CBS expert predicts wild card round; sets up Seahawks' divisional round opponent

The start of postseason play will soon begin as the Seattle Seahawks (14-3) will be on bye-week for the Wild Card round. The Seahawks will use that time to rest, heal any major injuries, and address team structure concerns like turnovers or stabilizing a unit. We could know as early as Saturday night who the Seahawks will play in the divisional round.

CBS analyst John Breech predicted the matchups in the Wild Card round and already thinks upsets are happening. Among the upsets predicted by Breech are the No. 7 Green Bay Packers going on the road to take down their divisional rivals in the No. 2 Chicago Bears 20-17.

Breech shows no love to the home teams on the NFC side of the Wild Card as he has the Packers beating the Bears, the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers defeating the No. 3 and reigning Super Bowl champions in the Philadelphia Eagles, and the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams defeating the No. 4 Carolina Panthers.

The Packers haven’t won since losing to the Bears 22-16 in overtime in Week 14 on the road. In that game, the Packers were without star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who suffered an ACL tear, and couldn’t finish the game without quarterback Jordan Love. Green Bay hasn’t been stable since that loss, but the Bears’ defense hasn’t been playing well.

The Bears were able to defeat the Packers, who were without multiple stars in Week 14. Chicago had to get an onside kick to get one final scoring drive to get the game in Week 14 to overtime. There is more confidence in the Packers heading into this game, knowing they will play with some emotional fire.

This outcome sets up the Packers visiting the Seahawks for the Divisional Round. Green Bay won six of the last seven games versus Seattle, including the 2020 Divisional Round game. The last time the Seahawks defeated the Packers was in the 2018 season with a 27-24 score at home.

The Seahawks have the top-ranked scoring defense that can get into the backfield and create a ton of pressure. Love has shown signs of greatness and poor play in the playoffs at times. The Packers’ offensive line would be questioned significantly. Green Bay isn’t the formidable defense they were when they had Parsons, but they still have a good secondary and linebacker corps.

Time will tell what opponent they will face in the Divisional Round. If the Seahawks do have the Packers in the Divisional Round, they will likely be significant favorites. It also means that if Seattle defeats Green Bay, they will have to face the winner of the other Divisional Round game between the Rams and the 49ers. This would set up an NFC Conference Championship game between NFC West rivals.

More Seahawks on SI stories