These are the Packers' best paths to Super Bowl LX (and they're not easy)

No matter how things break, the Packers face an uphill battle to reach Super Bowl LX. Still, some playoff scenarios offer more challenges than others.

The Green Bay Packers will play postseason football for the third straight year. They had their ticket punched on Thursday courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings, who, despite starting Max Brosmer under center, took the Detroit Lions to the woodshed. That game eliminated Detroit from the playoffs, leaving only the NFC South and its automatic qualification up for grabs in the conference.

Heading into the weekend, the Packers have a variety of playoff scenarios available. Though they can no longer compete for the NFC’s top seed and the accompanying first-round bye, they could still host a home playoff game as the second or third seed. Green Bay could alternatively land in the No. 6 or No. 7 spot and open the postseason on the road.

But the Packers’ seeding only dictates part of the outcome. As it stands, they could draw any of the five other NFC teams that have already clinched during wild-card weekend. Only the NFC South winner couldn’t plausibly end up in a matchup with Green Bay in the opening round.

Barring an unforeseeable event like an opponent’s starting quarterback going down or an injury of comparable magnitude, the Packers won’t play any pushovers in the playoffs. This field won’t feature any teams like, say, the Ryan Lindley-helmed 2014 Arizona Cardinals. And with Green Bay heading into the playoffs without Tucker Kraft, Micah Parsons, Devonte Wyatt, and a handful of other starters and key contributors, the margin for error has shrunk to almost zero.

Accordingly, the Packers in their current state might not have a realistic chance to reach Super Bowl LX. If they do, the path there will probably look like one of the following.