Will Packers Make Playoffs? Predicting Last Four Games, Final Record
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The final stretch of the season is here. The Green Bay Packers are 6-7 with four games left and in the thick of the playoff race.
They are coming off one of their worst losses of the season, which spoiled a chance for them to take a firm hold of the NFC's seventh playoff spot.
Due to various tiebreaker scenarios, the Packers remain in that seventh slot, though their hold is tenuous.
Including Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have four games left, with two at Lambeau Field and two on the road.
As we've done throughout the season, we're looking into our crystal ball for the final four games.
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is the leader of the painfully mediocre NFC South. This game is not going to be one in which a team from the south with nothing to play for loses motivation as they play in the elements.
The Buccaneers need this game, much like Green Bay does, to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Green Bay is probably better than Tampa Bay in terms of the overall roster, but the Packers' roster is in shambles at the moment. Their receiver room might be relying on practice squad players to make plays with injuries to Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed.
Aaron Jones, on the other hand, was close to playing Monday night and could make his return for this game.
They will need all the playmakers they can get.
Ultimately, the Packers have played better at home than they have on the road. This game likely will come down to which turnover-prone quarterback makes the biggest mistake.
Despite Green Bay's incompetence in forcing turnovers, the bet here is that Lambeau Field continues to be a house of horrors for Baker Mayfield.
Prediction: Win
@ Carolina
Carolina is on track to have the worst record in the NFL.
Its offense, led by top overall pick Bryce Young, is one of the worst in the NFL. The Panthers don't protect him well, and they fired their head coach, Frank Reich, earlier in the season.
The Packers, as proven by Monday night's debacle, are not able to chalk up wins, but this should be as close as it gets to a layup.
The one-win Panthers have played 11 games against teams within one game of a playoff spot. They lost eight of those games by at least eight points. The other three were their lone win of the season against the Houston Texans and three-point losses to the Saints and Buccaneers.
The Panthers are not a good team. The Packers should win.
If they don't, they'll have much bigger questions to answer.
Prediction: Win
@ Minnesota
The Packers might be better when they play their best than Minnesota.
The Vikings looked like a mortal lock to make the playoffs after they beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in late October. Their season changed dramatically that day, though, when Kirk Cousins injured his Achilles and was lost for the season.
Since then, the combination of Jaren Hall, Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens have had various struggles.
Dobbs has been benched for Mullens. Who knows who will be lining up behind center for Minnesota when these teams lock horns on New Year's Eve.
Justin Jefferson, who missed Round 1 against Green Bay with a hamstring injury, is back from injured reserve and is likely to suit up for the Vikings in the rematch.
The Vikings' defense is less talented but better coached than Green Bay's. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is likely to be a head coaching candidate at season's end.
Overall, the Packers have struggled on the road in hostile environments, with the one exception being in Detroit on Thanksgiving.
The Packers are too inconsistent to bet that they'll run the table, so this feels like a game in which they will stumble.
Prediction: Loss
Chicago
The Bears have gotten better since the Packers beat them in Week 1. That progress might have saved the jobs of coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields moving forward.
The Bears are 5-8 and one game behind the NFC's final wildcard spot.
Their defense has been the driving force behind their late-season resurgence. They've allowed 13 points or fewer in three of their last four games. If not for a late collapse in Detroit, the Bears would have won four straight games.
If Chicago can win two of its next three, it's possible this game could be a win-and-in scenario for both teams.
Green Bay also is a better team than the one that won by 18 in the opener.
While a lot of things have changed this year, one remains the same: The Packers own the Bears. That will be true again when these teams meet on the final day of the regular season.
Prediction: Win
Final Prediction: 9-8; NFC 7th seed, at Philadelphia
The Packers' late push should get them into the playoffs with the new format allowing seven teams in each conference.
Should they get the seven seed, they're likely to face one of the NFC's big three.
With wins over Dallas (10-3) and Philadelphia (10-3), San Francisco (10-3) looks to be in line for the No. 1 seed and first-round bye, which would allow the Packers to avoid what has become their version of the playoff boogeyman.
Instead, the prediction here is they'll draw the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Eagles are behind the Cowboys due to tiebreaker purposes but have a softer schedule down the stretch.
A playoff game at Philadelphia would be a full-circle moment, as that’s where Jordan Love got an extended cameo that caused the team to believe he could be their starting quarterback.
