Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers don’t want to wait as long as they did last season to secure a playoff spot.
The Packers (10-4) have played well enough that with some help, they could make it to the playoffs on Sunday. If that doesn’t happen, the Packers can still clinch a playoff spot by defeating the injury-hit New Orleans Saints (5-9) on Monday night at Lambeau Field.
Last year, the Packers made it to the playoffs only after beating the Chicago Bears in the final game of the regular season.
“It definitely is a better position than having to try and win every game and fight for that last position not knowing what might happen,” Love said. “I think we did a better job this season winning some games early on and putting ourselves in a better position.”
The Packers have won eight of their last 10 games, with the only two losses in that stretch coming against the Detroit Lions. Green Bay still trails Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North.
If the Atlanta Falcons lose or tie and either the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks also lose or tie, the Packers would secure a playoff spot before Monday night’s game. The Falcons are playing the New York Giants, the Rams are playing the New York Jets, and the Seahawks are hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
New Orleans’ slim chances of making the playoffs could be gone before Monday’s game begins. The Saints can only make it to the postseason if they win all three of their remaining games while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Falcons lose their final three games. Tampa Bay is playing Dallas on Sunday night.
The Saints might have to play without their starting quarterback Derek Carr and five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara.
Carr has an injury to his left (non-throwing) hand that kept him out of the Saints’ last game — a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders. However, Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi hasn’t ruled him out for Monday. Kamara left the game against the Commanders with a groin injury, which is expected to keep him out of this game.
If Carr can’t play, the Saints would turn to Spencer Rattler, who came off the bench and led four straight scoring drives in the loss to the Commanders.
“We have the players that we have,” Rizzi said. “Everybody across the league right now is dealing with injuries, some more than others. I think the best teams in the league are the teams that are able to overcome those, regardless of the position. That’s really how we’ve been approaching it.”
