NFC playoff picture: Will Buccaneers snag sixth seed?
Aaron Rodgers knew all along.
Green Bay’s star quarterback was chuckled at in November when he suggested the Packers would saddle up and “run the table.”
Five games later — five wins later — Green Bay (9-6) has a chance to salt away the NFC North with a win over Detroit (9-6) on “Sunday Night Football.” It’s a game that will be watched closely by the conference’s rash of postseason heavies, largely because the Packers have grown into a club nobody wants to face in January.
Operating as a white-hot gunslinger supreme, Rodgers has led an offense that has posted at least 30 points in three straight games while averaging 29 over their past nine tilts. Moreover, Rodgers is doubling as an on-field surgeon, carving up defenses with a bevy of weapons led by revived wideout Jordy Nelson.
With a victory in Detroit, the Packers — once a 4-6 mess — would win the North and host the Giants at frigid Lambeau Field as the NFC’s No. 4 seed. Of course, the same applies to the Lions if they knock off Green Bay.
By the time the Lions and Packers kick off, we’ll already know if their meeting doubles as a do-or-die contest: If the Redskins beat the Giants earlier in the day, the loser of Sunday night’s divisional title bout is done for the year. If Washington stumbles, the loser of Packers-Lions would earn the conference’s sixth seed.
There’s more to get to in the NFC, so let’s dig in:
The chase for No. 2
The Dallas Cowboys (13-2) waltzed into “Monday Night Football” with the No. 1 seed safely secured, but the NFC’s second seed remains up for grabs.
Both the South champion Falcons (10-5) and West-winning Seahawks (9-5-1) have a chance to…