The playoff push is on in the NFL and in the NFC the race for the final two wild card spots is heating up. The San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys all have a firm grasp on a spot in the postseason, leaving the NFC South and the final two wild card spots still up for grabs. These three spots are currently all held by teams with 6-6 records - the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are right on their heels with identical records, meaning those wild card spots are far from decided.
With so many 6-6 teams, including the hometown Packers, primed to make a playoff run, BetWisconsin - your home for the latest Wisconsin sports betting news - was curious to see how often teams with 6-6 records 12 games into the season had made the playoffs and if they found any playoff success. We decided to utilize ChampsorChumps.us to see how all 50 6-6 teams over the past 10 years ended their season.
Season Performance of Teams Starting 6-6
Packers Have Decent Shot at Postseason
As the chart shows, 38% of 6-6 teams have made the playoffs in the past five years, with a select few of them making it past the Wild Card round and two teams have gone from having a 6-6 record to winning the divisional round. Packers fans will be hoping that Jordan Love can keep up his recent strong play and turn the Packers playoff chances into reality.
The Packers' slow start combined with the Lions strong one means that the NFC North division title is out of reach. Unless you reside in the lowly NFC South, a 6-6 record is rarely one that will challenge for a division title. However, a statement win over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs got the team back to .500 and with one of the easier schedules in the league to finish the season the expectations in Green Bay have been raised and a Wild Card spot is now more likely than not.
The main reason for this young squad’s progression has to be Love. His performance against the Chiefs was his best of the season: He threw for three touchdowns and 267 yards, a week after putting up an almost identical stat line against the Lions in another win. After his tough start to the season, these performances suggest he is growing more comfortable in his role as the starting quarterback and he should be more than capable of guiding this team into the playoffs.
There is a lot of time left in the season and the Packers have proven themselves to be quite unpredictable thus far, meaning no outcome is certain for this 6-6 squad. History has proven that they are more likely to miss the playoffs than make them, but with so many 6-6 teams surrounding them in the standings and a favorable schedule, Green Bay should be able to put themselves on the right side of the playoff picture.
