Win, and they’re in.
It’s as simple as that for the Green Bay Packers entering their ‘Monday Night Football’ duel with the New Orleans Saints. Green Bay had a chance to clinch a playoff spot even before the game, but the Atlanta Falcons’ win over the New York Giants eliminated that possibility.
Still, all the Packers need to do now is take care of business against the five-win Saints on Monday. From there, they’ll be into the postseason.
Green Bay can play for a higher seed in the final two weeks of the year, but it can’t win the division title and potentially earn the first seed and a bye. Since the Packers lost both games to the Detroit Lions this year, they don’t hold a head-to-head tiebreaker. They’re also unable to earn a better record than Detroit after the Lions’ Week 16 win over the Chicago Bears.
Here’s everything to know about the Packers’ playoff chances entering Monday night’s game:
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Packers playoff odds
Green Bay can clinch its second straight playoff berth – and fifth in six years – with a win on ‘Monday Night Football.’
With that being the case, the Packers already had excellent odds to make the postseason. Prior to any games kicking off in Week 16, BetMGM had the team at -10000 (99% implied) odds to be a playoff team.
Packers remaining schedule
The Packers have three more games in the regular season, including their Week 16 ‘Monday Night Football’ clash. Two of them, including Monday night’s game, are at home.
In Week 17, Green Bay will play the Vikings in Minnesota, a game with potential seeding implications in the NFC side of the bracket. The Packers lost their first matchup in late September but still have a chance to leapfrog the Vikings in the standings if more goes their way.
For their regular-season finale, the Packers host the Bears. Depending on how things turn out around the league in Week 17, it’s possible that the only thing to play for in this matchup is the number of Chicago’s first-round draft pick.
Below is a full look at Green Bays’ schedule:
Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints (5-9)
Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings (13-2)
Week 18: vs. Chicago Bears (4-11)
NFC North standings
Both the Lions and Vikings have already clinched playoff spots of their own and are still battling for the division title over the final two weeks.
The Packers can’t win the division since they already lost both games to the Lions and therefore don’t own the head-to-head tiebreaker. However, Green Bay could leap Minnesota in the NFC’s seeding. The Packers would need to win out – including against the Vikings in Week 17 – and the Vikings would have to lose out.
Detroit Lions (13-2)
Minnesota Vikings (13-2)
Green Bay Packers (10-4)
Chicago Bears (4-11)
The Bears have lost nine straight games – starting with their Week 8 loss to the Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary – and can only hope to play spoiler in their final two games.
NFL playoff picture Week 17
AFC
Kansas City Chiefs (14-1, AFC West winners)*
Buffalo Bills (12-3, AFC East winners)*
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5, AFC North leaders)*
Houston Texans (9-6, AFC South winners)*
Baltimore Ravens (10-5, wild card No. 1)*
Los Angeles Chargers (9-6, wild card No. 2)
Denver Broncos (9-6, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Indianapolis Colts (7-8), Miami Dolphins (7-8), Cincinnati Bengals (7-8).
NFC
Detroit Lions (13-2, NFC North leaders)*
Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, NFC East leaders)*
Los Angeles Rams (9-6, NFC West leaders)
Atlanta Falcons (8-7, NFC South leaders)
Minnesota Vikings (13-2, wild card No. 1)*
Green Bay Packers (10-4, wild card No. 2)
Washington Commanders (10-5, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7), Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.
