The Green Bay Packers are one of four teams that could clinch a playoff berth in Week 15, but they're likely going to need a miracle to happen if they want to punch their ticket to the postseason this week.
There's only ONE scenario where the Packers can clinch a playoff berth and that scenario involves three different games:
Thursday: Rams at 49ers
Sunday: Packers at Seahawks
Monday: Falcons at Raiders
During the Thursday night game between the 49ers and the Rams, the Packers won't be rooting for anyone, and that's because the ONLY WAY they can clinch a playoff spot in Week 15 is if the game ends in a tie. That's right, if the 49ers win, then the Packers can't clinch a spot this week. And if the Rams win, the Packers also can't clinch a spot this week, which means they'll be rooting for a tie.
If a tie were to somehow happen, then Green Bay would be able to clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Seahawks COMBINED with a Falcons' loss or tie.
If you're wondering how a tie helps, here's the short explanation: A Packers win would move them to 10-4, which means the worst they could do this season is 10-7. As for the Rams, they'd drop to 7-6-1, and yes, they could still get to 10 wins, but the only way that could happen is if they beat the Seahawks in Week 18. Since the Packers HAVE to beat Seattle as part of their clinching scenario this week, that means the 8-5 Seahawks could only finish 10-7 at the best (with losses to L.A. and Green Bay). If the Seahawks are 10-7, the Rams would win the division by a half game at 10-6-1 and Green Bay would get the wild-card berth over Seattle by a virtue of a head-to-head win.
The Falcons loss is needed this week, because that means they won't be able to get to 10 wins, which is where Green Bay will be if it wins this week. The 6-7 Cardinals don't factor into this because the Packers already have a head-to-head win over them.
So there you have it, that's why the Packers will be rooting for a tie on Thursday night. If you want to check out every playoff-clinching scenario for Week 15, you can do that here.
