Two of the best teams in the NFC will square off on "Sunday Night Football" as the Green Bay Packers travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks.
Green Bay, winners in three of the last four, will look to bounce back from a brutal 34-31 loss to the Detroit Lions last weekend. The Packers are the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Seattle is one of the hottest teams in the league, with four straight victories. The Seahawks are the No. 3 team in the conference and need a victory to extend their lead in the NFC West.
Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Date: Sunday, Dec. 15
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lumen Field, Seattle
How to watch: NBC or stream on Peacock
Playoff preview
There is no doubt both teams want to win tonight in prime time. But how motivated will they be to show much of their hand? If the season ended today, Seattle (8-5) would be the NFC’s No. 3 seed and host sixth-seeded Green Bay (9-4) in a wild-card game, which makes tonight’s matchup a chess match between coaches.
Green Bay is third in its own division, the ultra-difficult NFC North, yet still has a cushion to earn a playoff spot. It entered this weekend with a two-game lead over the Rams, and also holds the tiebreaker on L.A.
Seattle, meanwhile, leads an NFC West where only two games separate the first from worst. All four teams in the division have at least six wins; no other division can boast that.
Mismatch on the edge?
The Packers will attempt to contain one of the league’s deeper wide receiver corps tonight without two starters in their defensive backfield.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander, who hasn’t played since Nov. 17 while recovering from a knee injury, practiced this week but was ruled out, anyway. Nickelback Javon Bullard also won’t play as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. In good news for the Packers, safety Evan Williams will be able to play after coming back from the league’s concussion protocol.
Seattle has thrown for 3,509 yards this season, second-most in the league, though their quarterback rating ranks only in the middle of the league. Geno Smith is throwing to three dangerous targets in Jaxon Smith-Njigba (911 yards, five touchdowns), D.K. Metcalf (812 yards, three touchdowns) and Tyler Lockett (511 yards, two touchdowns).
Gone streaking
Seattle is the only team with a first-year head coach with a winning record this season. The Seahawks have done it by being the league’s streakiest squad. They started 3-0, lost five of their next six, and have since won four consecutive.
Tonight, Seattle will attempt to win five straight games for the first time since 2020.
Green Bay trying for a rare win in Seattle
Green Bay last won in Seattle in 2008, so long ago that Aaron Rodgers was a first-year starter at the time. The Packers are 0-4 in the Pacific Northwest ever since, including such memorable games as the 2012 “Fail Mary,” and an NFC title-game loss two years later. For what it’s worth Green Bay has not played in Seattle under coach Matt LaFleur.
Tough to stop
Green Bay has scored at least 30 points in three consecutive games. Quarterback Jordan Love and running back Josh Jacobs (1,053 rushing yards, third in the NFL) force defenses to respect the line of scrimmage while also worrying about being beaten over the top by the pass. And they’ve made it difficult to know which receiver to prioritize in pass defense. Four different Packers receivers have 450-plus yards this season, which ties for the most in the league with Atlanta and Miami.
That diversified attack is working: So far, the Packers rank seventh in scoring offense, averaging 26.8 points per game. Green Bay is 7-1 this season when Jacobs gets at least 18 carries, with the only loss last week.