Week 16 ends with another playoff spot secured.
The Green Bay Packers have officially clinched a postseason berth thanks to their 34-0 Monday night win over the New Orleans Saints.
It marks their second consecutive trip to the tournament, making Matt LaFleur two for two with Jordan Love as his starting quarterback and five for six since taking over as head coach in 2019.
Green Bay has yet to make a Super Bowl under LaFleur, but the Packers have reached at least the Divisional Round in each of their four previous playoff trips, including last season when Love and Co. won big on the road against the Dallas Cowboys on Super Wild Card Weekend before pushing the top-seeded 49ers to the brink in San Francisco.
"It's big time," Love said of securing a playoff spot after Monday night's win. "That's something -- obviously the goal is the Super Bowl. That's the first step right there making the playoffs. This was obviously a big-time game to clinch that spot. Proud of the way we came out here and handled business."
Despite having 11 victories, already two more than during the 2023 regular season and with a chance to match LaFleur's win total of 13 from each of his first three campaigns in charge, the Packers' playoff journey is guaranteed to again require being road warriors.
The NFC North has proven to be a slugfest. Green Bay is currently third in the division behind the 13-2 Lions and 13-2 Vikings, who are locked in a battle with the 12-3 Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC's No. 1 seed. All four of Green Bay's defeats have come versus those three teams, with a pair dropped to Detroit.
Against all others, the Packers have been flawless, exhibiting stellar balance throughout the year. Green Bay entered this week's slate of games on pace to finish with its offense and defense both ranked top 10 in scoring for the first time since the 2010 season, which culminated in the team's most recent Super Bowl victory.
Matching that result is a far way off even with a playoff trip secured.
The Packers still have divisional games on the docket against the Vikings and Bears to help decide seeding.
After that, reaching the Super Bowl will likely require taking down at least one of the squads Green Bay failed to figure out earlier this year.
