3 Most Likely Teams to Beat the Packers in the NFL Playoffs

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are sitting pretty right now. The league's presumptive 2020 NFL MVP led his team to the No. 1 seed, securing the NFC's lone bye week. And while that top seed gives Green Bay a serious leg up, the Packers are not going to be able to coast to a Super Bowl appearance.

Here are three NFC teams that could knock off Green Bay in the NFL Playoffs.

3. Seattle Seahawks

Earlier in the year, the Packers would've been an absolutely devastating matchup for the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to Week 9, Seattle was looking like not just the worst pass defense in the league, but one of the worst units in the history of the NFL. Obviously, that's a recipe for disaster against the likes of Rodgers and Davante Adams. However, Seattle has quietly turned it around. From Week 9-16, Seattle was actually the league's third-best scoring defense. The Seahawks' pass defense is now all the way up to No. 20 by DVOA, which is only slightly below average. That's still not ideal, but it's far from the fatal flaw it once was. And with Russell Wilson throwing to the likes of Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, we know Seattle has the juice to keep pace with Rodgers' high-flying offense. This matchup is far from the cakewalk fans might've been expecting at mid-season.

2. New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are one of the most complete teams in football, so they're going to be a matchup problem for anyone. Defensively, they generate pressure at a top-four rate, so New Orleans should be able to make Rodgers uncomfortable here. The Packers are also a below-average team against the run by DVOA, suggesting Green Bay could have trouble stopping the dynamic Alvin Kamara. That could prove costly, as it would allow the Saints to control the clock and keep Rodgers off the field. The Packers did come out on top when these two met in Week 3, but a potential rematch could easily come down to the wire.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a bad matchup for Green Bay, period. That was evident when the Bucs throttled the Packers, 38-10, back in Week 6. While Packers fans may be quick to write that game off as an early-season fluke, they really shouldn't. Tom Brady was virtually unstoppable when operating from a clean pocket in 2020, finishing with more passing yards than anyone in the NFL in such situations, the second-most TDs and the sixth-best passer rating. When pressured, his passer rating drops to 54.5 (No. 21 in the NFL). That's been the book on Brady for years, but it's not something Green Bay does well. The Packers' D-Line generates pressure at the 10th-worst rate in the league. That's a serious problem. On the other side of the ball, Rodgers' two worst passing performances of the season came during the only two games in which he was sacked more than 2 times. Tampa Bay was one of those two teams, bringing him down 4 times in Week 6. And troublingly, that was with stalwart left tackle David Bakhtiari, who just tore his ACL, still in the lineup. The numbers show this game could be won in the trenches, and Tampa Bay looks to have a significant advantage in that respect.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.