One of three teams will be the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs by the end of next weekend: the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks or Detroit Lions.
All three teams are 8-8 entering Week 18.
Six other playoff spots have been clinched in the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants have clinched in one way or another.
The Buccaneers will be the fourth seed, either the Cowboys or Eagles will be the fifth seed, and the Giants are locked in as the sixth seed.
Winners of four straight games, the Packers now have the easiest path to clinching the final spot.
Here are the clinching scenarios (not including ties) for the No. 7 seed in the NFC:
Packers
1. Win vs. Lions
Seahawks
1. Win vs. Rams AND Packers loss to Lions
Lions
1. Win vs. Packers AND Seahawks loss to Rams
The Packers have won five of the last seven games after a 4-8 start. The Seahawks have lost three straight games and five of the last seven games after a 6-3 start. The Lions have won seven of the last nine games after a 1-6 start.
The No. 7 seed would go on the road to play the No. 2 seed in the NFC Wild Card Round. The top seed is the only seed to get a bye. A seventh seed in the playoffs was added in 2020, and both No. 7 seeds in the NFC (Bears, 2020; Eagles, 2021) have lost in the first round.
