Seven stunning facts on Packers’ improbable playoff push as Aaron Rodgers and Co. try to overcome 4-8 start

There’s been no viral quote like “R.E.L.A.X.” or “run the table” from Aaron Rodgers, but here we are in Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season with the Packers on the doorstep of their best turnaround in a Rodgers’ era full of them. 

They are a half-game back of the Commanders for the final NFC playoff spot and can make the playoffs by winning out coupled with either a Commanders’ loss OR two Giants‘ losses.

These rebounds have happened so much in the last decade-plus that it almost felt inevitable for much of the year. That is, until Green Bay was 4-8 just a few weeks ago. 

Here are seven stunning facts as the Packers try to make their most improbable playoff push yet.

1. A $100 bet on a parlay for the Packers to win and the Giants, Commanders, Seahawks and Lions to all lose in Week 16 would have paid out $1,146.

Green Bay got a perfect Christmas present in Week 16 when the four teams ahead of them in the NFC wild card standings all lost on Saturday, before the Packers played the Dolphins on Sunday. As the above hypothetical parlay suggests, the odds of all five events happening together were quite unexpected.

“I’d like to be, you know, 10-5, 11-4, but considering where we were a few weeks ago, a lot of has happened in our favor,” Rodgers said. “All the games that needed to go a certain way went a certain way.”

2. The Packers had a 1% chance to make the playoffs with 4-8 record entering Week 13, according to SportsLine simulations.

That’s how low the Packers’ playoff chances were following a 40-33 loss in Philadelphia, where they allowed 363 rushing yards and fell to 4-8. Although Rodgers had run the table before, there was speculation that he would sit the rest of the season, after Jordan Love had played capably in relief of Rodgers, who left the game with a rib injury. “The pain was tough,” Rodgers said. “I couldn’t really breathe or rotate my upper body.” Not to mention that earlier in the week Rodgers revealed he’d been playing with a broken thumb since Week 5.

The fact that we are now talking about the Packers making the playoffs is stunning considering the conversation around the team a month ago. This was unequivocally Green Bay’s worst start to a season in the Rodgers’ era from a record and offensive performance standpoint. A turnaround seemed almost impossible. Now Green Bay’s playoff chances are at 32%.

3. Only two teams in NFL history have made the…