Playoff opponent possibilities
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 28, 2009 8:52 a.m.
Green Bay -- Here's an update on the Packers' potential opponents for the playoffs.
It appeared in the late editions of the newspaper this morning, but not in the online story that was posted late last night and so you might not have seen it if you read the paper online.
As of Monday, the Packers were the No. 5 seed in the NFC behind New Orleans (13-2), Minnesota (11-3), Philadelphia (11-4) and Arizona (10-5). Tied with the Dallas Cowboys at 10-5, the Packers have a tiebreaker advantage based on a head-to-head victory over the Cowboys.
If everything were to stay the same, the Packers, as the No. 5 seed, would play at the No. 4 seed, which would be the Cardinals. That means the Packers would have to travel to Arizona this weekend and then turn around in less than seven days and play there again.
As likely as a Packers-Cardinals match-up seems certain, there are all kinds of variables that leave the playoff picture a bit murky.
Heres what we do know about the first round:
The Packers cant play the Eagles.
Philadelphia plays Dallas next week for the NFC East division title. If they win, they would be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed and Dallas would be No. 6 (based on a tiebreaker edge the Packers have against them because of a head-to-head victory). Since No. 6 plays No. 3 in the first round, theres no way the Packers can play the Eagles that way.
If the Eagles lose, they are a wild card, and two wild cards cant play each other in the first round.
The Packers are most likely to play at Arizona.
If the Packers beat the Cardinals on Sunday, they will play the Cardinals the following week. If the Cardinals beat the Packers and the Cowboys beat the Eagles, the Packers would play at Arizona as well. The Vikings would have to lose twice and the Cowboys would have to beat the Eagles for the Packers to play at Dallas.
There is a chance the Packers could play the rival Vikings.
As incredible as it might seem, the Packers could play the rival Vikings in the first round. It would require the Vikings to lose twice (at Chicago Monday night, New York Giants Sunday), the Cardinals to beat the Packers and the Eagles to beat the Cowboys.
Under that scenario, the Eagles would be the No. 2 seed because they would have the second best record in the NFC at 12-4. The Vikings (11-5) would drop to the No. 4 seed because they would lose a tiebreaker with Arizona (11-5) based on the Cardinals head-to-head victory Dec. 6.
The Packers at 10-6 would be tied with the Cowboys, but would win a tiebreaker that would make them the No. 5 seed and the Cowboys No. 6. Since No. 5 plays at No. 4, the Packers would be headed to the Metrodome for a shot at the Vikings.
How the Cardinals approach next week will most likely depend on whether the Vikings lose to the Bears. If that happens, they could win the No. 2 seed if Dallas beats Philadelphia and the Vikings lose to the Giants. The Cardinals would have to beat the Packers as well.
If the Vikings lose tonight, Arizona may not know whether it has a shot at the No. 2 seed until kickoff. The Packers and Cardinals play at 3:15 p.m. central time and will be able to monitor the Vikings' game against the Giants at noon. The Eagles play the Cowboys at 3:15 p.m.