After back-to-back crushing losses, the Packers finally saw momentum swing their way on Sunday.
Green Bay was able to survive a scare from the two-win Panthers, though the team’s struggling defense didn’t offer much inspiration. Carolina’s typically sluggish offense nearly hit 400 yards, with rookie QB Bryce Young putting together a career performance with 312 yards and two touchdowns.
Thanks to some poor clock management, however, time ran out on Carolina, and the Packers avoided their own playoff hopes just about vanishing.
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Reaching the playoffs will still take some help from around the NFC for Green Bay. Here’s a look at where the Packers stand in the playoff picture after their win.
Packers playoff picture
The Packers improved to 7-8 with the win on Sunday, but they still need plenty of help to reach the playoffs in the first season of the Jordan Love era.
Green Bay sits ninth in the NFC, still a full game out of a wild-card spot trailing both the 8-7 Rams and Seahawks in addition to the eighth-seeded Vikings.
Here is an updated look at the NFC wild card standings.
| Place | Team | Record |
| WC1 | Eagles | 10-4 |
| WC2 | Rams | 8-7 |
| WC3 | Seahawks | 8-7 |
| — | Vikings | 7-8 |
| — | Packers | 7-8 |
| — | Falcons | 7-8 |
| — | Saints | 7-8 |
The Packers are one of four 7-8 teams on the outside looking in in the NFC, and they sit second among that group because of their 5-5 conference record.
Barring extraordinary circumstances, the Packers have to win both of their final two games to reach the playoffs. Losing to the Vikings in Week 17 would give Minnesota the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay and clinch a better conference record for Kevin O’Connell’s team.
Even if they do win out, the Packers will need help. They will first need one of the Rams and Seahawks to lose a game over the final two weeks of the season, and Green Bay will have to then hope a tiebreaker scenario works in their favor.
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If it comes down to a head-to-head tiebreaker, the Packers have the advantage over the Rams and Saints but do not hold the advantage over the Falcons.
Whether the Packers will hold the tiebreaker over the Seahawks comes down to conference record, as those two do not play each other this season, and both teams still have a chance to gain that advantage. Seattle currently as a 6-5 conference record to Green Bay’s 5-5 mark.
Green Bay put itself in a hole with back-to-back losses to the Giants and Buccaneers, but winning in Carolina was a necessary first step back toward the playoff picture as time winds down.
Packers remaining schedule 2023
The Packers face two sub-.500 teams to close out their season, though going on the road and winning in Minnesota will be a challenge in Week 17.
The matchup with the Vikings is a prime-time game on New Year’s Eve, and it will be one that can make-or-break the season for either team.
| Date | Opponent | Record |
| Dec. 31 | at Vikings | 7-8 |
| Jan. 7 | vs. Bears | 5-9 |
