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The Packers Have Plenty of Playoff-Like Matchups Ahead

Originally posted on PackersTalk.com | By Jack Kurz | Last updated Dec 11, 2025 1:11 PM ET

The second half of the Packers 2025 season is full of playoff caliber teams. Green Bay’s last two games alone, the Bears and the Lions, are two teams that have a chance to make the playoffs. Detroit and Chicago are the two teams the Packers are competing with for the NFC North as well. Green Bay’s three next games feature teams that are fighting for a playoff spot, the Broncos, the Bears, and the Ravens. These games are valuable experiences for the Packers and an indicator of where the Packers stand amongst other playoff teams.

Dating back to Week 8, the Packers played the AFC North leading Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers, who are tied for first in the NFC South, the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions, who are alive in the NFC North race, the second place NFC North Chicago Bears, the AFC leading Denver Broncos, the Bears again, and then the second place AFC North Baltimore Ravens. The point is the Packers are battle tested and will continue to gain valuable experience over their next three games.

The Packers are certainly a contender but their next two games will be awfully telling. The Packers have two difficult road games ahead of them, the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears. If the Packers can defeat the current AFC 1 Seed on the road, it certainly is a confidence booster and sends a message to the rest of the NFL. Then, if Green Bay goes into Chicago and sweeps the Bears in Week 16, the goal of winning the NFC North becomes extremely realistic.

The Packers Will Be Battle Tested

The Green Bay Packers have won four straight games and three straight critical divisional games. With the amount of playoff hopeful teams that Green Bay has faced and will face over the next three weeks, will help the Packers become battle tested for playoff football, assuming they get in. Games like these call for teams to make big plays in big moments. The Packers have shown that they can answer the bell.

The victories over both the Lions and the Bears required the Packers to make two critical 4th down plays. There is little reason to think that the Broncos game and the rematch with the Bears will have different end-of-game scenarios. It is reassuring to see the Packers find ways to execute in crucial moments. Last season was full of moments that seemed to be too big for this team and ultimately, the Packers could not beat teams who made the playoffs.

In the 2023 Divisional Round, Love and the Packers had the ball, down 3, and did not score. The benefit of that moment, their struggles against top tier teams in 2024, and this stretch of playoff caliber teams in 2025, is it provides valuable lessons that the youngest team in the NFL can learn from. So far, the Packers are showing a strong ability to handle the moment and execute when they absolutely have to. The next few weeks will be interesting to see if that continues and if so, it has to be a sign of hope that the Packers have grown up and know how to execute in the most crucial moments.

This article first appeared on PackersTalk.com and was syndicated with permission.

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