but it all comes down to one thing and that’s going to the Super Bowl. And every fucking year since 2011 (or the 2010 season) that hasn’t happened. No one will remember the 2016 season other than what will happen in these next few weeks. No one remembers the 2015 season for losing to the Vikings in Week 17 — all we remember is the Packers blowing it in OT vs the Cardinals.
2011: Packers win NFC North go 15-1 and lose to the Giants in the Divisional Round. Losing to NY is all that is remembered of that season. Epic meltdown for (what was) the best team in the NFL
2012: Packers win NFC North go 11-5 and lose to the SF 49ers in the Divisional Round. Colin Kaeperfuck running all over the Pack defense in the playoffs is how this season is remembered
2013: Packers win NFC North go 8-7-1 (how the fuck does this record win you an NFL Division Title?), Rodgers gets hurt vs Chicago and then leads dramatic win over Chicago in Week 17 to win division, lose to Kaeperfuck again this time in the 1st Round Wild Card (all that I remember)
2014: Packers win NFC North go 12-4, Rodgers says R-E-L-A-X and Pack win 7-of-8 to finish year. Beat Dallas in Divisional Round and infamously lose to Seattle after an epic 4th Quarter meltdown. The Seattle loss is all anyone remembers from this season
2015: Packers lose NFC North Title on final day to Minnesota, Rodgers is epically bad the entire season, Nelson is lost in preseason, Rodgers has two unbelievable hail marys (can’t dispute not tying 2015 to those two epic passes) Packers beat Washington in Wild Card Round and lose to Arizona in OT in the Divisional Playoffs.
Every year it’s the same shit, win the NFC North and bust in the playoffs with the NFL’s best QB. As successful as this franchise has been under McCarthy/Rodgers, eventually they’ll be remembered more for what happens in January than at any other time during their tenure.
2016 is no different. IMO the Packers have the best team going into the playoffs. Their offense is by far the most efficient in every way possible (Rodgers, Nelson, Cook, Montgomery, Adams), their “the hot team” going into January, the big question (yet again) is can their defense make stops when it actually counts. Every fucking years its the defense in the playoffs that cripples this team (NY, SF, SEA, AZ), every year it’s Dom Capers unit that fucks it up.
Win the Division or not, who gives a fuck, we’ll know by Sunday night if the game vs Detroit is must-win or not, it’s no question who the better team is (it never is) — but this team, this franchise is going to be remembered for what they do in the Playoffs and from where we are today there isn’t a team in the NFC that’s worth a shit.
Dallas? BWHAHAHAHAHAH. They’ve played the softest schedule in the league and they’ve lost twice to NY. They should have lost to Pittsburgh and barely beat Minnesota. Their defense is EPICALLY pathetic. Get them down early and away from their run oriented offense and force Dak to beat you. Sorry, Dallas is about as scary as the Detroit Lions are. They aren’t anything special and beating them in Dallas is no tall task — playing Seattle (in Seattle) 2 years ago was a much bigger challenge
Atlanta? The only defense worse than Dallas in the playoffs is Atlanta’s. Another game GB shoulda won this year (shorthanded and on the road). I’ll gladly go to Atlanta and play this dogshit team. Matt Ryan hasn’t won a big game in his career, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them go down in the 1st Round.
Seattle. Please
NY Giants — probably the team I fear the most. For whatever reason this team seems to win big games in the playoffs. Their offense can go on big runs (and big falls — it’s been less than impressive in 2016) but their defense is probably the best in the NFC right now and they’ve played a “decent” schedule (beaten Dallas twice, beat Baltimore, they should beat Washington on Sunday). If there’s any team I fear going into the playoffs it’s NY.
Regardless — the Pack can and should beat all of these teams. They’ve played Dallas, Atlanta and NY this year and realistically should never have lost to Dallas (3 fumbles and a pick), Atlanta was a shit show and showed moreso how bad the Falcons defense was and beating NY was good (although like GB, NY has played a lot better of late).
So really this is by far the best, and most notable, playoff road the Pack have to actually get back to the Super Bowl. Their healthy (for the most part), hot going into the playoffs (we hope) and don’t have a ton of teams in front of them who standout. If they can’t — this will yet again be remembered as just “another year” Green Bay couldn’t win games when it mattered the most.
While I pretty much agree with everything you said, the Pack’s playoff history is no different than the rest of the league. Every year 8 teams win their division, and 7 of them go home empty handed… sometimes all 8. Winning the division just pays your entry fee to the sudden death sweepstakes and a shot to claim gold.
The Patriots win their division every year, are widely considered to be the best, if not one of the best, teams in the league every single year. Yet they’ve only won one trophy in the past 10 years. Our heartbreak and frustration is not unlike any of the other perennial playoff team. It’s just as much luck as it is skill.
Be that as it may not every team has Aaron Rodgers. The best QB of our generation needs to be going to the Super Bowl more than once in his career — case closed. Eli Manning has been to more Super Bowls than Rodgers for christsakes. New England, unlike Green Bay, has been to the Super Bowl six times with Brady (winning 4 Super Bowls), New England is not a good example to Green Bay, there is no comparison between the success of the two franchises in the modern era — NE has Green Bay blown out there — yes they have one Super Bowl victory (losing 2008, 2012) but I’ll take 3 Super Bowl appearances over ZERO any day of the week.
Case in point. This organization needs to find a way to get the best QB of our era to the Super Bowl more than one fucking time.
Except it is a team sport. Some of those games Rodgers hasn’t played particularly well either.
Ahhhh no…..Football is the one sport on the planet where one guy makes or breaks the team. I’ll leave it at that and say QB is the only position on the field that means shit.
Thanks for your comment — get steppin
Nice.
“……..every year it’s Dom Capers unit that fucks it up….”
EUREKA – Thats the common thread !!!
Although i agree in concept with Packattack’s point…….How spoiled have we gotten at QB?
2015: Packers lose NFC North Title on final day to Minnesota, Rodgers is epically bad the entire season,
If a passer rating of 92.7, 3800 yards, 31 td’s and 8 int. is epically bad, i almost can’t wait to see how you deal with our QB after Rodgers. For a lot of QB’s…that’s a career year.
Favre had 13 or 14 seasons worse than Rodgers 2015 season. Take those stats, then look at Eli Mannings stats and tell me what you think….you spoiled fucks.
Too bad this isn’t fantasy football where the only thing taken into account is TD’s, yard and INT’s. It’s all relative bud — compare him to the rest of the league in 2015. Factor in his talent and the bar he’s set for himself and yes “epically bad” is the correct word for numbers this fucking poor.
2015 Aaron Rodgers Stats
Yards Passing – 3,821 (ranked 17th)
AVG: 6.7 yards per/pass (lowest of his career, one of the lowest in the NFL)
Yards Pass Per/Game: 238.8 (ranked 30th in the NFL) — this is mind-mindbogglingly bad
Passer Rating: 92.7 was not only the absolute worst rating of Rodgers career, it was ranked outside the top 15 in the NFL. How is this somehow perceived as adequate? Phillip Rivers and Jay Cutler had better QBRs in 2015
TD’s: 31 was tied for 10th in the NFL
300 Yard Games: 3 (lowest of any QB to make the playoffs in 2015)
Completion %: 60.7 percent — lowest of his career by far and among starting QB’s this was pitiful (ranked 25th in the NFL)
You factor that into the NFL averages and his own personal averages and yes that is an “epically bad” season. 238 yards per/game average!!! A 60% completion percentage? In a year where the Pack D was actually good on a team that won 10 games and your numbers are still this fucking bad — yes, those numbers fucking suck. No one in their right mind would consider those numbers to be a career year.
Wow, i’m impressed, all that work…lol
And we can’t do the same thing as you did with everyone else’s bad seasons and compare them to the other QB’s…bud?
Yes, Rodgers doesn’t need receivers to catch passes, he didn’t need an 0 line to give him more than 2
seconds to throw the fucking ball. He should have caught passes and blocked for himself.
He should have thrown for 4,200 yards 45 tds, and 5 int. with a passer rating of 120 on his own regardless of the rest of the team.
Gee…Aaron Rodgers had a passer rating under 100 one season, what a worthless piece of shit. Fuck you dude. Go be a bear or viking fan and tell me how that works out for you, you fucking child.
Kato was right, it’s a team sport.
Thanks for trying….Now get steppin.
“Passer Rating: 92.7 was not only the absolute worst rating of Rodgers career, it was ranked outside the top 15 in the NFL. How is this somehow perceived as adequate?”
I didn’t say it was adequate… DID I? GO LOOK!! ………..No i fucking didn’t, i said it wasn’t epically bad.
Don’t try speaking for me fucker, and putting things out there that i didn’t even say. You want to start shit with me? Then be my fucking guest.
The next fucking time i want you to speak for me, i’ll put a fucking nickle in you. Otherwise stfu.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH okay PF4L — I’ll start shit with some fucking loser over a message board anytime I want, and for someone as clueless as you I’ll continue to speak for you because it’s apparent your pretty shitty at doing it yourself. What the hell are you going to do about it? “Don’t try speaking for me” — bwhahahah okay, or what? The fuck you gonna do about it?
Is that the best you got chump? Come on….what else you got for me? What are you gonna do to me sitting in your moms basement. You got your shitty ass subjective opinions and that’s about it. Fuck off loser, you got nothing for any of us — go blow your wad somewhere else, we ain’t buying your brand of shit around here.
“He should have thrown for 4,200 yards 45 tds, and 5 int. with a passer rating of 120 on his own regardless of the rest of the team.”
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Ladies and gentlemen, the most preposterous statement of 2016…..the infamous “shoulda” done this “shoulda” done this argument…..much like your loser-filled life posting daily on TotalPackers.com, shoulda doesn’t equal production you fucking epic pile of shit — get a real fucking clue and stop picking fights over a message board you’ll never follow through with.
“You want to start shit with me? Then be my fucking guest.
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What a tough guy —- holy shit. Typing that musta really fired you up. It’s usually losers like you who gotta say that shit behind a computer screen who can’t say it real life. So again —- what the fuck are you going to do about it? Nothing. Not a fucking thing.
Someone get this chump a job and a life, he clearly hasn’t found one here on the Total Packers message boards.
What else you got for us bud?
Fucking child
He’s probably 400 pounds, and sitting on a bed .
Happy New Year gentlemen…
Why cant we all just get along ?
Time for that group hug yet? Happy New Year!
No one is beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots this season. That man is pissed at Goodell and wants blood. Packers, Falcons, Cowboys, Giants….no one.
Yea, i’ve thought the same thing.
I think the Patriots and Packers have a fairly similar team, except for one huge difference. And it’s that difference, that won’t allow the Packers near the Super Bowl.
McCarthy…the gift that keeps on giving.
Yeah, to someone else . . .
My bad, you’re right Empac, make that 2 huge differences.
Guessing your original thought was Dom Capers instead?
Or Thompson. Fuck, we are back to the literal 3 ring circus again! LOL!
Afraid you may be right V.