NFL schedule release: 10 best games of 2017
By John Buhler
8. Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
It’s the way it goes. Weird stuff always happens when the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers get together on the gridiron. The Matt Hasselbeck “We’re gonna score!” overtime pick-six in the 2004 NFC Playoffs to The Fail Mary to the on-side kick in the 2014 NFC Championship Game, it’s all there in this NFC series.
That’s because Green Bay and Seattle have been two of the better teams in the NFC this century. They’re usually playing in very important NFC games. Green Bay has won primarily with Aaron Rodgers and the passing game for the last several years. Seattle wins primarily with the vaunted Pete Carroll Cover 3 defense.
These two NFC teams met last year in Green Bay. It was cold and the home-field advantage certainly added in the Packers’ rout of the Seahawks. This was without question Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s worst game as a professional. He threw five picks, as Green Bay slaughtered Seattle, 38-10.
It’s almost guaranteed that both teams will be playing in the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs. They find ways to win on Wild Card Weekend against less experienced NFC clubs. Green Bay beat the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys last January. Seattle stomped the Detroit Lions. However, both teams would fall in the 2016 NFC Playoffs to the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle in the divisional round and Green Bay in the NFC Championship.
Expect these two teams to contend for another divisional crown this fall. Green Bay may have worthy adversaries in Detroit and Minnesota. It would be most shocking if Seattle didn’t win the putrid NFC West should win. The winner of this game between Seattle and Green Bay could represent the NFC in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis this February.