Green Bay Packers: Ranking most favorable Divisional Round opponents
The Green Bay Packers earned a first-round bye as the NFC’s No. 2 seed in the 2020 NFL Playoffs but who should they want to play in the Divisional Round?
With the way that people have talked about the Green Bay Packers at times down the stretch of the regular season, you would think that Aaron Rodgers and the men from Titletown are heading into the 2020 NFL Playoffs at just barely above .500 and having lost several games at the end of the schedule. Instead, the opposite is true about the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Matt LaFleur’s Packers come into the postseason at 13-3 and having won their final five games of the regular season. Granted, their one loss prior to that winning streak was an embarrassing 37-8 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. However, this Packers club has more than proven capable of winning against any team in the league and, at times, looking dominant.
Rodgers has been fine this season, though his bouts with poor decision-making and apparent frustrations with his pass-catching weapons not named Davante Adams have been troublesome. Even still, the offense has succeeded with some playmaking from the Rodgers-Adams combo and a breakout campaign from running back Aaron Jones.
Perhaps the biggest propeller to Green Bay’s success in 2019, however, has been a much-improved defense. Mike Pettine’s aversion to stopping the run has left that as an issue but the additions of Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos have bolstered this pass defense to be an exceptionally effective and dangerous group in that regard.
Of course, the Packers are far from perfect. They have shown a worrisome tendency to take their foot off the gas or not find an extra gear. And again, Rodgers has not looked like a superstar this season while the run defense can be taken advantage of.
Thus, the Packers aren’t expected to roll through the 2020 NFL Playoffs without any trouble. Instead, there are certainly some teams they would rather play than others. They will surely be watching the Wild Card Round closely as they enjoy their first-round bye and eye who they’ll face in the Divisional Round.
As the No. 2 seed in the NFC, Green Bay won’t face the No. 6 Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round, meaning they’ll be left to play either the No. 3 New Orleans Saints, No. 4 Philadelphia Eagles or No. 5 Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field in Round 2 of the playoffs. Of those teams, who would they most like to face in that game?
Let’s figure that out by ranking the three potential Green Bay Packers opponents in the Divisional Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs from who they least want to face to who they most want to see.