NFL playoff picture: What does 49ers-Packers mean for NFC standings

The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 12 with a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff time. The matchup of long-time rivals will be FOX’s game of the week, with coverage across the entire country except the Seattle and Arizona markets.

The Packers are a 5.5-point favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, with the line moving due to some critical Niners injuries. Green Bay was a 2.5-point favorite early in the week, but the line moved three points once Kyle Shanahan confirmed the 49ers would be without quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive end Nick Bosa. The 49ers will start Brandon Allen at quarterback for this game.

San Francisco is 5-5 and tied with three other teams a game back of Arizona in the NFC West. Green Bay is 7-3 and sitting in third place, two games back of Detroit, in a competitive NFC North division. Below is a look at critical playoff implications for these two squads.

The NFC West is bunched up from top to bottom. The Cardinals are 6-4 while the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers are all 5-5. Arizona is 2-0 in divisional play, with wins at San Francisco and at home against LA. The 49ers are 1-3 with a win over the Seahawks and losses to the Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams.

The 49ers are currently in 10th place overall in the NFC standings. They’re tied with the Rams and Seahawks a game and a half behind the Commanders for the final wild card berth.

Due to tiebreakers, the 49ers need help to move ahead of the Rams or Seahawks in the standings. But a win would move the 49ers to within a game of the Packers in the wild card race with the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The NFC North has been the best division in the NFL this season. The Lions sit on top at 9-1 followed by the Vikings at 8-2, the Packers at 7-3, and the Bears at 4-6. The Packers are 1-2 in divisional play, with a win over the Bears and losses to the Lions and Vikings.

The Packers are in sixth place in the overall NFC standings. They’re a half game up on the seventh-place Commanders and a game back of the fifth-place Vikings.

It allows them to at least keep pace with the Vikings and Lions in the NFC North and wild card race. They would head into Week 13 no worse than their current sixth position.

The 2024 schedule rubric has all four teams in the NFC North facing all four teams in the NFC West. The Packers have wins over the Cardinals and Rams, with this game and their Seahawks matchup remaining. If either division tiebreaker comes down to common opponents, this will factor into the result. Additionally, the Packers are likely to be competing with the 49ers (and the rest of the NFC West) for a wild card berth, so the head-to-head tiebreaker is key.