Diego (@packattacksd.bsky.social)

Forget Seeding, It's Time to Play Football It's playoff time, and your Green Bay Packers are back in the dance. Of course, what else is new? The Packers have consistently made the playoffs for the better part of the last 30 years. During that time, they've held every position from the 1 seed, achieving home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, to the 7th seed, meaning they'll be the visitors in every game regardless of who they play. But do teams really care what seed they are once the playoffs begin? Sure, seeding matters when it comes to having home-field advantage. You'd rather play at home with your home fans creating a raucous atmosphere for your opponent to endure than have to endure it yourself. But just this past week, we watched the Philadelphia Eagles prefer to rest starters, including their starting quarterback, when they had a shot at the number 2 seed. Sure, they needed Chicago to lose, which they did, but a victory would've made the Eagles the 2 seed, and unless they were facing Seattle in the NFC Championship game, they would be at home throughout the playoffs. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni stood by his decision to rest starters despite missing out on the 2 seed. He preferred to have his team well-rested and ready to go for the playoffs, rather than move up in seeding. Almost as playoff position was of no concern as long as his team was ready to go. For the third straight season, the Green Bay Packers hold the number 7 seed in the NFC playoffs. We've seen it all over social media and even in some news articles that if not for the NFL switching from 12 playoff teams to 14 in the 2020 season, the Packers would have been absent from the playoffs each year for the last four seasons. Which is true, from a certain point of view. But the Packers' playoff performance following earning the 7th seed showed they belonged in that position. In 2023, they demolished the 2-seed Dallas Cowboys and were an Anders Carlson missed FG away from at least taking the 1-seed 49ers into overtime the next game. In 2024, it's arguable that the game in Philadelphia may have gone a little differently had the Packers not lost WR Christian Watson to an ACL injury the previous week, which impacted their offense. The Packers were the bottom sixth seed in 2010 when they won Super Bowl XLV. Sometimes, all you need is a chance. It's time to go The Packers went into this season with expectations that they would compete for a Super Bowl. Those expectations skyrocketed with the addition of Micah Parsons. Since then, Micah Parsons has been lost to injury, and so have many other key players. The team is also coming off a four-game losing streak that possibly wouldn't have happened if Parsons hadn't gone down in week 15 and Jordan Love hadn't suffered a concussion in week 16. Despite these misfortunes, the Packers still showed they could compete on offense and defense. The Packers aren't the "barely made it" 7 seed team many believe them to be. This is a team still capable of playing spoiler. Environment matters. So does the bed you wake up in on game day. You can't take away from the fact that game day preparation and stadium environment can play a factor in football. In that case, having a higher seed matters. But after that, no one cares what seed you are; go play football. Chicago's defense has struggled down the stretch, and a Packers' offense with most key players well-rested and healthy should have a good chance to put up a lot of points. On the other side of the ball, Green Bay's defense has been a Jekyll and Hyde picture, sometimes completely shutting down offenses and other times getting beaten badly. The Bears' QB, Caleb Williams, has been almost the same. He struggles with consistency, but when he does find that groove, he can be very dangerous. Chicago is the 2 seed, Green Bay is the 7 seed. But none of this matters come Saturday night if the Packers can execute their game plan to perfection and pull off the victory. Filed Under: FeaturedGreg Meinholz PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE. __________________________ Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings. __________________________ NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: Green Bay PackersMatt LaFleurJordan LoveChristian WatsonCaleb Williams Like 0 points http://dlvr.it/TQCk2K