Saturday’s win over the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s results around the NFC, specifically the losses of the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams, really simplified the Green Bay Packers ’path to the conference’s No. 1 seed.
The Packers (11-3) can now get first place in one of the three easiest ways of the last two weeks of the 2020 season:
1. Win the Chicago Bears in Week 17
2. Win the Tennessee Titans Week 16 And the Los Angeles Rams Win the Seattle Seahawks Week 16
3. The Tennessee Titans win week 16 And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks week 17
There are ways to lose both games and remain number 1, but the scenarios lead to many different results and are a bit impractical to consider.
Of course, the Packers can win and secure first place. All NFC teams, except the Packers, currently have at least four losses.
In scenarios where the Packers beat the Titans but lose to the Bears, Matt LaFleur’s team needs at least one loss by the Seahawks to ensure there is no three-way tie.
According to the New York Times playoff simulator, the Packers now have an 82% chance of being No. 1.