The NFC playoff race continues to heat up as the Green Bay Packers (9-4) and Seattle Seahawks (8-5) meet in a critical “Sunday Night Football” matchup.
The Seahawks sit atop the NFC West entering Week 15, but the Los Angeles Rams are hot on their feathered tails after a “TNF” win over the 49ers. Given the tiebreaker situation in the division, Seattle needs every win it can get if it wants to emerge atop the heap in the NFC West.
That starts with a win over the Packers on “SNF.” Green Bay is looking to bounce back after a 34-31 shootout loss to the Lions in Week 14.
The Pack finds itself in the midst of a great season, but that doesn’t much matter in the NFC North in 2024. Green Bay has just two losses since the calendar has flipped to October, and both came at the hands of Detroit.
With two of the better teams in football (the Lions and Vikings) ahead of them in the standings, the Packers’ best hope to make the playoffs will be a wild-card spot. A win against the Seahawks, a team that may be vying for space in that same wild-card playoff picture, will go a long way.
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USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the very consequential “Sunday Night Football” tilt between the Packers and Seahawks below.
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Olu Oluwatimi was absent from Seattle’s offensive line to start its second drive of the second quarter, and the team designated him as doubtful with a knee injury.
Undrafted free agent rookie Jalen Sundell is in for the Seahawks at center.
Green Bay was unable to score a touchdown for a third straight drive, so it settles for a 39-yard field goal.
Brandon McManus nailed his first field goal attempt on Sunday night to give the Packers a 17-3 lead with 9:21 left in the half.
The Packers’ offense continues to dominate on the road. Their latest explosive play was a 36-yard heave from Jordan Love that Christian Watson pulled in with a toe drag to stay in bounds. Green Bay is in the red zone with under 10 minutes to play.
A couple of negative plays well inside Packers territory halted the Seahawks’ drive on Green Bay’s 30. Jason Myers knocked through his first field goal attempt of the night from 48 yards out to put Seattle on the board.
It’s now 14-3 Packers with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.
The first 15 minutes of the game were all Green Bay. More specifically, they were all Josh Jacobs.
Green Bay’s running back has 84 total yards — 46 rushing, 38 receiving — and a touchdown through his team’s first two possessions.
Seattle starts the second quarter with the ball on the Packers’ 32-yard line.
Romeo Doubs caught a pass from quarterback Jordan Love on the 6-yard line before he was nearly immediately wrapped up. However, the third-year receiver kept his legs moving and pulled two Seahawks defenders with him for the score.
The touchdown was the end of an 80-yard drive that included 40 more yards from scrimmage from running back Josh Jacobs. He’s up to 84 all-purpose yards in the game.
It’s 14-0 Packers with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper limited Seattle’s first offensive drive to four plays when he sacked quarterback Geno Smith for a 9-yard loss on third-and-4.
The Packers take back possession on their own 20-yard line with 6:43 left in the first quarter.
Josh Jacobs’ 1-yard rush put Green Bay on the board to cap off a 63-yard drive to open the game. The running back was responsible for 44 of the Packers’ 48 total yards on the drive — the remaining 15 coming on an unnecessary roughness penalty — on nine touches.
It’s 7-0 Packers with 9:19 to go in the first quarter.
The Packers and Seahawks are scheduled to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT), the customary start time for “Sunday Night Football.”
NBC is the broadcast home to the Seahawks vs. Packers “SNF” matchup. Mike Tirico will be on the play-by-play call, flanked by color commentator Cris Collinsworth. Melissa Stark will provide reports from the sideline.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Seahawks-Packers “Sunday Night Football” game will shake out:
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander continues to be sidelined with a knee injury. He has played in just seven games this season.
Running back Kenneth Walker III (calf) continues to be out for the Seahawks, who will once again rely on Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet had a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers are favorites to defeat the Seahawks, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
Looking to make “SNF” more interesting? Here are some of the best bets for the matchup:
The Packers travel west to take on the Seahawks. The matchup will take place at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
Lumen Field — formerly known as Seahawks Stadium, Qwest Field and CenturyLink Field — has hosted three NFC championship games. The stadium also will host six games during the 2026 World Cup.
Lumen Field opened in 2002, and also serves as the home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Seattle’s Lumen Field rate?
Game time temperatures in Seattle will be in the mid-40s, according to AccuWeather. There is a slight chance of rain at kickoff, with a stronger likelihood of precipitation late in the game.
Here’s how the NFC West stacks up entering the “SNF” matchup between the Seahawks and Packers:
Here’s how the NFC North lines up entering the “SNF” game between the Packers and Seahawks:
The NFL playoffs kick off on Jan. 11 with the league’s Super Wild Card Weekend, before concluding Feb. 9 with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
The Packers have won four Super Bowls in five appearances, including the first two Super Bowls (then called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game) under legendary coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl championship trophy is named after. The Packers’ most recent Super Bowl win came during the 2010 season in Super Bowl XLV. In all, the Packers boast 13 NFL championships, the most of any franchise.
The Seahawks have one Super Bowl victory in three appearances, having prevailed over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
Both teams will be looking to get their run games going early and often on what could be a rainy Sunday night in Seattle.
Even if the weather holds up, the Packers’ strong rushing offense – led by running back Josh Jacobs and reinforced by the mobility of quarterback Jordan Love – will likely have a better outlook than its passing offense.
Through 14 weeks, the Seahawks’ passing defense ranks ninth in EPA per dropback allowed (0.010) and 13th in success rate on dropbacks (45.3%). In contrast, Seattle’s rush defense drops to 16th in the NFL by EPA allowed (-0.085) and 22nd in rush success rate (41.0%).
Jacobs enters Week 15 off of two performances among his worst of the season in terms of rush yardage. However, he did score three touchdowns last week, tying a season high. He’ll be looking to return to form against a weaker rush defense.
In contrast, the Seahawks might try to lean more heavily on their passing game.
Second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having a breakout season and enters Week 15 on a streak of five straight games with more than 70 receiving yards.
In addition, Green Bay ranks 32nd in the NFL with a 51.3% success rate allowed on opponents’ dropbacks, and Seattle quarterback Geno Smith will try to take advantage of that on Sunday night.
The Packers’ dropback marks in EPA allowed and success rate are both ranked around No. 10 in the NFL – they’re ninth and 11th, respectively. That suggests they’ll provide a more difficult challenge for Zach Charbonnet , even off of Charbonnet’s 134-yard day against the Cardinals last week.
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