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These are the times the Packers playoff situation came down to the regular-season
Green Bay Packers fans don’t have to go back far to recall the last time the regular-season finale carried big-time postseason weight: the 2022 Packers also brought an 8-8 record home to Lambeau Field for a battle with Detroit, knowing a win would get Green Bay into the playoffs. Instead, Aaron Rodgers’ last game was a dud, a 20-16 loss that kept the Packers home for the winter.
Will another home game against a different divisional foe produce a similar outcome in the 2023 season? The Packers will find out when they face the Bears on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the times when the regular-season finale had postseason implications, for better or worse. (Note: the year indicated for each entry refers to the season in question, not necessarily the date of the game).
With a playoff berth in the balance for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers threw for only 205 yards, with a touchdown and interception, to cap a disappointing final season at the end of his remarkable Packers tenure. The Lions, also in the playoff hunt when the day began, ultimately didn’t get the breaks to earn a playoff spot. But they did get a springboard into an excellent 2023 season, and numerous Lions fans made the trip to Green Bay to soak it in.
The Packers had no trouble securing the top seed in the NFC playoffs, finishing 13-3 with a very different Rodgers performance. The quarterback completed 19 of 24 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns, the final touch on his renaissance MVP season, playing before empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau to reach the NFC title game, but Tampa Bay came to Green Bay and won 31-26 en route to the Super Bowl title, leaving the Packers one step short of the championship game.
The Packers had clinched the division the week before and just needed one last win against a 3-win Lions team in Detroit to get a first-round playoff bye, but Green Bay had to earn it. Mason Crosby kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to help the Packers rally from a 20-13 fourth-quarter deficit.