Thursday night’s matchup between the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers and the playoff-hopeful Seattle Seahawks is a big one in terms of the postseason chances of the Green Bay Packers.
And Matt LaFleur’s team should be big fans of the 49ers – who beat the Packers in the postseason during two of the last three years – to open Week 15.
Even Aaron Rodgers knows the Packers need the 49ers to win on Thursday night.
“We’re going to be tuning in Thursday and rooting for one team that we don’t usually root for,” Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
The Seahawks, at 7-6, sit above the Packers in the race for a wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs.
According to FiveThirtyEight, a win by the Seahawks over the 49ers would immediately cut the Packers’ playoff hopes to around four percent.
However, a loss by the Seahawks combined with a Packers win over the Rams on Monday night would push Green Bay’s chances to up over 10 percent.
Why is this Thursday night game so important?
The Packers need to pass two of the Seahawks, New York Giants and Washington Commanders over the next four weeks in order to make the postseason.
The Seahawks have to play the 49ers, Chiefs, Jets and Rams over the final four weeks, presenting the possibility of a big slide from Seattle to end the 2022 season. Pete Carroll’s team lost to the Carolina Panthers last week and is no longer ranked in the top seven teams in the NFC entering Week 15.
The Giants and Commanders play each other in Week 15, so the Packers can’t get much help from that game.
“We need some help from some teams, and need to win out,” Rodgers said. “But there’s a lot that can change in a week, and if the momentum can start to go in our favor and we can stack a couple of these in a row, you never know what can happen, and that’s exciting.”
