Aaron Rodgers: Packers Can Still Make Playoffs with 'Some Help from Some Teams'

Aaron Rodgers isn't giving up on the Green Bay Packers' playoff hopes just yet.

Rodgers acknowledged the odds aren't in their favor but said the Packers can still make the postseason if they win out and get "a little help" following Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. 

"You can crunch the numbers there," Rodgers told reporters. "I can tell you 8-7-1 won't get in, though. I don't think.

"We are where we're at right now record-wise. We're going to need some help from some teams and then we've got to take care of our own business, you know? We're going to have to find a way to win a game on the road.

"We're 0-6 on the road. So we just got to go back home, get some rest, beat Arizona ... and then come back and beat Atlanta ... then go to Chicago, a place we've won a number of times, beat them ... go to New York around Christmas, beat them ... and then come home against Detroit, beat them. Get a little help."

Green Bay is 4-6-1 following its 24-17 loss in Minnesota. Rodgers threw for a season-low 198 yards and one touchdown while also missing on a pair of critical throws late in the game.

The Packers are three games behind the division-leading Chicago Bears in the loss column. They are one loss behind a group of three teams (Washington, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers) now vying for the sixth playoff spot. The Philadelphia Eagles and Packers both have six losses, but Philly has a half-game advantage due to the Packers' tie.

That tie could become a critical swing down the stretch if the Packers win out. A 9-6-1 Green Bay team probably gets into the postseason. None of the teams ahead of them seem particularly likely to finish 4-1; Washington and Carolina are carrying losing streaks that have them going backwards, while Seattle has games against the Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs remaining. 

However, one loss and the Packers can write their season off. One of these teams is getting to 9-7. An 8-7-1 record is a virtual death sentence to the Packers' hopes, a fact Rodgers acknowledged after the game.

"We'll see what we're made of the last five weeks," Rodgers said. "Are we going to stick together in these tough times, or are we going to start splintering? I'd like to think the leadership is in place that we can stick together through whatever happens, but these five weeks will show it."

The Packers have not missed the postseason in consecutive years since Rodgers became the team's starter.