Regardless of Seed, Packers Shouldn't be Written Off in Playoffs.

A couple weeks ago, it looked as though the Green Bay Packers would easily secure at least the sixth and possibly the fifth seed in the NFL playoffs. 

Now, with a week to go in the regular season, Green Bay has a shot at the 6th seed but since they would need help, most likely will enter the postseason as the 7th seed. This means a guaranteed game on the road against the 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles (who will be resting their players the final week of the season) followed by a road game against either the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings or the 14-2 Detroit Lions (whichever they face will also be rested because, as the top seed, they would get a bye week).

On paper, this seems insurmountable for a team that has a combined five losses this season, all of them coming from the three teams mentioned above, and a growing list of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. However, while I'll be first to admit this may not be the year they go all the way, I don't think they should be written off just yet.

Green Bay's five losses have been by a combined 22 points (4.4 points per game). Three of them were by a field goal or less and only one game, Week 9 against the Lions, was by more than a touchdown. In fact, one could even argue the only thing separating the Packers from the top seed were self-inflicted mistakes and a quarterback who was playing hurt.

Let's recap the losses:

Week 1 against the Eagles in Brazil - Green Bay was only down by 2 points with 8 minutes left in the game but two defensive holding penalties allowed the Eagles to run the clock down to 27 seconds before kicking a field goal and making it a 5-point deficit. Quarterback Jordan Love getting hurt a couple plays later snuffed out the long-shot comeback attempt.

Week 4 at home against the Vikings - Jordan Love missed the previous two weeks because of the knee injury he sustained against the Eagles and was still visibly affected by it throughout the game. The injury/rust likely contributed to him throwing three interceptions and a slow start that gave the Vikings a 28-0 lead at halftime. However, it ultimately came down to two missed field goals by kicker Brayden Narveson (who is no longer with the team) with Green Bay coming back in the second half but still falling two points short, losing 31-29. 

Week 9 at home against the Lions - This was easily their worst loss of the season, 24-14. As was the case with the beforementioned Vikings game, Love was playing hurt, this time with a pulled groin that limited his mobility and likely affected at least some of his throws. His pick-6 at the end of the half and a missed Brandon McManus field goal earlier in the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game.

Week 13 at the Lions - A healthy Jordan Love and unstoppable Josh Jacobs led the offense to four touchdowns only to have a fifth one taken off the board by a debatable offensive pass interference penalty. The teams were tied 31-31 with 3:38 left in the game. The defense was unable to get a fourth down stop with 43 seconds left and Detroit ran the clock out before kicking the game-winning field goal. If they get the stop or the previously mentioned touchdown wasn't overturned by the penalty, Green Bay likely wins this.

Week 16 at the Vikings - Another slow start led to a 13-3 Vikings lead at halftime, but Green Bay made another second half comeback only to lose 27-25. The game ultimately came down to one of two plays. The decision not to kick a field goal in the first half and instead go for it on fourth down (they failed to convert), or the offsides penalty that negated a missed Vikings field goal and allowed them to hit the retry from five yards closer. If either of those plays had a different outcome, the Packers likely would have won.

Obviously, the playoffs are a different beast, especially if the Packers face teams that have an opportunity to rest their players first. However, even if they enter the postseason as the 7th seed, there is still reason to believe they can pull off an upset or two as long as they can get and stay healthier and don't shoot themselves in the foot with the same costly mistakes that have them entering the final week of the season at 11-5 instead of in contention for the top seed.

At minimum, they might make the games exciting to watch.