GREEN BAY – It might be laying it on a bit thick to call a possible Green Bay Packers victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday a Christmas miracle, but it would certainly be better than coal in the stocking.
The Packers, who defeated the undermanned Los Angeles Rams 24-12 Monday night at Lambeau Field, must win their final three games — first at Miami, followed by home games against Minnesota and Detroit ― even to be in the running for a wild card playoff berth. All three of those teams have playoff aspirations of their own.
According to the New York Times’ playoff calculator, as a result of this weekend’s games, the Packers’ chance of making the playoffs improved from 6% to 8%. It would have improved more had the Lions lost, but losses by Seattle, Carolina and Washington certainly moved the needle in the right direction.
This week, Packers fans will want to root for Carolina over Detroit, Kansas City over Seattle and San Francisco over Washington. If that happens, their playoff chance goes to 27%. And even if the Lions win, they’ll still be at 25%. Of course, if the Packers lose, it’s time to make alternate plans for January and February, and start developing those mock drafts.
The average lowest price, determined by checking 10 secondary market sites, for the Christmas Day game was $159 on Monday, down from $167 last week.
The Dolphins are 8-6, having lost to San Francisco, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Buffalo Bills their last three games. But the loss to the Super Bowl contender Bills, in the snow in Buffalo, was on a last-play field goal.
“Yeah, this one is really important,” Aaron Rodgers said of playing the Dolphins after Monday night’s game. “This one is on the road. They obviously have a really high-powered offense. They’ve been a little up and down the last few weeks, so maybe we’re catching them at a good time. We’ll see.”
More:Packers not ready to relinquish hope of a miraculous run to playoffs after dominating Rams
More:Dougherty: Win over depleted Rams sets up the Packers for a pivotal game at Miami this week
The game against the Vikings is on New Year’s Day at 3:25 pm, which at least gives revelers time to recover from New Year’s Eve partying, if, indeed, they go to bed at all. The bracing cold at Lambeau Field would be no doubt cure a few hangovers.
The average lowest price was $134 Monday, down from $142 a week ago. The Vikings, who engineered a record-setting comeback from 33 points down to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, have clinched the NFC North title and thus a spot in the playoffs. They are one game ahead of San Francisco and Dallas for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, so this game might still have meaning to the Vikings.
While ticket prices for the Miami and Minnesota games have decreased within the normal range as games near, the lowest average get-in price for the Lions game went up $14 to $64. The Lions notched an exciting 20-17 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. The 7-7 Lions are one of the NFL’s hottest teams, going 6-1 since defeating the Packers 15-9 on Nov. 6.
Those tickets would probably be more expensive except that no one knows when the game will be played. The NFL left the entire week 18 schedule open, with games to be played on Saturday and Sunday at times to be announced after the New Year’s Day games. That makes it particularly hard for ticket sellers and buyers to get together, especially for last-minute purchases.
Two games will be played on Saturday at 3:30 pm and 7:15 pm, with the remainder to be played on Sunday at noon, 3:25 pm and 7:20 pm
The NFL wants to schedule the most critical games in the best time slots. That might make fans happy; it will make television networks happy. If the Lions and Packers are each vying for that last playoff spot, don’t be surprised if this becomes the Sunday night game, given the Packers’ normally high television ratings.
Ticket prices
The following are secondary market ticket prices as of Monday.
For our look at Packers’ tickets prices, we averaged the lowest ticket prices at 10 secondary market websites: Event USA, Gametime, Green Bay Ticket Service, SeatGeek, StubHub, TicketIQ, Ticketmaster, TickPick, Ticket King and Vivid Seats.
Note that ticket marketplaces can add fees on top of listed prices, so actual costs might be higher.
Some websites offer standing room only tickets for Packers home games. The Packers have designated these tickets as “not available for resale,” so buyers proceed at their own risk. If the ticket does not scan as valid, fans won’t be admitted to the stadium, and their recourse for a refund is to contact the seller of the ticket.
Dec 25, noon, Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, Fox
- Face price range: N/A
- Average lowest cost seats: $159
- Range of lowest-cost seats: $122-$194
Jan 1, 3:25 pm, Minnesota Vikings, Lambeau Field, CBS
- Face price range: $123-$156
- Average lowest cost seats: $134
- Range of lowest-cost seats: $113-$169
Jan 7 or Jan 8, time to be determined, Detroit Lions, Lambeau Field, network to be determined
- Face price range: $123-$156
- Average lowest cost seats: $64
- Range of lowest-cost seats: $50-$104
Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
Comments are closed.