For the first time ever, the Milwaukee Brewers are the World Series champions.
The Brewers, which were +3000 to clinch the first World Series title in franchise history at FanDuel entering this season, won 11 of 13 postseason games including four of five against the Tampa Bay Rays on the biggest stage.
While they clinched in Tampa late Wednesday night, the celebrations are just getting started across Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, for the first time in NFL history, two divisions enter the same week with every team above .500.
The NFC North and AFC North feature eight of the 16 NFL clubs that own a winning record entering Week 8.
In the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Baltimore Ravens are a combined 18-9, including a 14-5 record against the non-division opponents on their schedule.
In the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and the Green Bay Packers are a combined 19-7, including a 15-3 record against non-division teams.
For Wisconsin’s NFL team, that makes the path to the postseason that much more difficult to navigate.
There are only five prior instances in NFL history in which a division featured four teams with winning records through the first seven weeks of the regular season.
Each of those five previous such divisions sent multiple teams to the postseason.
Unfortunately for the franchises in the north, no division has sent four teams to the playoffs in the current format.
So, while it’s technically possible that all four teams from one division can make the postseason, the schedule and structure make it that much more difficult, and it isn’t always the best teams that reach the NFL postseason.
Thursday Night Football at Lambeau Field will provide us with another reminder of how much more difficult the path to the playoffs is for some compared to others.
The Green Bay Packers own a 4-3 record, which would rank first among teams in the NFC South.
Unfortunately, the Packers play in the NFC North, where are looking up at the Vikings, Bears, and Lions from the bottom of the division standings.
Meanwhile, at 3-3 the Carolina Panthers are currently the NFC’s No. 4 playoff seed via first place in the NFC South, where the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New Orleans Saints all own losing records.
Carolina remains the NFC South favourite at +170.
The Panthers are +154 to make the playoffs at FanDuel.
The Packers have shorter odds to make the playoffs at +124, but they are up to +1000 to win the NFC North at FanDuel this morning.
Green Bay already dropped one scheduled win to a non-division opponent back in Week 3 when they lost to the Atlanta Falcons as a 4.5-point favourite at Lambeau Field.
With little room for error in the loaded NFC North, the Packers can’t afford another home loss to a non-division opponent in primetime tonight.
Can Jordan Love lead Green Bay to a win over Carolina?
Or will Bryce Young and the Panthers play spoiler with an upset win at Lambeau Field?
Let’s set the stage and lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for Thursday Night Football in this Morning Coffee column for Thursday October 29th, 2026.
Packers Path To Playoffs *That* Much Tougher in Loaded NFC North
The fact that the Packers are above .500 entering Week 8 is that much more impressive when you consider how they got here.
Green Bay ranks 32nd in the NFL with an average of 59.9 rushing yards per game this season.
In addition to owning the league’s worst rushing attack, the Packers offensive line has struggled to protect Love, while their defence struggled with consistency early on.
Since the 1970 NFL merger, no NFL team has made the playoffs averaging less than 70 rushing yards per game, never mind less than 60.
Green Bay managed to win four of its first six games prior to a 20-17 loss to Detroit in Week 7.
The Packers haven’t lost back-to-back games this season, and they’re a 3.5-point favourite versus Carolina tonight.
Green Bay is expecting to better on the ground following the return of veteran running back Josh Jacobs.
Jacobs averaged 3.3 yards per carry on 11 attempts against the Lions in his first game after being removed from the commissioner’s exempt list.
He added five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on seven pass targets, which was good enough for the best scrimmage yards mark (91) by a Packers back this season.
If there is one game where Green Bay will attempt to establish the run game early, tonight will be it.
The Panthers defence ranks 32nd in the NFL with an average of 126.8 running back rushing yards allowed per game this season.
Tonight’s contest will mark the first time in NFL history that the league’s 32nd ranked rushing attack faces the league’s 32nd ranked run defence in Week 8 or later.
Facing a vulnerable run defence at home on a short week, I expect Matt LaFleur to attempt to feature Jacobs early and often in the run game.
Whether it works will be among the keys to the game.
Regardless, I don’t expect the Packers to go completely away from a passing game that has had a lot of success early on this season.
Love leads the league with an average of 339.4 total air yards per game, averaging 5.9 passes per game that travel 20 or more yards downfield.
Wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have averaged 85.0 and 77.1 receiving yards per game, respectively.
That tandem has combined for 58.1 per cent of Green Bay’s total receiving yards this season.
Golden is dealing with shoulder and foot injuries on a short week, but he’s trending towards playing.
The Carolina defence ranks 8th in the NFL with an average of 208.2 passing yards allowed per game.
The Panthers also blitz at the sixth-highest rate in the league and play a ton of single-high coverage, which means Love could hit some more deep shots if the offensive line protection holds up.
Golden has led Green Bay with 6.0 receptions and 71.5 receiving yards on a team-high 12.5 targets over Green Bay’s past two games.
However, with Golden playing hurt, I expect Love to lean a little more on his other receivers tonight.
Watson has averaged 4.9 receptions for 85.0 yards per game this season and should be at full strength tonight.
He could see more action with Golden banged up.
Give me Watson over 4.5 receptions as a FanDuel Best Bet for Thursday Night Football.
I’ll also play Savion Williams over 21.5 receiving yards, which is a number he’s cleared in each of his first two games while averaging 38.0 per contest.
Finally, give me Jacobs over 2.5 receptions for Green Bay after he registered 5-55-1 in his season debut.
On the other side of the football, I’ll be watching the Panthers offensive line closely tonight.
Right tackle Tyler Moton is out for the season and left tackle Rasheed Walker has allowed the third-most pressures in the NFL this season.
Young was pressured on 51.5 per cent of his drop backs and was sacked five times in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Packers defence has given up the second-most wide receiver receptions per game (14.1) behind only the Lions this season.
No team has allowed more wide receiver receptions over the past two weeks than Green Bay (37), and no team has been targeted at a higher rate on the outside this season (48.9%).
If Young has time to throw, he should be able to get the football to his top wide receivers.
Tetairoa McMillan led Carolina with six targets in Week 7, registering four receptions for 40 yards.
71.9 per cent of McMillan’s targets have come when lined up out wide, and I expect him to be heavily involved again for the Panthers tonight.
The question is whether the protect holds up in front of Young and he has the time to take some shots to his No. 1 target out wide.
I also expect Chuba Hubbard to continue to be involved in the passing game.
Hubbard had four catches for 27 yards on five targets in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers.
He’s registered three or more receptions in all three of Carolina’s losses this season, clearing 27 receiving yards in all three instances.
The Panthers are a 3.5-point underdog and could lean more on Hubbard in the passing game if they fall behind or struggled to protect Young.
Finally, give me Metchie over 15.5 receiving yards.
After stops in Houston, Philadelphia, and New York, Metchie has found a new home with his college QB in Carolina this season.
He’s responded with two or more catches in four straight games, averaging 25.0 yards per game over that span.
Metchie has registered a catch for 15 or more yards in three straight games, so he might not need many opportunities to clear 15.5 receiving yards.
Hopefully, he can get to 16 receiving yards on TNF.
Have a great day, everyone!