The Green Bay Packers are locked into the seventh seed. So, what does that mean about how they’ll handle their Week 18 game at the Minnesota Vikings?
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Going into last week’s game at the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers had a real shot of winning the NFC North and grabbing the coveted No. 2 seed. Not anymore. The Packers gave away the game against the Bears and were bludgeoned on Saturday night by the Baltimore Ravens.
So, that makes their Week 18 game at the Minnesota Vikings – which will be played at noon Sunday and be televised by CBS, the NFL announced – meaningless in terms of playoff positioning. Win, lose or tie, the Packers will be the No. 7 seed and open the playoffs at the No. 2 seed.Coach Matt LaFleur refuted athat the Packers “are expected to rest key players” against the Vikings. “I would say we’ve had some early discussions in regards to what route we’re going to do and I’ll be able to update you guys later in the week,” LaFleur said on Sunday, a day after a 41-24 loss to Baltimore. “But, despite what has been reported potentially, nothing’s been decided.”Should Top Players Play Against Vikings?In 2020, the Packers won at Chicago in the final game of the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed. That team rolled in the divisional round before losing at home to Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game. In 2021, the Packers had the No. 1 seed locked up when it played at Detroit in Week 18. Aaron Rodgers played the first half and Jordan Love played the second half of a 37-30 loss. After the bye, the Packers lost 13-10 to the 49ers in the divisional round. In 2023, the Packers won at Chicago in Week 18 to get into the playoffs, then rode the momentum from a hot finish to a wildcard win at Dallas and a narrow loss at San Francisco in the divisional round. “Everything factors in,” LaFleur said on Sunday. “We’ll make the decision that we feel is best moving forward. Regardless of anything, whether you rest certain individuals, you’re kind of limited, especially our situation right now with the number of injuries that occurred. Guys are going to have to play ball. They better approach it in such a way that they’re getting their mind ready to go play ball.”This isn’t the preseason with a 90-man roster. The Packers can’t rest everyone and only two players can be elevated from the practice squad, so key players will have to start and, in many cases, go the distance. That means LaFleur will have to be judicious in deciding who will play and who will sit. Quarterback Jordan Love, coming off the concussion at Chicago, could be an option to get another week off, though that would mean going into the playoffs on a long break.Running back Josh Jacobs has been playing through a knee injury for weeks. He wasn’t on the final injury report last week but played limited snaps against the Ravens. “I’ll let you know as soon as we have those conversations,” LaFleur said when asked specifically about Jacobs. “Certainly, I’d like to talk with our players before I put anything out publicly.”In 2024, the Packers were locked into the No. 7 seed when they hosted Chicago in Week 18. Love suffered an injured elbow and Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL. In the wildcard game, the Packers lost to the Eagles. “I think you’re learning on past experiences, and certainly it was a tough lesson a year ago in regards to what we lost going into the wildcard round but, yeah, absolutely you lean into those and then the state of the team, as well,” LaFleur said. “I think there’s a lot of variables that get thrown into play. I know a lot of people have a difference of opinions on what is the best route and, ultimately, we’ve got to make what the best decision is for us.” The Packers had their bye in Week 5, so it’s been a long grind to get to Week 18 and the playoffs. Fresh legs and fewer bumps and bruises might be more important than anything, including some of the momentum built during a four-game winning streak. “I don’t think that we really like care or give too much into that,” Jacobs said of momentum. “But we just got to focus on our next opponent and then try to come in and figure out what we need to do to beat the next team we play. I don’t think we feed into that too much.” The Packers endured several injuries against the Ravens. Cornerback Kamal Hadden and defensive tackle Jordon Riley are out for the season with what LaFleur called “big injuries.” He wasn’t sure of the significance of other injuries from the game. Backup quarterback Malik Willis, who started until succumbing to his injured shoulder, should be available, LaFleur said.Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.
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