The Green Bay Packers might be among the favorites to win the Super Bowl in February were it not for a rash of injuries that have sidelined key members of the roster on both sides of the football, but the most recent odds indicate the franchise still has a fighting chance.
Regardless of how Week 18 plays out, Green Bay will enter the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the NFC — in other words, the last team in. However, the Packers’ chances to make some noise and go on a run are considerably better than several teams that will begin the playoffs as higher seeds in their respective conferences.
Green Bay is plus-2200 to win the Super Bowl as of Sunday, January 4, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Those odds tie them with the Chicago Bears (No. 2 or 3 seed in NFC) and San Francisco 49ers (No. 5 or 6 seed in NFC).
The Packers are ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers (plus-2800), Pittsburgh Steelers (plus-10000), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (plus-15000) and Carolina Panthers (plus-20000). Either the Bucs or Panthers will miss out on the playoffs, while the winner will be the No. 4 seed in the conference as the champion of the NFC South Division.
Packers Will Sit Jordan Love, Malik Willis Against Vikings in Week 18
GettyQuarterback Malik Willis of the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay is locked into the No. 7 seed regardless of what happens against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, which is a primary reason the team will sit some of its top players in the interests of health and rest ahead of Super Wildcard Weekend.
Among those who will not play is quarterback Jordan Love. Love suffered a concussion late in the first half of a Week 16 loss to the Bears, which knocked him out of that game and kept him sidelined against the Baltimore Ravens last week.
Love has since cleared the NFL’s mandatory concussion protocol, but he will miss his second consecutive start before returning as QB1 for the team’s opening playoff game. Also sitting on Sunday is backup Malik Willis, who suffered a shoulder injury in Week 16 and is nursing a hamstring issue after playing exceptionally well in a loss to the Ravens at Lambeau Field eight days ago.
Third-string quarterback Clayton Tune will start for just the second time in his three-year professional career. As a result, the Packers are 12.5-point road underdogs against the Vikings this weekend.
Packers Should Pull for Bears to Defeat Lions in Final Game of Season
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Love will return to the lineup next weekend against either the Bears at Soldier Field or the Eagles in Philadelphia. Both teams are 11-5, though Chicago holds the tiebreak.
Green Bay should probably root for the Bears to win in Week 18, which guarantees them the No. 2 seed and sets up a rubber match with the Packers. Green Bay won the first contest at Lambeau Field in early December by a touchdown before letting the game in Week 16 slip away in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Meanwhile, the Packers lost to the Eagles at home in early November by a score of 10-7. Green Bay mustered just 261 total yards of offense and fumbled three times, though lost possession only once.
The Bears, like the Packers, are plus-2200 to win the Super Bowl next month. Meanwhile, the Eagles are tied with the New England Patriots with the fourth-best chance to win a title at plus-950.
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