Identifying the teams the Packers hope to avoid in the 2025 NFL Playoffs.
For the second-straight season, the Green Bay Packers will play in the 2025 NFL playoffs. Despite playing behind the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in the NFC North, the Packers clinched a Wild Card spot in Week 16.
While the NFC North has not yet been clinched, the Packers cannot win the division. They remain two full games behind both the Lions and Vikings and are 0-3 against them on the year. That includes two losses to the Lions, who are tied with the Vikings for the top-overall seed in the NFC.
The Packers have been more impressive than not in 2024 but are just 2-4 against playoff-bound teams and 9-0 against the rest of the field. That includes a Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Rams, who have not yet clinched the NFC West but are projected to do so.
Carrying an 11-4 record into Week 17, the Packers have been one of the most dominant teams in the league despite being on track to finish third in their division. That leaves a high chance of meeting one of their divisional rivals in the playoffs, a scenario Green Bay will pray to avoid.
The Packers don't want to see the Lions in the NFL playoffs
The Lions are the only team so far to go 2-0 against the Packers in 2024, and for good reason. Green Bay fans blame a Jordan Love injury for the first matchup, but Detroit played without nine defensive starters in the rematch and still prevailed.
The Packers' true issue in the matchup is the Lions' stout run defense. Green Bay runs the ball at the third-highest rate in the league, a game plan that has worked against most nondivisional opponents. However, against Detroit's top-10-rated rush defense, they have failed to find an offensive rhythm.
Through 16 weeks, the Lions have allowed just 4.02 yards per carry to opposing running backs while ceding the third-fewest rushing yards in the league. Even with Detroit missing all three starting linebackers in Week 14, Josh Jacobs ran for just 66 yards on 18 carries, averaging a putrid 3.6 yards per rush.
Regardless of personnel, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has been Green Bay's kryptonite in two matchups in 2024. The Lions have only gotten healthier since their last meeting, getting linebackers Trevor Nowaske and Jack Campbell back into the lineup.
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If the Lions stub their toes and fail to clinch the No. 1 overall seed, they will fall all the way down to the No. 3 seed in the NFC. Instead of a first-round bye, they would instead fall into the Wild Card round, where they could match up with the Packers in the opening game. That would be the worst-case scenario for the Cheeseheads.
Other potential disaster spots for Green Bay
For as poorly as the Packers match up with the Lions, the Vikings would be an equally bad opponent for Green Bay. The two teams are set to face off in Week 17, a matchup that will be very telling for a potential playoff game.
The Baltimore Ravens and Vikings are the only two teams allowing fewer rushing yards in 2024 than the Lions are. The Vikings also allow just 3.9 yards per carry to opposing running backs. Their stout defense was on full display in Week 4 when Jacobs recorded a season-low nine carries for just 51 rushing yards after the Vikings got out to a big lead in the first half.
After a strong stretch of games, many seem to have forgotten about Love's turnover issues that arose early in 2024. They reached a peak against the Vikings when he threw a season-worst three interceptions. Minnesota has the most interceptions on the year with 22 total.
A three-interception game is more likely a fluke than a pattern but so were the four touchdowns Love threw to offset his mistakes. The Packers chose to live and die by his arm in that game, resulting in a two-point loss after a gallant comeback attempt.
Even with the turnovers, it is hard to see them playing any better than they did in that game. Green Bay has to avoid facing either NFC North rival in the 2025 NFL playoffs.
