It All Comes Down To Character

The 2016 NFL regular season ends Sunday January 1, 2017 with a battle between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, two of the oldest NFL franchises, with the NFC North Division title on the line and possibly a playoff berth also on the line on Sunday Night Football.

The scenario is this. If the Packers win or tie the Packers win the North and hosts the New York Giants next week on Wildcard Weekend. If the Packers lose at Ford Field the Packers end up with a 9-7 record and would need help of the Giants to make the playoffs.

The Giants play the Washington Redskins on the road at 3:25 p.m. and that game has major implications. If the Giants win both the Packers and the Lions make the playoffs with only the seed yet to be determined.

The Current State of the Packers

The Packers have hit their rightful level I'm afraid. They have lost 3 in a row and 4 of their last five to fall under .500 (4-5) for the first time this late in the season since 2008.

 

While the offense hasn't been up to the lofty standards of the Aaron Rodgers era it has seemed to found some sort of productiveness averaging 27.25 point a game over the last 4 games after averaging 22.8 the first 5 games.

 

The ironic part of the offensive explosion is the Packers only score major points in 1 of the 4 quarters during a game - the 2nd quarter - where the Packers have scored 80 points compared to 60 in the 4th, 58 in the 1st and a measly 25 in 3rd quarter.

 

There's No More Time to Wait

The Scene of a Crime or a Resurgence?

The playoffs are here and so are the Packers for the seventh season in a row, but this is not your father's Green Bay Packers playing today and not even your cousin's Packers of last season.

The Packers limp in with a myriad of problems, mainly on the offense, while the Washington Redskins, perennial sad sacks of the league, as the hot team, especially at home, and in most cases the favorite. The final word on predictions by NFL.com has the Redskins winning 27-17.

Another NFL.com predictor has the Packers winning if certain stars align and the world is not topsy-turvy. But the world is topsy-turvy with Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, of all people, having a better season than the best quarterback in the NFL Aaron Rodgers. More this prediction at the end.