4 biggest threats to Packers earning first-round playoff bye

The Green Bay Packers inched ahead of the rest of the NFC thanks to some fortunate Week 15 outcomes that included a Packers’ victory combined with a Cardinals and Buccaneers’ loss.

With the Packers standing alone at 11-3, they firmly control their own destiny when it comes to earning the only playoff bye in the NFC and the first overall seed. However, one slip up and their world could come crashing down. There are currently four teams below them in the standings at 10-4:

• Dallas Cowboys
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angeles Rams

Let’s take a moment and rank those four teams in terms of the threat they pose to the Packers on their quest to securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

If the Green Bay Packers want to earn a first-round playoff bye, here are their four biggest threats from least to greatest.

Biggest threats to Packers’ first-round bye: 4. Los Angeles Rams

Green Bay beat the Rams earlier in the year which gives them a huge advantage here. They basically hold a two-game lead with three to play and would need to lose two games with the Rams winning out in order to cede the lead to LA. The Packers have also had good success against the Rams throughout Matt LaFleur’s tenure and seem to have a psychological edge. That combined with the fact that LA is still behind the Cardinals in the tie-breaker means the Rams present the smallest threat at this point.