The playoff seeding of the Green Bay Packers will be determined in part by the performance of Mike McCarthy team’s during the season finale.
Matt LaFleur and the Packers need McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys to knock off the Washington Commanders on Sunday to help Green Bay claim the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs.
“Hopefully, Mike (McCarthy) does us a favor,” LaFleur said Wednesday.
McCarthy coached the Packers between 2006 and 2018 and was the winning coach of Super Bowl XLV. Now, he could be approaching his final game as the Cowboys coach — and he’ll have a shot to help his former team in a big way.
The Packers, who are currently the No. 7 seed, are expecting to play all their healthy players on Sunday against the Chicago Bears despite being locked into a playoff spot.
There is a potential reward: if the Packers and Cowboys both win, the Packers will jump the Commanders and be the No. 6 seed — avoiding a trip to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Both teams kick off on Sunday at noon, so there might be some scoreboard watching in Green Bay.
Can the Cowboys pull off the upset? Two weeks ago, McCarthy’s team upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium. Over the last six games, the Cowboys are 4-2, including a win over the Commanders in Washington. Not having receiver CeeDee Lamb, who is out with a shoulder injury, will hurt the cause.
If the Packers win and Cowboys lose, the Packers will be the No. 7 seed. The Commanders hold the tiebreaker on conference record.