The Green Bay Packers are favorites to beat the Titans Thursday, but a Vegas longshot to make the NFL playoffs. After the Packer’s victory Sunday over the Cowboys, the Packers are four and six with seven games remaining. The Vikings have a firm grasp on first place in the NFC North with an eight-and-one record. However, the 3 NFC wildcard spots are up for grabs. The Giants, Cowboys, and 49ers currently control those positions. The Packers are sitting in the ninth spot, nestled between Washington and the Atlanta Falcons. Still, most importantly, Sunday’s win over the Cowboys would seemingly give them an advantage in a tiebreaker scenario with the Cowboys at the end of the season.
Tiebreaker Rules
Unfortunately, the rules are different in the NFL. If the Packers can pull out the near impossible and finish the season tied with another team for seventh place in the NFC, Club rules state that the team with the best win percentage in the division would get the NFL playoff bid. If the teams have the same winning percentage in the division, tiebreakers would be decided by comparing common games. Confusing right?
Road to the NFL Playoffs
The Packer’s schedule becomes difficult going forward. This Thursday night, the Titans come to Green Bay, and though Green Bay is favored to upset Tennessee, the Titans are six and three and lead the AFC south. The following week, the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles will play the Packers in Philadelphia. Then in December, the Packers face a stiff gauntlet of competition, playing the Bears, Rams, and Dolphins before finishing the season in January, taking on the division-leading Vikings, followed by the Lions. No easy games are remaining on the schedule. If the Packers are to make the NFL playoffs, they will have to play near-flawless football. They’ll need to duplicate what they did Sunday against Dallas Cowboys—focusing on running the football and play-action passing.
Implied odds to make #NFL playoffs via betting odds:
PHI 99%
KC 99%
DAL 98%
BUF 97%
BAL 95%
MIA 91%
SF 87%
TEN 87%
TB 83%
NYG 80%
SEA 70%
CIN 56%
LAC 53%
NYJ 50%
NE 43%
ATL 23%
GB 22%
JAX 17%
WSH 14%
CLE 13%
IND 13%
ARI 11%
NO 11%
DEN 9%
PIT 7%
DET 6%
CAR 5%
LV 5%
CHI 3%
HOU 2%— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) November 14, 2022
The Titans, Dolphins, Eagles, and Vikings each lead their division. Winning four of the next seven games will not be enough to clinch a wildcard birth; the Packers will need to win doubtlessly five of the remaining seven matchups. The easiest matchups on the schedule are the Lions, Bears, Rams, Titans, and Dolphins. The Packers have a 22% percent chance of making the wild card and are an 80/1 underdog to win the Super Bowl, according to Jamie Eisner of the draft network. The Eagles and Vikings are both playing fantastic football and will be near impossible to beat.
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