“Well, tanks for nuttin!”
-Maggie O’Hooligan
Sorry for everyone who wants the team to lose so we can get a higher draft pick, but the Packers went ahead and won a game to brighten their (admittedly dim) playoff hopes.
The win, combined with losses by the Bengals and Buccaneers, dropped the Packers from the 10 spot to 12th overall. Had the Packers lost, they would have jumped up to 8 (after wins by the Lions and Giants).
If the Packers upset the Bears this week, they could drop as low as 16 if Eagles (at Rams), Panthers (hosting Saints), and Redskins (at Jaguars) all lose – which is very possible. The Broncos and Browns, two teams right behind Green Bay in the draft order, play each other, which cancels the impact (barring another tie, which would make the tie-breakers get really ridiculous).
Should the Packers lose in Chicago for the first time since 2010, they could move as high as 8 if the Bengals (hosting Raiders), Lions (at Bills), Giants (hosting Titans), and Buccaneers (at Ravens) all win. One or two of those could happen.
So the Packers will end this week somewhere between 8 and 16, most likely somewhere between 10 and 15.
To make this easy, for the Packers to move up or maintain their spot, we want the following teams to win:
- Eagles
- Panthers
- Redskins (more likely benefit than the Jaguars winning)
- Browns
- Bengals (more likely benefit than the Raiders winning)
- Lions (more likely benefit than the Bills winning)
- Giants
- Buccaneers
The future could also potentialy be improved if the following teams higher up the order win:
- Jaguars (less likely benefit than the Redskins winning)
- Bills (less likely benefit than the Lions winning)
- Jets
- Falcons
- Raiders (less likely benefit than the Bengals winning)
- Cardinals
- 49ers
Believe it or not, the Packers could still pull off the number 1 overall pick if they lose out and the 49ers, and Raiders all win out and the Cardinals either win out or go 2-0-1 along with the Falcons, Jets, Bills, and Jaguars each winning at least 2 of their remaining 3 games, while the Buccaneers, Giants, and Bengals all manage to squeak out another win.
When you look at it that way, the odds of the Packers making the playoffs don’t seem so daunting.
Go Pack!