Aaron Rodgers, Packers Back in the Playoff Picture

Former Cal qarterback Aaron Rodgers did not have his best game Sunday, but it was good enough to give the Packers a pivotal 26-20 road victory over the Miami Dolphins and move Green Bay into the thick of the playoff race.

With their third straight win, the Packers are now 7-8, tied with both the Lions and Seahawks and just a half-game behing Washington, which currently owns the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC with two games left.

The final NFC playoff berth could come down to a duel betyween two former Cal quarterbacks -- Rodgers and Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions. But that's getting ahead of things.

Rodgers is not having a great season, considering he was named MVP each of the past two seasons. And his performance on Saturday -- 24-for-38 for 238 yards, one touchdown, one interception for a mediocre 78.6 passer rating -- was not MVP-worthy.

But he engineered four scoring drives that enabled the Packers to overcome a 20-10 deficit. The Packers' defense did most of the work, intercepting Tua Tagovailoa passes on each of the Dolphins' final three possessions.

The Packers were the only team on the fringe of an NFC playoff berth that won this weekend, as the Lions, Seahawks, Commanders and New York Giants all lost. So the Packers, who were not part of the postseason discussion when they were 4-8, are now in the thick of the NFC playoff race.

Asked what he thought his playoff chances are now, Rodgers said this after the game.

"Definitely better than they were three weeks ago, four weeks, I guess because of the bye," Rodgers said. "Mike, what do you think? Pretty good. Yeah. Getting better. A lot of things happened our way."

Green Bay currently would be behind both Detroit and Seattle if all three finished tied for the final playoff spot. Seattle wins a tiebreaker over Detroit, because it beat the Lions head-to-head earlier this season. And Detroit beat the Packers earlier this season, giving the Lions the tie-breaker over the Packers.

However, the Lions and Packers face each other again in the final regular-season game for both treams. That game -- which would match ex-Cal stars Rodgers against Goff -- could determine a playoff spot. But a lot can change in the final two weeks.

At the moment, the Giants hold the No. 6 playoff spot, one game ahead of the Commanders and a game and half over Seattle, Detroit and Green Bay.

At 7-7-1, Washington, whose head coach is former Cal All-American linebacker Ron Rivera, currently holds the final playoff spot.

Here are the remaining games of the five teams vying for those final two NFC playoff slots.

Giants (8-6-1) – Colts (home), Eagles (road)

Washington (7-6-1) – Browns (home), Cowboys (home)

Seattle (7-8) – Jets (home), Rams (home)

Detroit (7-8) – Bears (home), Packers (road)

Packers (6-8) – Vikings (home), Lions (home)

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Sam Navarro, USA TODAY Sports

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