Why Packers Fans Should Be Rooting for the Detroit Lions This Weekend

The Green Bay Packers are privileged to be watching football on the first weekend of the playoffs instead of playing in them. After beating the Detroit Lions 30-20 in Lambeau Field last weekend, the team clinched the NFC North divisional title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

As the second seed, the Packers will play the highest remaining seed in the playoffs after Wild Card Weekend, with the lowest seed visiting the Seattle Seahawks. After the two squads on bye, the NFC is ranked as so:

• No. 3 seed Dallas Cowboys
• No. 4 seed Carolina Panthers
• No. 5 seed Arizona Cardinals 
• No. 6 seed Detroit Lions

Since the Lions are the lowest seed possible, there's no way for the Packers to face them in the divisional round. Should they beat the Cowboys, they'll be heading to Seattle. On the flip side, if Dallas beats Detroit, the Cowboys go to Green Bay in the divisional round.

So, the three teams the Packers could possibly face in the second round are Dallas—should they beat Detroit—or the winner of Arizona and Carolina—should Detroit beat Dallas.

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

Out of those three potential squads, one would assume Green Bay would like to play the Cowboys the least.

The Packers' weakness this season has been stopping the run. They ranked 15th in yards per carry in 2014. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the team has a cumulative grade of 28th in run defense for the season, putting them in the bottom five of the league.

That is one reason Dallas is the worst matchup for Green Bay. Per Pro Football Focus, the Cowboys have the second-best ground game in the NFL, behind only the Seahawks, who the Packers lost to 36-16 to kick off the season. This reflects on the stat sheet too, as they finished 2014 as the third-best team in yards per carry.

Not only can the Cowboys control the game on the ground, but they can also attack through the air. Lead by Tony Romo, Dallas is the only team with a higher passer rating than Aaron Rodgers' Packers in 2014.

The Dallas defense is also fairly improved under the coaching of Rod Marinelli. To close the year, they were 13th in opposing passer rating.

As mentioned previously, if Green Bay doesn't match up against Dallas, it comes down to the winner of the Arizona and Carolina contest. Neither of those teams have had a great 2014, but they are nearly opposites as far as late-season trends are concerned.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The Cardinals are now on their third quarterback, Ryan Lindley, after Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton both finished the regular season inactive due to injuries. At one point, Logan Thomas, a rookie third-day selection in the 2014 draft, was slated to start for the team. After starting 9-1, the team has gone 2-4 in the last six weeks.

The largest concern for Arizona is their offense, which has put up efforts of 14, 3, 18, 17, 12, 6 and 17 points, respectively, over the last seven weeks. To put those numbers into perspective, the average of 12.4 points per game over the stretch is nearly a third of Green Bay's 30.4 season average.

At 25th in passer rating and last in the league in yards per carry, the Cardinals offense just can't get anything going. Their saving grace is their defense, which is 11th in the NFL in opposing passer efficiency, but poor on the ground, ranking 26th in opposing yards per carry.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

At one point, the Carolina Panthers went 10 weeks while recording only one win. It's amazing they're still in the Super Bowl hunt. With quarterback Cam Newton facing on-field and off-field injuries, he hasn't been himself for most of the season. The team, though, has performed well in recent weeks, going 4-0 in December and finally look like a playoff squad.

Entering the postseason with a losing record of 7-8-1, the Panthers, like the Cowboys and unlike the Cardinals, can move the ball on the ground. They ended 2014 as the 13th-most efficient run game when measured by yards per carry.

So, while Carolina is a run threat, they still aren't as big of a danger as Dallas is. Not only that, but they don't match up in the other aspects of their game. In passer rating, they're 19th; in opposing passer rating, they're 17th; and in opposing yards per carry, they're 27th.

Overall, neither of the Saturday afternoon teams pose as great of dangers to to the Packers advancing to the NFC Championship Game as the Cowboys do. For that reason alone, it would be in the best interest for Green Bay if the Detroit Lions won on Sunday afternoon.

It may be hard for Packers fans to wrap their heads around rooting for a division rival, especially one who was their largest obstacle just last week. This weekend, Cheeseheads should be donning blue and silver. Just make sure to avoid stepping on valuables.