Packing For The Title

From 4-6 to 10-6, the Packers’ reclamation project completed its last order of business Sunday night with a 31-24 triumph over the battling Detroit Lions before a crowd of 66,345 at frenetic Ford Field.

An hour before kickoff, the Packers automatically clinched a playoff berth when Washington was upset by the New York Giants, 19-10.

The victory in Detroit gave them the NFC North Division championship by one game over the Lions, who ended 9-7. It was the Packers’ fifth division title in the last six years, a crown that the Lions still have not won since 1993.

“I’m happy for the guys,” general manager Ted Thompson said. “They came from a long way back when nobody else believed in them.”

The fourth-seeded Packers will play the fifth-seeded New York Giants (11-5) at 3:40 p.m. Sunday at Lambeau Field in a NFC wild-card game. As a touchdown underdog, the Giants upset the Packers in playoff games on the same field in 2007 (23-20 in overtime) and 2011 (37-20) behind quarterback Eli Manning before going on to win the Super Bowl each year.

Shortly after the game, the Packers announced that 8,000 tickets had been put online for sale. Those were leftovers from season-ticket holders who hesitated purchasing tickets for playoff games that for weeks seemed unlikely to be played.

“I am ready to go play anybody at Lambeau Field,” said coach Mike McCarthy. “The Giants had a great season. We played each other early. Both teams have progressed a lot so it will be a great game.”

On Oct. 9, the Packers defeated the Giants, 23-16, in Green Bay. Bolstered by 147 yards rushing, their second highest total of the season, the Packers out-gained first-year coach Ben McAdoo’s club, 406-219.

“This is the first hurdle that we needed to get over for the playoff tournament,” McCarthy said. “We are right there.”

McCarthy became one of four coaches in NFL history to take the same team to the playoffs at least eight years in a row. Others were Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Bill Belichick.

The sixth-seeded Lions now must go on the road Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for a wild-card meeting with the third-seeded Seattle Seahawks.