Who will they face in the 2024 NFC Wildcard?

The Green Bay Packers know they are headed to the playoffs, and they know they will open the postseason on the road as a wild card team. The question now is: who will they face?

Using PlayoffStatus.com as a guide, Green Bay could face any of eight possible opponents, but three of them (Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions) are extremely unlikely. That leaves five teams left, and one (the Seattle Seahawks) only has a 5% chance.

Here’s a look at the rest.

More:Here’s how a Minnesota Vikings beat reporter sees Sunday’s Week 17 Packers-Vikings game

Los Angeles Rams (34%)

The most likely scenario? The Packers remain in their current spot as the No. 6 seed, and the Rams maintain their spot at the top of the NFC West and ultimately host the Packers at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams face the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday and need a win to stay a complete game ahead of the Seahawks for the top spot in the West. However, the Seahawks can retake the tiebreaker between the two teams with a straight win over the Rams in Week 18… although the Rams are getting closer and closer to coming out on top in this matchup.

It’s unlikely that Los Angeles will come out on top with a win over the Cardinals on Saturday, but it’s doable.

The Rams have been on fire since the start of the season, when the Packers beat LA 24-19 to take the team to 1-4. The Rams are now healthy (namely Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp) and have gone 8-2 since then, with an understandable loss to the Eagles and their only other setback coming against the Miami Dolphins. During this phase there were wins against Minnesota, Seattle and the Buffalo Bills.

Philadelphia Eagles (26%)

Here’s a pretty easy scenario to imagine: The Eagles stay at No. 2, the Packers lose to Minnesota, and Washington wins, putting Green Bay at No. 7 and forcing them to go on the road to face the Eagles.

The teams met in Brazil in Week 1, of course a 34-29 loss to the Packers that left Jordan Love out late with an injury. The Eagles got off to a 2-2 start but then picked it up and won 10 straight before suffering a wild 36-33 loss to Washington last weekend.

Jalen Hurts’ health is questionable; He is currently in the concussion protocol and may not be available against the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. A loss there would further solidify Philly as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Atlanta Falcons (19%)

This would be an enticing matchup for the Packers, a Falcons team that recently made a change at quarterback and has lost four of six, with two wins against last-place teams Las Vegas and New York Giants.

The Falcons are tied with the Buccaneers atop the NFC South and are currently in the tiebreaker. If the Falcons stay, perhaps with wins against Washington and Carolina in the last two weeks, they will host a first-round game. The Packers could easily be that opponent as a No. 5 seed, overtaking Minnesota with a straight win and a Vikings loss to the Lions in the finals.

There’s also a scenario where the Falcons reach No. 3 while the Packers are still at No. 6.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15%)

The winner of the NFC South could also be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who end the year with good duels against Carolina and New Orleans, while Atlanta still has to deal with Washington.

The Bucs just lost a close game in Dallas, but were fired up considering the team had four straight wins against mostly bad teams (with the exception of the Los Angeles Chargers) and four straight losses against four pretty good ones Teams had to take it.

Baker Mayfield ranks sixth in the NFL in passing yards and third behind Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson in passing touchdowns (34), although he also has 15 interceptions.

Seattle Seahawks (5%)

The Seahawks have an uphill battle to win the NFC West, and this is the only way they would end up in the first round with the Packers.

Geno Smith is second in the league in passing efficiency, but the Packers saw firsthand just a few weeks ago that they could put pressure on Smith and make him a non-factor when Green Bay won 30-13 .

On the other hand, the Packers may want to avoid any postseason football games in Seattle just to avoid the negativity.

This story has been updated to correct a spelling error.

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