NFL playoff picture: What does Packers-Rams mean for NFC standings

Results update: The Packers beat the Rams fairly easily 24-12 to go to 6-8 and stay in the playoff hunt. It won’t be easy, but they have a chance.

The Packers and Rams are squaring off on Monday Night Football to close out Week 15. This was a matchup of Super Bowl contenders when the season began, but now it’s a matchup of two teams circling the drain. The Packers have a pulse, while the Rams have shut down some key parts of their roster as they look to 2023.

Packers playoff picture

Green Bay is 5-8 and coming off a road win over the Bears. They had lost seven of their previous eight after a 3-1 start and that has cost them any chance at the NFC North. The Vikings clinched the division over the weekend, leaving Green Bay competing for a wild card berth.

The Packers are approximately three games back of the 7-6-1 Commanders, who hold the final wild card berth. The Lions and Seahawks are both 7-7, and so the Packers would close to within a game of those two with a win. They have a lot of work to do if they want to earn a playoff berth, but it’s not impossible.

Tiebreaker implications

The Packers have lost to the Commanders and Lions. They can even up with Detroit in Week 18, in which case the conference record or common games tiebreaker could come into play.