It’s hard to believe the Green Bay Packers are the third-best team in their own division.
The Packers are 10-4 and each of their losses have come against an elite team. And on Sunday night they looked like one of the best teams in football, even if their ceiling is probably the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Packers throttled a Seattle Seahawks team that had taken over first place in the NFC West after a hot streak, winning 30-13 on Sunday night. The Seahawks lost Geno Smith to a knee injury in the second half, but they were getting blown out before that injury occurred. Seattle wasn’t in the same league as Green Bay on either side of the ball.
The Packers have the bad luck of being in the NFC North with the 12-2 Detroit Lions and the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings, who play on Monday night. They’d run away with a few other divisions. Based on what we saw Sunday night, the NFC West is likely one of them.
Seattle is not an easy place to play. Especially with the Seahawks coming in with a four-game winning streak since their bye.
The Packers were unfazed. They weren’t perfect in the first half, but they scored on all four first-half possessions. Josh Jacobs scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on Green Bay’s first drive, then Romeo Doubs caught a 13-yard touchdown to push the lead to 14-0. The Packers got two more field goals before the end of the half. They led 20-0 at halftime.
The defense was just as good. The Packers put a lot of pressure on Smith. Corey Valentine almost picked off Smith deep in Packers territory, then on the next play Smith threw one up wildly to the end zone and Valentine picked him off. That came with the Seahawks trailing 17-3 and killed any momentum they might have been gaining.
Seattle had played well to rally and take over first place of the NFC West. Then, at home in prime time, the Seahawks looked like they belonged on a much lower tier than the Packers.
The Seahawks had to turn to Sam Howell at quarterback in the second half. Smith injured his knee when he landed on a hit. He slammed his helmet in frustration as he came out of the game, then slowly walked back to the locker room to get further evaluation.
Geno Smith suffered a knee injury against the Packers and is questionable to return. pic.twitter.com/yapvg14e9u
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 16, 2024
Howell is a mistake-prone quarterback but he can make plays. He led a scoring drive that ended with a Zach Charbonnet 24-yard touchdown run, which cut Green Bay’s lead to 23-13. The Seahawks got a three-and-out after that, but after they got the ball back they made the questionable decision to punt on fourth-and-5, which made it very tough for them to get back in the game.
Seattle got a stop on fourth-and-2 later in the fourth quarter but Howell threw an interception right after that, which practically sealed the Packers’ win. Doubs’ second touchdown of the game a few plays later, a fantastic catch in the end zone right before the ball hit the ground, put the final nail in it.
The Packers will be a dangerous team in the playoffs. Jordan Love is getting healthier and playing well. Jacobs has given them a dangerous run game. The defense is capable of playing at a high level. It might be one of the best third-place teams the NFL has ever seen.
Geno Smith was just spotted walking to the locker room, and the Seahawks are calling him questionable with a knee injury.
For more on Geno Smith's injury, click here.
.@Seahawks injury update: QB Geno Smith is Questionable (knee).
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) December 16, 2024
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