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Green Bay Packers Magic No. is 2 to Clinch NFC North

By Paul Bretl

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 24: Aaron Rodgers #12 talks with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during the game against the Washington Football Team at Lambeau Field on October 24, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Green Bay defeated Washington 24-10. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 24: Aaron Rodgers #12 talks with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during the game against the Washington Football Team at Lambeau Field on October 24, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Green Bay defeated Washington 24-10. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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The Green Bay Packers were on their bye this past week, but they are now one step closer to clinching the NFC North and a playoff spot—in fact, it’s now not that far away.

Although not playing, the 9-3 Packers entered Sunday with a 3.5 game lead over second-place Minnesota, a 4.5 game lead over Chicago, and Detroit, well, they were a bit further back, we will say.

Now here we sit on Monday morning, and those leads have grown. Minnesota would hand Detroit their first win of the season as Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone without any time left on the clock. Meanwhile, Arizona cruised to a relatively easy win over the Bears.

The Green Bay Packers are on the cusp of clinching another NFC North title.

So with Minnesota at 5-7 and Chicago at 4-8, the Green Bay Packers have a four-game lead over the Vikings and a five-game lead over the Bears. The Packers’ magic number when it comes to clinching the division is also now down to just two games.

What’s the magic number, you ask? It’s a more common term in baseball, but it’s the number of games needed for a team to clinch the division or a playoff berth.

With the Packers’ magic number at two, they either have to win two of their final five games to clinch the North, the Vikings have to lose two of their final five games, or the Packers win one remaining game while the Vikings also lose one of their remaining games. At this point, it does not matter what the Bears do each week.

Green Bay’s final five games will come against Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Detroit. For the Vikings, they will face Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles, Green Bay, and Chicago again.

The soonest that the Packers could clinch the NFC North is this week if Minnesota loses at home to Pittsburgh on Thursday night and if Green Bay also takes care of business at home against Chicago.

The first box that every team wants to check off each season is winning the division, but as we all know, the Packers have much bigger goals—such as claiming the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage for the second straight season.

In the NFC playoff race, the Packers are currently the two-seed, one game behind 10-2 Arizona—although since Green Bay holds the head-to-head tie-breaker, if both teams finish with the same record, the Packers have the advantage.

Tamp Bay is currently the three seed at 9-3 as well. Green Bay has the advantage over them because they are 7-2 in the NFC, while Tampa is 6-3. Dallas is the four seed at the moment at 8-4, and while Los Angeles is also 8-4 unless they can rally to take away the NFC West title from Arizona, they cannot be a one through four seed as a wildcard.

"“This was an important one,” Rodgers said via SI following the Packers win over LA. “There’s still a lot to be figured out in the conference, but I like where we’re at. I like or football team. We’ve got some more home games down the stretch. These are the type of winter games where we can and have effectively thrown the football. We’ve controlled the clock for almost 40 minutes. This is what makes it so difficult to play in Lambeau. So, we’ve got to win our division first, secure that home playoff game, and then we have the tiebreaker over Arizona, so we’re right on their heels right now.”"

We are quickly approaching the home stretch of the regular season, and there is a lot of important football to be played. The Green Bay Packers’ ultimate goal of attaining the NFC’s one seed is well within reach but may not be decided until Week 18.

The division race, however, could be over as soon as this coming Sunday night with the Packers’ magic number down to only two.

"“We’ve battled through a lot of adversity,” Matt LaFleur said via SI. “There’s room for improvement in all three phases, which is always exciting, and we know that there’s a lot of challenge left in front of us. When we’re back in this building, we have to attack it on a daily basis, which I think our guys embrace, and they take that to heart. We never look too far in front of us. We always try to focus on and stay as present as possible. Our guys have that mentality. And I think that’s the mentality that it takes to win games in this league.”"

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