The Packers are 7-8 after upsetting the Dolphins in Miami in Week 16. That keeps their NFC playoff hopes alive and well going into the final two weeks of the 2022 NFL regular season.
Green Bay still has great motivation to finish strong with Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur in realistic reach of an wild-card berth
Here's breaking down Green Bay's slim -- but growing -- chances to sneak into the NFC bracket as at least a No. 7 seed:
MORE: Updated AFC, NFC playoff picture for Week 15 of 2022 season
Packers playoff picture
The Packers currently sit in the NFC's No. 10 position at 7-8, matching the record of the No. 8 Seahawks and No. 9 Lions. They are a half-game behind the No. 7 Commanders, who fell to 7-7-1 after their Week 16 road loss to the 49ers and 1.5 games behind the No. 6 Giants, now 8-6-1 after their Week 16 road loss to the Vikings.
Behind the Packers by a full game are two 6-9 NFC South teams focused on their division race now, the No. 11 Panthers and No. 12 Saints.
What playoff tiebreakers are in the Packers' favor?
The Packers' biggest NFC wins are not too helpful for their current situation, given they came against the No. 4 Buccaneers (6-8) and No. 5 Cowboys (10-4).
Although the ties likely mean the Packers can't finish with the same record as either the Giants or the Commanders, they lost to both teams in Weeks 5 and 7, respectively.
Green Bay also lost at Detroit in the first meeting in Week 9. The Packers need to improve their conference record, which is 5-5, a little better than the Seahawks (5-6), whom they won't play. Week 16 didn't give them an opportunity to do so against the AFC Dolphins, but Weeks 17 and 18 will see them against NFC North foes.
MORE: Explaining of NFL's tiebreakers work for playoff picture
Packers' remaining schedule
The Packers close with two more Lambeau Field games, rematches with the Vikings and Lions in Weeks 17 and 18. They will be favored in both games and just would need a little help to get in the playoffs if they win both games.
Can the Packers still make the playoffs?
The Packers need to first run the table to improve to 9-8, because getting an NFC wild card should at least require an above-.500 record.
The Commanders still need to play the Browns and Cowboys, with a chance to face Dallas backups in Week 18. They will be hoping that the Commanders go at least 1-1 to drop to 8-8-1.
If the Packers win out, they would have a conference record of 7-5, which the Seahawks cannot match. They also would have a division record of 4-2 which at worst would tie the Lions with a season split. But the Lions are only 5-5 in conference play, so the Packers would have the tiebreaker there.
The Lions, who lost at the Panthers in Week 16, host the Bears next before facing the Packers. The Seahawks, who lost at the Chiefs in Week 16, need to deal with the Jets before their Week 18 home game vs. the Rams.
The Packers have about a 30-35 percent chance to make the playoffs, a big improvement from going into Week 17 thanks to them winning and the Commanders, Seahawks and Lions all losing ahead of them in Week 16.
