Bengals Create Potential New Year’s Eve Party for Packers-Vikings

If the Green Bay Packers wind up with the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and avoid a perilous trip to San Francisco, Philadelphia or Dallas, they can thank B.J. Hill, Jake Browning and Tyler Boyd.

Hill, a 28-year-old defensive tackle and unsung member of the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense, helped ruin a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens in overtime on Saturday.

Three plays later, Browning – the backup to superstar Joe Burrow – escaped trouble and fired a strike to Boyd. Boyd – the under-the-radar No. 3 receiver behind the star tandem of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins – made the catch, ran through a tackle and took the ball to the Vikings’ 13 for a gain of 43 yards to set up the winning field goal.

The loss dropped Minnesota to 7-6 and set up the Packers with a golden opportunity for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To illustrate, here are the latest NFC playoff standings.

1. San Francisco (10-3, leading NFC West; at Cardinals)

2. Dallas (10-3, leading NFC East; at Bills)

3. Detroit (10-4, leading NFC North; beat Broncos)

4. Tampa Bay (6-7, leading NFC South; at Green Bay)

5. Philadelphia (10-3; at Seattle)

6. Minnesota (7-7; lost to Cincinnati)

7. Green Bay: (6-7; vs. Tampa Bay)

8. L.A. Rams (6-7; vs. Commanders)

9. Seattle (6-7; vs. Philadelphia)

10. Atlanta (6-7; at Carolina)

11. New Orleans (6-7; vs. Giants)

If the Packers can beat the Bucs, they would tie Minnesota for the No. 6 spot. The Vikings have the head-to-head tiebreaker for now, but the teams will meet on New Year’s Eve night in what could be a game with enormous playoff consequences.

The No. 6 seed will play at the No. 3 seed on Wild Card Weekend. For now, that would mean a trip to Detroit, where the Packers earned a season-turning victory on Thanksgiving.

The No. 7 seed will play at the No. 2 seed. At the moment, that would mean a trip to Dallas to play the Cowboys, whose five-game winning streak includes four wins by at least 20 points. Dallas has scored 40-plus points in five games and allowed 17 or less in eight games.

If the NFC East standings change, the No. 7 seed would go to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, the defending NFC champions. The Eagles have hit a bump in the road with two consecutive losses, a skid that came on the heels of a five-game winning streak that included wins over the Dolphins, Cowboys, Chiefs and Bills. Philadelphia’s dominant run game destroyed Green Bay last season.

The current No. 1 seed is the San Francisco 49ers, whose five-game winning streak includes a 23-point win over Philadelphia, a 31-point win over Jacksonville and a 13-point win vs. the Buccaneers.