Green Bay, Wis. - Matt LaFleur has this regular-season thing that everyone has figured out.
Three years with LaFleur as coach of the Green Bay Packers, he has received three first-round byes in the playoffs—including the No. 1 seed in each of the last two seasons.
But he's never done it before: His team wrapped it up with one game still in the regular season.
Before the Packers (13-3) made the move at Lambeau Field on Sunday night, they knew a win would render next week's regular season finale in Detroit meaningless in terms of their playoff position. They had the Arizona Cardinals, who beat the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the day, to thank for this.
He took care of the rest himself with a 37–10 win over the Kirk Cousins-less Minnesota Vikings.
Now the question is: Will they do anything more with the top seed than in the last two seasons?
LaFleur's playoff résumé reads: Two NFC Championship games, two losses - including last season's Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau.
Before LaFleur & Co. Start thinking about it, they have to decide how to handle Week 18 against the Lions. In the last two years, they needed the final weekend of the season to secure their playoff seed.
Now, LaFleur has to face the age-old NFL debate: Play in the finale to keep starters sharp or give them a weekend off to maintain their health. After the Packers saw a wild-card weekend, their first playoff game would take place on either January 22 or January 23 in the divisional round.
"It seems, speaking to me right now, like a long time," LaFleur said. "We'll play it by ear. We'll definitely have a conversation with our staff tomorrow, we'll definitely have a conversation with our players and we'll make the best decision for us. But if you ask me now, I'll Will say my gut is that these guys are going to play at least a little bit next week.
Aaron Rodgers' broken pinky toe on his left foot will undoubtedly be a factor in LaFleur's decision.
Rodgers' toe was not bothering him even in the cold of Sunday night. It was 11 degrees at kickoff and as the night progressed, it got colder.
"This is the first game that got my toe through the game without a problem," Rodgers said. "No pregame painkiller shots. I feel good. I'm happy about it. A few weeks ago was definitely a time when I started projecting and wondered if we could get 1-seed, then It could be two- plus a rest week. I'm going to play next week, and I hope Davante plays and our guys play. So, we hope to end the season on a high note and get a bye again are doing. "
Rodgers, who said this week that he likes it "the colder, the better," threw for 211 yards in the first half, 118 of them to Davante Adams. It was Rodgers' highest first-half total since Week 4 of last season and Adams' highest first-half since Week 4 of 2019.
The Packers' halftime lead 20-3 should have been even bigger, but thanks to three unsuccessful red zone trips (two field goals and a turnover on the down).
He also played the ball well, with his second-highest first-half total of the season (88 yards), thanks in large part to Aaron Jones' runs of 27 and 28 yards – the first time in his career he scored as many runs. 25-plus-yard runs in a single game.
Rodgers finished 38 of 29 with two touchdowns and 288 yards without a hitch. It was his sixth consecutive game with as many touchdowns and no interceptions, tying Don Meredith for the second-longest streak in NFL history. And Adams finished with 11 catches and a touchdown for 136 yards.
If Rodgers doesn't play in the finale, his season count -- in 15 games -- will be: 68.6% completion percentage for 3,977 yards and 35 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
And Adams broke his own franchise single-season reception record with 117 catches. He's for 1,498 yards with 11 touchdowns.
He is 21 yards away from Jordi Nelson's single-season record and half-jokingly offered that as a reason to play the following week.
"I think there's a lot of good in that," Adams said. "Two weeks off is for everyone, but, I don't want to do that. So I want to play at least something next week. We'll see the plan we come up with, but I'm planning - I'm definitely going to be ready to go out there and at least play - well, I wouldn't say 'at least', we'll see what it looks like, but I want to get out there and go here - I want to run there a little sure."
It wasn't much of a test to defend the Packers, given that it was the COVID-19-caused travelman Sean Manion — and not the cousin — in charge of the Vikings' offense.
It also gives voters an extra week to consider LaFleur for coach of the year. He didn't win in either of his first two seasons, but his third consecutive 13-win season - and a 39-9 record in three seasons - this time may be too hard to ignore. No coach in NFL history has won more games in his first three seasons.
And the Packers are now the first team in NFL history with at least 13 wins for three consecutive seasons.
In a season that began with that terrible 38–3 loss to the New Orleans Saints - a game Rodgers later said was "just one game".
"We've got 16 to go," Rodgers said at the time.
And the Packers needed only 15 of them to show that they top NFC's best in the playoffs.