Cassidy from San Diego, CA

Sounds like quite a few people struggle to enjoy this game.

Emotions at both ends of the spectrum are part of fandom, and therefore part of the enjoyment. I honestly get that. I do.

Chris from Eau Claire, WI

How do the Packers not make the playoffs? Rams and Seahawks win all three remaining games, Commanders win at least two, and the Packers lose all three? But the Rams and Seahawks play each other Week 18, so doesn't that mean the Packers have clinched? What am I missing?

There are two remaining flies in the ointment, so to speak, forcing the Packers to get their 11th win. First, if the Falcons win out to finish 10-7, they'd have the tiebreaker over GB due to better conference record. Second, it's possible for the Rams and Seahawks to go into their Week 18 matchup at 10-6 and then tie to both finish 10-6-1. Weeks ago I pointed to 11 wins as the clinching target and it's playing out that way.

Spyros from Athens, Greece

My heart goes out to those affected by the tragedy in Madison. I cannot fathom how easy it is for young, gullible kids to get their hands on guns in the U.S. On to the Saints: I happened to catch their game against the Commanders. They still have a solid defense that kept them in the game even when their offense couldn't master a first down for two quarters. No easy task, if you ask me.

That Saints defense is no joke, and it's not just the eight sacks last week everyone's talking about. The Commanders' only TDs came when they started drives near midfield. Washington couldn't run the ball, forcing the QB Daniels to be the Commanders' leading rusher. New Orleans hasn't allowed more than 23 points in a game since the calendar turned to November.

Andrew from Indianapolis, IN

Can we take note of what Spencer Rattler did on Sunday? Coming in after halftime he led drives ending in TD, FG, FG, TD. No sacks, no turnovers, and no punts. This New Orleans team is down but not out, and arguably more dangerous with Rattler at QB. Similar to Bo Nix, this is a rookie with a lot of football games under his belt. I still think GB gets the W, but there are no easy games in this league.

Rattler is looking to establish himself as a QB. Rizzi is looking to establish himself as a head coach. This is not a 5-9 team coming to Lambeau Field on Monday. New Orleans is a highly motivated team, and the Packers will treat it as such.

Eric from Green Bay, WI

With this being Saints week, I want to give props to Guety for putting on a master class on how to transition from a veteran squad to a young squad without killing the cap. The Saints are still in cap hell from the Brees years with no relief in sight. GB is $62.7M under the cap for 2025 and the Saints are $63.7M OVER the cap. Thank you Gutey for keeping a contender on the field and handling the future responsibly. Makes me wonder if GMs seek advice from each other. Mickey Loomis could use some.

The Saints went all in, and stayed all in, trying to win another championship with Brees, and they only got to one NFC title game after their '09 Super Bowl triumph. Granted, they should've gone to the Super Bowl in '18 instead of the Rams, but from 2010-20 they went 5-7 in the postseason. Lots of chances, but plenty of paying the piper now.

Rick from Salisbury, NC

What is the status of Quay Walker?

Week to week. Aren't we all.

Jeffrey from Eveleth, MN

That's a different defense when Edgerrin Cooper is out there. It's also different with a healthy Jaire Alexander. I can't wait to see what they can do at full strength.

Fingers crossed.

Mark from Brillion, WI

Find it confusing under what conditions penalties are added to end of play or simply declined. Is it type of penalty or when/where it occurs on a particular play? Thanks and keep up the good work.

Aside from personal fouls, defensive holding is one of the few penalties that can be tacked onto the end of a play, but only if it's a running play. When it happened the other night the QB scrambled and didn't throw the ball, so the defensive hold was added on. Penalties also can be tacked onto the end of punt and kickoff returns if committed by the kicking team.

Steve from Phoenix, AZ

A little off topic: In the Vikings-Bears game, on the Vikings' fourth-quarter TD, CJ Ham clearly pulls Akers across the goal line. Aikman even casually mentions the pulling across the goal line. Isn't that still a penalty?

To my knowledge, but everybody stopped caring about assisting the runner a long time ago so I'm not surprised the whole concept is being ignored.

Dan from Grayslake, IL

The San Francisco 49ers suspended linebacker De'Vondre Campbell for the rest of the regular season rather than waiving him and giving him a chance to play for another team this year. Do you think he will play again the NFL? Quitting on one's team in the middle of a game is about as bad as it gets.

Sure is. I can't imagine any team wanting him in its locker room after this.

Jason from Sioux Center, IA

Maybe I'm crazy since no one has mentioned it, but did I see the defender stick out his leg and trip Josh Jacobs right before the fumble?

Several have brought this up. It appears Jacobs does trip over the defender's foot, but I honestly couldn't tell on the all-22 if the guy stuck out his leg intentionally.

Kenton from Rochester, MN

Another little thing I noticed in the Seattle game that impressed me about Josh Jacobs: After fumbling the ball away to Julian Love (punched out by Ernest Jones), Josh immediately gets to his feet in pursuit and ends up making the tackle. I can't remember ever seeing an effort like that by someone after just losing the football.

He appropriately channeled some frustration into that tackle, too.

John from Heber, UT

In the "you get what you emphasize" category, after six pre-snap/alignment penalties against the Dolphins on Thanksgiving, only one each in the last two games. Looks like LaFleur's message(s) finally took root. A good step forward as the playoffs approach.

Though I did have people point out in the live blog they thought Rashan Gary lined up offside on a play in Seattle.

Scott from Manson, IA

Just a thought, will MLF ever stop with the faux fourth-down plays? I think the league has figured out that it's merely a ploy to get the defense to jump offsides. If you never actually snap the ball, who's going to think it's for real?

Except they did snap the ball on fourth-and-2 with six minutes left.

John from Byron, MN

Mike, I find it to be of no coincidence that as soon as The Game That Shall Not Be Named was brought up in the live blog, the fumble occurred. We should not trifle with such things in the future. That was a close one.

My bad, but I felt the need to clear up a fact.

Caleb from Knoxville, TN

Who was an unsung hero against Seattle?

I'd like to ask this be officially submitted into evidence, your honor.

George from North Mankato, MN

Hey II, did one of you steal Karl Brooks' lunch? He played like he was hungry. On a couple of plays, he just bull-rushed his way into the backfield.

Brooks consistently won his matchup on the interior and was credited with a handful of pressures in addition to his one sack. One of his pressures set up Gary's sack, and another (along with Eric Wilson) contributed to Carrington Valentine's INT.

Kirk from Waterloo, Canada

Here's what I think after watching LaFleur coach both Rodgers and Love for the past six years. His style becomes too predictable when trying to manage a two-score lead. What he does to get there and what he does after he gets there are vastly different. He is not known for stepping on throat of the enemy. I think it's why, historically, games like the Seahawks one leaves everyone wondering why this wasn't a blowout. It's a feeling I have that I can't quite quantify right now. Thoughts?

My thoughts are that's a lazy and inaccurate narrative, because you're confusing results with intent. I discussed this on "Unscripted" as well. You have to look at why the Packers didn't put the Seahawks away earlier. Jacobs fumbled while stumbling through a big hole. Nothing wrong with that play call. Love missed an open Doubs on a play-action rollout right before the fumble. Should've been a 25-yard gain downfield but the throw wasn't on target. And Jayden Reed slipped on his route when he was going to be wide open on third-and-2, which preceded the fourth-and-2 stuff of Jacobs. LaFleur was absolutely trying to step on the Seahawks' throat. The Packers just didn't get the job done.

Joe from Sarasota, FL

Is there a scenario where the Packers' final regular-season game with the Bears wouldn't change their playoff standings so they could rest some of their starters?

Probably, but that's two weeks away and there's plenty to play for between now and then.

Eric from Kenosha, WI

Good morning. When was the last time two or more Green Bay Packers had their first career interceptions in the same game?

According to assistant director of communications and resident stat guru Tom Fanning (who's never wrong), it was against the Bears on Oct. 20, 2016 – Blake Martinez and Nick Perry. Also a night game, by the way, in this case a Thursday.

Alex from Salt Lake City, UT

There was an Athletic article a while ago about sideline photo/video. I believe it's 12 images per play including pre and post snap.

Thanks.

Arthur from Eau Claire, WI

In your opinion, are the Detroit Lions a much weaker team with the loss of Montgomery or are they still one of the top three teams?

Montgomery is a big loss, but the Lions can handle his absence much easier than this onslaught of defensive injuries that hasn't stopped. Since Watson's fumble early in the second quarter of the Thursday night game in Detroit, the Lions have surrendered 10 touchdowns and three field goals (plus one missed chip shot) in 17 opponent possessions not including kneel-downs.

Scott from Sauk City, WI

That whole "plane landing at 4 a.m." thing does not sound appealing to me, even though I am envious of the cool job you have. It has probably been asked and answered a hundred times in here already, but do you prefer that, or would you rather check into a hotel and pass out at midnight, returning home the next morning after a night of good sleep? The equipment isn't packed up that quickly, is it? Does that travel separately, later?

I definitely prefer heading straight to the airport after the game to come home, no matter what time it is. After night games, we're working on all our content until 2 or 3 a.m. anyway, so I'd rather have the work and travel coincide. Most of the equipment comes back via ground transport, as Wes detailed last year.

Gary from Bear Valley, WI

Is this the most consecutive primetime games in a row for the Packers?

More than I can recall, and that I ever want to experience again.

Tim from Superior, WI

Is it fair to say a younger team like the Packers the past few years would be more likely to peak at a later stage of the season than most other teams? Likewise, with stellar coaching and maturation, perhaps players like Cooper, Evan Williams and others in their first or second year in the league just tend to peak about this time of the season? It might explain the ongoing process of the team these last two years, finding themselves down the stretch run?

Young players tend to keep improving the more they play. The risk is they'll make a mistake they haven't made yet that'll cost you. Veteran players tend to minimize mistakes, but once their growth has plateaued the wall they're going to hit might be right around the corner.

Aaron from Tucson, AZ

Looking at the standings, it looks like we'll end up with either the 5 or 6 seed, best case. In either case, we play the NFC South or NFC West winner, which doesn't seem to matter much from a quality perspective. I think I'm sort of at the point where I don't care where we seed, just keep working to get better and keep winning. More important than opponents or road venues at this point (and we're pretty darn good on the road) is building momentum and confidence. GPG.

Judging by how quickly LaFleur dismissed a question Tuesday about clinching a playoff spot with one more win, that certainly appears to be his mindset.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

Being a "playoff-ready team" or the better team might give you warm fuzzies but do I need to list all the times we should have won? Think of SBXXXII. That should have been a lock. Or 2014. Or the Covid year. This game can just be weird and things go wrong. That's why you just want to get in the playoffs and see. I'm trying to enjoy what's left. Before long we'll be staring at a frigid February with no football to watch.

Happy Wednesday.