The NFL season reaches its unofficial midway point this weekend, and teams hoping to be relevant for the final two months of the regular season are seeing their margin for error shrink and shrink exponentially. No division is better -- or more competitive -- than the NFC North, where the team in last, the 5-3 Packers, would be in the playoffs if they started today. The NFC North has a legitimate shot to be the first division in the current conference alignment to put four teams in the playoffs, but given how tough the in-division games will be, none of them can afford many slip-ups outside the division.
Green Bay has done a terrific job rallying from an uninspiring 1-2 start to put themselves in a position to be relevant. But, as we'll see, that's still a precarious position. Using SportsLine's projections, we take a look at what's on the line for the five most important games of the weekend and how their results will impact the playoff picture.
ET on Fox (Stream: fubo, try for free) After unsteady starts from both teams, the Patriots and Packers would both be in the playoffs if they started today ... but only as the No. 7 seeds in their respective divisions. But the playoffs don't start today. In fact, we're only just now reaching the halfway point of the regular season.
That makes this showdown between big-play quarterbacks Jordan Love and Drake Maye a huge one. After a relatively easy stretch, the Patriots have a tough stretch -- Packers, at Lions, at Chargers, Bills, Vikings, at Chiefs -- upcoming. The Packers, meanwhile, go at Patriots, Vikings, at Rams.
One of these teams will enter the second half of the season feeling really good. ET on Fox (Stream: fubo, try for free) It's not quite an elimination game -- we're still way too early for that -- but the 4-4 Rams dropping below .500 would be a massive blow for the preseason Super Bowl favorites. Los Angeles has won two straight and should make it three in a row.
There just isn't enough room for error left for the Rams, especially when they're favored. The Commanders, meanwhile, are just kind of sticking around in the lowly NFC East. A Week 10 game against the Giants will be crucial, but if they can spring an upset before that, it'd be a nice boost for their postseason hopes.
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