It’s almost impossible to find a realistic path to the playoffs for the Green Bay Packers.
As we begin this week’s look at the NFC playoff picture, Green Bay is 14th in the conference — ahead of only the Bears and 49ers. With both the Vikings and Lions two games ahead of the Packers in the NFC North, it’s hard to see Green Bay winning the division. And it’s even harder to see Green Bay winning the wild card, given that the Packers are 2.5 games behind the current No. 6 seed, Washington.
So after making the playoffs for seven straight seasons, the Packers are an extreme long shot to make it eight in a row.
Here’s our look at the rest of the playoff picture:
1. Cowboys (9-1): Dallas has a commanding lead for home-field advantage.
2. Seahawks (7-2-1): Seattle sure looks like it’s going to earn a bye week.
3. Lions (6-4): Going for a season sweep of the Vikings on Thanksgiving.
4. Falcons (6-4): After taking a big lead in the NFC South early in the season, they’ve now got the Bucs breathing down their necks.
5. Giants (7-3): Ben McAdoo has his team in playoff position.
6. Washington (6-3-1): Last night’s win over the Packers was a big one.
7. Vikings (6-4): They can take over the NFC North with a win at Detroit on Thursday.
8. Buccaneers (5-5): Only a game back of the Falcons in the division.
9. Eagles (5-5): Philly is a good team, but in a tough division it’s an uphill battle to the playoffs.
10. Cardinals (4-5-1): Catching the Seahawks looks all but impossible.
11. Saints (4-6): They might catch either the Falcons or Bucs, but it’s hard to see them catching both.
12. Panthers (4-6): Last year’s NFC champion is now in last place.
13. Rams (4-6): Jeff Fisher will be lucky to get some 7-9 B.S. this year.
14. Packers (4-6): It’s all but over.
15. Bears (2-8): It’s over.
16. 49ers (1-9): It’s over.