(Sportsbooks) - The stars are beginning to align for the
Green Bay Packers in their quest for postseason glory. Not only are the Pack taking care of business by winning games, they are getting some help that could go a long way.
Combined with Seattle's loss to the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday, Green Bay secured a first-round bye in the playoffs for the first time since 1997 after defeating the St. Louis Rams on the road.
The Packers then got a favor later on Sunday at Texas Stadium, as the Philadelphia Eagles stunned the Cowboys, putting Dallas and Green Bay in a tie for first overall in the division.
"Very, very important," said Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy on Sunday about getting the bye. "The win today gives us the first-round bye, and we'll be smart as we move forward with the health with our football team. We've been smart all along, starting with our training camp. We'll continue to move forward."
With a chance to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, McCarthy's club will not let up now and begin to rest certain players.
"We've got two teams that are 12-2. We're playing for home-field advantage, and that will be our focus," explained the head coach in his Monday press conference. "But with that, we have been playing pretty much almost everybody at most of our positions and we'll continue with that mindset."
The easiest way for the Pack to lock up home-field throughout the playoffs would be to win their last two games over Chicago and Detroit and have either Carolina or Washington knock off Dallas in the next two weeks.
The Packers need to finish ahead of the Cowboys to pick up the top seed, because Dallas defeated Green Bay earlier in the season. If the two clubs finish with the same record, the Cowboys would have the tie-breaker.
FAVRE SETS ANOTHER RECORD
Brett Favre is turning into the milestone man. Sunday against the Rams, the veteran wrote his name into the record books once again this season as he surpassed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the NFL's all-time record for career passing yards.
Favre came into the contest needing 184 yards to break Marino's mark of 61,361. Needing just one more yard, the veteran set the new record early in the fourth quarter after completing a seven-yard pass to Donald Driver.
"I say it every time this happens: I'm honored, but I would much rather win," said Favre after the game. "The fact that I've played in every game (since my first start) to me is probably my biggest feat. None of these individual records would have happened if it wasn't for the fact that I'd played in every game.
"To pass a guy like Dan Marino, regardless of what record it is... I've said this all along and I will continue to say this: I've never considered myself in the same league as Dan Marino, maybe the greatest passer ever. The way he did it is probably the way you would coach another guy to do it. The way I've done it, I don't know if you would coach guys to do it that way. To be mentioned in the same breath as him is quite an honor."
Earlier this season, Favre also set new league records for most career wins and most career touchdown passes. He also became the NFL's all-time leader in interceptions.
"He's a once-in-a-lifetime player," said McCarthy on Sunday. "He'll go down as one of the greatest or the greatest player in the history of the National Football League. But just the way he goes about his business I think speaks volumes about him as a person. He's a joy to coach, he's a big part of our success this year as he's been throughout his whole career, and you love to see him just keep breaking these records."
DRIVER CRUISING ON UP
Driver had five catches for 80 yards against the Rams and moved into fourth place on the franchise's all-time list for receiving yardage, moving past Boyd Dowler.
Driver also exceeded 1,000 yards on the year, and became just the third Packer with five 1,000-yard seasons, joining James Lofton and Sterling Sharpe.
For his career, Driver has 499 receptions, and with one more catch will join Sharpe and Lofton as the only Packers with 500.
BIG GAME FOR BARNETT
All this season, middle linebacker Nick Barnett has quietly anchored Green Bay's successful defense. Sunday against St. Louis, Barnett broke through and was all over the field, recording 13 tackles and two sacks.
"It felt great," Barnett said about his strong play. "We brought some pressure. The guys up front got there, and we mixed it up a little bit."
FANTASY FOCUS
Against the Rams, Greg Jennings ended with four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, his 12th of the season. His value is now ahead of Driver, who has just two touchdown grabs on the year and hasn't found the end zone since Week 3.
This makes owners of Jennings extremely happy and those with Driver a little worried in the fantasy postseason. Driver owners might want to consider plugging in another wideout with better touchdown numbers. Driver will get you some points with his receptions and yards, but his touchdown production just isn't cutting it.
UP NEXT
Needing a win to remain in the hunt for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Pack head to the Windy City to take on the Bears (5-9).
Chicago handed Green Bay its first loss of the season back in Week 5. The Bears have now won four of the last five meetings overall.
"This is a rival game," McCarthy said on Monday. "There's a lot of emotion. The importance of this game is very evident. It's probably the best rival football game in the National Football League, and we need to be 13-2 when we come back from Chicago."
Overall, the Packers are 79-88-6 against the Bears in the regular season.
