For Packers, Rivalry Showdown vs. Vikings Is Most Important Game of Season

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have entered the NFL playoffs as the No. 7 seed each of the last three seasons. It’s a death sentence if the goal is to win the Super Bowl and not just reach the postseason.

That’s what makes Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings arguably the biggest game of their season.

The Packers have won five of their last six games and are coming off easily their best performance of the season, a dominant blowout of the defending AFC champion Patriots in New England last week. For all of their efforts, though, they are still in last place in the NFC North. And while their 6-3 record is good enough to have them in the midseason playoff bracket, it’s as the dreaded No. 7 seed.

The seventh seed has to open the playoffs on the road against the No. 2 seed. With an upset win, like the Packers had at Dallas in 2023, the reward is a road game at the No. 1 seed. In other words, the No. 7 seed needs to beat the top two teams in the conference just to get to go back on the road for the conference championship game.

The difference is especially acute this year because of the haves- and have-nots reality of the NFC. There are eight teams with winning records in the NFC. Four are from the NFC North and three are from the NFC West. All four of the NFC North teams have six or seven wins.

“I don’t really worry about other teams,” coach Matt LaFleur said this week. “It’s just how can we help our team improve on a daily basis? But it’s not surprising to me. I knew this. All the teams in this division are really strong, and I knew it was going to be a challenge. But I think when you go through challenges, and if you can come through it on top, then you’re going to be more calloused and be better for it.”

The Haves and Have Nots

The more battle-tested, the better, for the Packers.

As it stands, the No. 7 seed would open the playoffs at the Chicago Bears. The Packers wouldn’t be scared of that matchup, given how well they played in pummeling their rivals at Lambeau earlier in the season. But the Bears might be the most complete team in the NFC. They haven’t lost a game started and finished by Caleb Williams and they made the biggest move of the trade deadline by acquiring defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons.

The No. 6 seed would open the playoffs at the New York Giants, who are 5-3-1 and lead the NFC East due in part to playing by far the easiest schedule in the league so far. Their quarterback is J.J. McCarthy and they just lost at home to the Commanders.

The No. 5 seed would open the playoffs at the Carolina Panthers, who are 3-6 and lead the heinous NFC South with a 3-5 record.

Who would you rather play in the wild-card round? Williams and the Bears, McCarthy and the Giants or Bryce Young and the Panthers?

That’s why this game is so vital for the Packers.

What a Difference One Game Can Make

With a win, the Packers would be 7-3 and (sort of) ahead of the Vikings, who would be 6-3. The alternative is being 6-4 and two games behind the Vikings in the loss column.

With a win, the Packers would be 5-3 in conference games and 2-2 in division games, which are key tiebreakers. With a loss, they’d be 4-4 in the conference and 1-3 in the division – including a sweep at the hand of the Vikings.

With a win, the Packers would maintain their one-game lead over the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the race for the final playoff spot. With a loss, depending on the outcome of the other games, they’d be tied. On Sunday, the Seahawks will play at the Raiders and the Rams will play at the Cardinals.

“I feel extremely in confident in this team. We’re extremely confident in one another,” safety Javon Bullard said. “We got to keep rallying off these wins, man. We know we in a tough-ass division; like you said, the North keeps winning, man. But I think we got the best division in football right now, and it’s a true testament to everybody in this division. Like it’s going to come down to the wire. And why not us is the question. We got another NFC North opponent coming in here, and we got to find a way with the dub.”

No Margin for Error

This might not be a must-win game but it’s pretty darned close. There just is no margin for error. Not with the power of the NFC North and the NFC West. Not with the Packers’ remaining strength of schedule being the second-toughest in the league. Now with the blown opportunities at Minnesota and Detroit putting them behind the 8-ball in the standings and tiebreakers.

Added together, a win would be a big step toward getting out of the seventh-seed sinkhole. A loss would put them on thin ice in the playoff race.

“Why not us?” Bullard said. “I think we’ve showcased what we can do. We’ve beaten some of the better teams in the league and I think, honestly, we just got to keep putting it on tape. Keep showing the world that the Packers aint’ going nowhere. And I think – I got to stop saying I think – I know we got the players in here to do so and I know we have the coaching staff to do so and as long we keep trusting and believing in each other, I think sky’s the limit.”

As usual, myself and @JacobWestendorf made our Packers game predictions. Along with those, with nine games down and nine to go, here's how we see the second half of the season playing out. ⬇️https://t.co/tcZvsQOkhV
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 14, 2026

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