NFL playoff picture: What does Packers-Vikings mean for NFC standings

The NFC North is perhaps the scariest division in football, with all of the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers boasting double-digit wins. Given that, the division itself is still up for grabs, though al three teams have already secured a spot in the postseason. The only question is where that spot will be exactly.

The Vikings and Lions are still vying for the division win, while the Packers are trying to improve their seeding. Green Bay can’t take the NFC North crown and thus will be relegated to a wild card spot, but all three are potential options for them. On Sunday, they’ll face the Vikings in an extremely important playoff matchup, one in which the Vikings are narrow 1.5-point favorites at home, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

Here’s what’s on the line for both teams on Sunday.

Packers playoff picture

Green Bay is 11-4 on the season, but that isn’t enough to win the division as they’re a full two games back of both the Vikings and Lions. Currently, they’re slated as the sixth seed in the NFC but could finish as the fifth or seventh, as well. They can’t clinch one of the spots this week, but they can line themselves up for the fifth seed by beating the Vikings on Sunday and hoping for a Minnesota loss to Detroit in the finale.

A loss to Minnesota could drop them to the seventh seed if the Commanders beat the Falcons on Sunday as well.

Vikings playoff picture

The Vikings can’t clinch anything this week, but they can be eliminated from NFC North contention with a loss coupled with a Lions victory. If they do fall to the Packers, they’ll have to wait for the Lions, who play the 49ers on Monday Night Football before the Week 18 game against the Vikings. Either way, the Vikings have the top spot if they can win out.

Tiebreaker implications

The major tiebreakers here are direct and indirect. Green Bay is potentially battling Minnesota for seeding in the wild card, and they’ve already lost one of their head-to-head meetings. And while the Commanders trail the Packers by one game, they have a much better conference record and would jump ahead of them if they win while Green Bay loses.

Minnesota currently holds the edge over Green Bay when it comes to divisional and conference records, but the Packers could pull even with the Vikings in both by winning out while Minnesota loses out. A win for the Vikings in Week 17 would set them up for the ever-important matchup with the Lions in Week 18.