That doesn’t appear to be the case

Insiders, as far as who is in the playoffs is concerned, it looks like the NFC depends mostly on the outcome of the Rams-49ers game, and whether the Saints can beat the Falcons. In the AFC, the wildest (plausible) ending I can picture is the Steelers winning and the Chargers-Raiders game ending in a tie. If that happens, who is in? For simplicity, you can assume the Colts beat the Jags, but for fun you can play out a win/lose/tie scenario for the Colts.

You’re right about the NFC. If the 49ers win, they’re in. If they lose and the Saints win, New Orleans gets the last spot. There are additional complications to a 49ers win, though, namely it would open up the NFC West for the Cardinals to steal the division, and the 2-5 seeding would be all up for grabs. In the AFC, I don’t normally ponder the implications of ties, but I’ll humor you. If Chargers-Raiders ends in a tie, the Chargers are in, and the Raiders also get in with a tie if the Colts lose.

Tom from West Palm Beach, FL

Anyone else get the feeling we’ll somehow end up playing the Saints in the divisional round? The past two years we’ve faced the only team that’s blown us out in the regular season, again in the playoffs. It seems like fate would have us finally avenge a blowout regular-season loss on the way to the Super Bowl.

It’s an entirely plausible scenario.

Donald from Fayetteville, NC

How crazy/unusual is it that the top seven teams in the AFC could finish within one game of each other (with five teams at 11-6 and two at 10-7)? Any slice of the range of possibilities, like 2-5 having the same record, seems wild enough on its own.

Craig from Brookfield, WI

Please help me with a list of “things to cheer for” this week. The obvious: Packers’ health, individual and team records, returns of injured All-Pros, successful time for backups, a win (sure). Cheering for the best possible SB path, which team would you least like to see in Lambeau in the playoffs and which would you most prefer the Packers to face?

I concur with your Week 18 list. As for the playoff possibilities, I don’t get too hung up on it either way, but it’s hard to even ponder until the seedings and first-round matchups are set. If the 49ers beat the Rams this week to get in, nobody will want to play them and everyone will be wondering if L.A. has cooled off. If the Rams win, they’re the No. 2 seed with a six-game winning streak and a “dangerous” stamp. So who knows? If you want some kind of framework, figure out who you think the two toughest NFC opponents are, and root for them to get the 2 and 3 seeds, because then the Packers wouldn’t have to beat both of them to get to the Super Bowl. That’s the best I can do right now.

Venny from Montgomery, AL

Cris Collinsworth mentioned how good Davante Adams was with his “late” hands. I’ve always wondered if receivers ever used fake hands in an attempt to get a DB to jump on a route.

DeAndre Hopkins did something like that against Stokes on that deep ball in Arizona. Super-savvy veteran move.

Paul from Los Angeles, CA

The lack of penalties against the Packers is an underrated aspect of the Vikings game I think. A very clean and disciplined game always seems to bode well.

There were only six flags the entire game – four on Minnesota (one declined), two on Green Bay (one declined). Though I don’t believe the flag for punt-catch interference should have been picked up, overall, it was incredibly refreshing.

Like my II friends, I felt that David Moore passed the eye test with flying colors. But I also saw a scheme change on punt returns. A number of times Vikings gunners were double-covered, giving Moore room to run. Was this a new wrinkle? Does double-covering the gunners leave the defense more vulnerable to a fake punt?

It does, because you only have six players to defend the middle against eight opponents on the punt team (11 minus the punter and gunners). Doubling the gunners is a decision often based on yards to go and field position.

David Moore’s 21-yard punt return isn’t just the longest punt return for the Packers this season; it’s the longest punt return that they’ve had since Jaire Alexander returned one for 24 yards back in Week 13 of 2018! I’m not sure it’s possible to overemphasize how dismal our punt return game has been. The question is, can we now start making returns like this a more common occurrence? 21 yards shouldn’t be enough to get any fanbase’s hype train started, but here we are.