Thanks to a 37-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers have clinched the top seed in the NFC and will not leave Lambeau Field again until Super Bowl 56 if Aaron Rodgers & Co. get that far. And speaking of Rodgers, there's likely little chance that he or several other starters see the field Sunday in a meaningless game in Detroit. No odds have been posted on that game as sportsbooks try and determine a reasonable number and get a feel for what Green Bay might do.
On the Week 18 lookahead lines posted last week, the Packers were 11-point favorites but that's not happening now. In fact, I would expect Detroit to be a home favorite as the Lions continue to play hard for Coach Dan Campbell. If the Lions do win, they will not pick first overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. The only way they would is with a loss and Jacksonville win as a 16-point home underdog vs. Indianapolis. Detroit won't pick lower than No. 2.
Getting a couple of weeks off could be great for Rodgers as he has been dealing with a broken toe for several weeks and rarely practices. Rodgers told reporters following Sunday night's win that he does expect to play against Detroit – sorry, not buying it – and that the toe didn't bother him vs. Minnesota.
"This is the first game that my toe got through the game without any issues, no pregame painkiller shot, so I'm feeling good," Rodgers said, via the team's official transcript. "I'm happy about it. There was definitely a time a few weeks ago when we started to project and think if we could get the one seed, it could be two-plus weeks of rest, but I'm going to play next week and I expect Davante (Adams) to play and our guys to play, so we're looking forward to finishing off the season on a high note and then getting the bye."
Coach Matt LaFleur hinted that his key guys might play a little because he doesn't want them going without game action until Jan. 22 or 23 in the divisional round: "That does seem like a long time off … If you ask me right now, my gut is these guys are going to play at least a little bit."
Rodgers is going to be on the Monday night ManningCast for Browns-Steelers, and every active NFL player who has appeared on that show this year has seen his team lose its next game. Four of those were quarterbacks: Russell Wilson in Week 1 (Seattle lost to Tennessee in Week 2); Matthew Stafford in Week 3 (LA Rams lost Week 4 vs. Arizona); Tom Brady in Week 7 (Tampa Bay lost Week 8 in New Orleans); and Josh Allen in Week 8 (Buffalo lost Week 9 to Jacksonville in one of the upsets of the season). Rodgers will be the first active player as a guest on the ManningCast since Allen.
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