The Hits Keep Coming For Wild-card Hopefuls Chasing The Packers

Heading into Week 9, the Green Bay Packers—and the rest of the NFC North—would make the NFL playoffs if the season ended now. Per the league’s website, the NFL projects the Packers make the playoffs about half the time in simulations, with the Minnesota Vikings (81 percent), Chicago Bears (82 percent), and Detroit Lions (80 percent) well ahead.

Here’s the good news: The Packers have a full-game lead over the next two teams breathing down their neck for the final wild-card spot, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. On paper, it’s a tight race between these teams, as the Seahawks are given a 47 percent chance of making the postseason, and the Rams are at 46 percent.

With how the landscape is playing out right now, the three wildcard spots in the NFC will likely all come down to North or West teams, and the South and East will just get one playoff team apiece. That means that two of Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Seattle or Los Angeles will be on the outside looking in at the end of the year.

Here’s another bit of fortunate (I’ll hesitate to call it good) news for the Packers, though: The Seahawks and Rams are banged up.

Already, it’s been announced that Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold will miss next week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with a quad injury and is considered week-to-week. Darnold’s backup, Drew Lock, is also dealing with an elbow injury. Per the NFL’s projections, the Seahawks’ chances of making the playoffs drop from 47 percent to 29 percent if they lose this weekend.

On the Rams’ end of things, cornerback Jaylen Watson, their big $51 million free agent signing, will have shoulder surgery, as announced by head coach Sean McVay on Wednesday, and will not return this season. If, for whatever reason, they lose to the Washington Commanders, the Rams’ playoff chances will drop from 46 percent to 31 percent.

Packers fans might not like it, but the team is firmly in the “already caring about the results of other teams’ games” portion of the season — and honestly has been for a couple of weeks now. The Seahawks and Rams are the only legit threats to push Green Bay out of the postseason, at least for now, and there hasn’t been a lot of positive news to come out about those clubs early on in Week 9.