Packers' Playoff Hopes End Along With Mike McCarthy's Time As Green Bay's Head Coach

The Green Bay Packers’ stunning 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday afternoon meant two things: the team won’t be going to the playoffs this season and Mike McCarthy will no longer be the head coach.

There had been speculation for weeks that McCarthy was on the hot seat, but his fate was sealed with Green Bay’s Week 13 performance. The Packers had been favored by two touchdowns, and they lost to a team that entered the game tied for the NFL’s worst record.

The loss dropped the Packers to 11th in the NFC standings. Green Bay is still mathematically alive in the playoff race with a 4-7-1 record, but it would take a miracle for them to reach the postseason.

Green Bay would need the first-place Chicago Bears to lose all four of their remaining games to have a shot at winning the NFC North. The Packers would also need the Minnesota Vikings to lose their next three games before beating Chicago in the season finale.

Five teams are ahead of the Packers for the final NFC wild-card spot. The Washington Redskins enter “Monday Night Football” with the No.6 seed, and they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay.

The Packers haven’t missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 2005 and 2006.

After hosting the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14, Green Bay will visit the Bears and New York Jets in consecutive weeks. The Packers will end the season against the Detroit Lions in Week 17.

With Aaron Rodgers still playing, the Packers could be favored in three of their final four games. Ending the season with four straight wins would put Green Bay at 8-7-1, which was the Packers’ record when they won the division in 2013.