December 19, 2014
The Green Bay Packers might be playing another de facto NFC North Championship Game in Week 17. Last season Aaron Rodgers returned from a broken collarbone just in time to defeat the Chicago Bears and send the Packers into the playoffs at the NFC North winner with an 8-7-1 record. This season, the Packers will host the Detroit Lions in Week 17 at Lambeau Field. Unsurprisingly, Packers vs Bears tickets are listed at a premium on the secondary market.
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After Green Bay’s loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, the Detroit Lions took over the top spot in the division due to a head-to-head tiebreaker. Both teams have very winnable games in Week 16, which would send the two teams into the Week 17 game with 11-4 records. That would make the winner of the game the NFC North champion, which would give that team a home game in the playoffs with the added possibility of a first-round bye.
While that is the most likely scenario, there are others which would involve either the Packers or Lions losing in Week 16. The only scenario that does not make the Week 17 game for the NFC North is if the Packers lose against the Buccaneers while the Lions defeat the Bears. With any other combination of the results in Week 16, the winner of the game in Lambeau will be the winner of the division.
With Packers unlikely to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fans in Green Bay are acting as if the matchup against the Lions will be for the division. The average price for the game on the secondary market is currently $412.71, 86% above the season average for Packers tickets this year.
The two teams last met in Week 3 when the Lions won 19-7. That win puts the Lions in position to win a tiebreaker against the Packers with a win in Week 17 as head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker for a division title.
