Packers are in the NFC playoff picture after beating Chiefs; what is Green Bay's remaining schedule?

The Green Bay Packers climbed back to .500 on the season at 6-6 with a stirring win over the Kansas City Chiefs on "Sunday Night Football" and, yes, the Packers find themselves in a playoff spot in the NFC with five games remaining.

A lot of football remains, but here's what to know about Green Bay's playoff positioning:

NFC standings after Week 13 games

1. Philadelphia (10-2, leads NFC East)
2. San Francisco (9-3, leads NFC West)
3. Detroit (9-3, leads NFC North)
4. Atlanta (6-6, leads NFC South)
5. Dallas (9-3, first wild card)
6. Minnesota (6-6, second wild card)
7. Green Bay (6-6, third wild card)

First teams out: Los Angeles Rams (6-6), Seattle (6-6)

If the season ended today, would the Packers have a playoff spot?

Yes, they'd have the No. 7 seed in the NFC.

The Vikings, Rams, Seahawks and Packers are all locked up at 6-6 and battling for the sixth and seventh playoff spots in the NFC (both wild-card slots). Though the Falcons are also 6-6, they wouldn't be part of the equation as leaders in the NFC South and would be sitting in the No. 4 seed, with 9-3 Dallas holding the No. 5 (and first wild card) spot.

To determine tiebreakers among teams in different divisions, the first maneuver is to apply division tiebreakers to arrive at just one team per division. The Vikings have (for the moment) a head-to-head tiebreaker with Green Bay and would represent the North, while the Rams have beaten the Seahawks twice. The Vikings and Rams haven't faced each other, but the Vikings have a better record against NFC teams and get the No. 6.

Now, the remaining three teams go back into the shuffle for the No. 7 spot. The Packers represent the North and the Rams represent the West. Green Bay has the head-to-head advantage and gets the No. 7.

TRENDING:NFL fans blast referees after final drive in Packers-Chiefs game

So if the Packers win the rest of their games, they will be in the playoffs, right?

Yes. It would be pretty remarkable if an 11-6 team didn't get into the playoffs when seven teams in each conference make it, but it's cemented, the Packers would be in. They'd achieve a better record than the Vikings (because winning out means beating the Vikings and handing them a seventh loss) and maintain a better NFC mark than Seattle, so Green Bay would be guaranteed the tiebreaker there. The Packers would be no worse than the No. 6 seed.

Which teams are battling for the final playoff spots?

Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay are tightly packed in the NFC South; the winner of that division gets a playoff spot, and the other two finishers are thrown back into the wild-card pool. The Packers would prefer that Atlanta (leading the South by a game) wins the division since Green Bay doesn't have a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Falcons.

The Packers did, however, beat the Saints and have a head-to-head tiebreaker there (and can procure one against Tampa Bay in a couple weeks). None of this matters, of course, if Green Bay wins out, since the Packers are guaranteed to have a better record than two of them in that case. But it's worth noting if the Packers lose again.

Green Bay has a friendly schedule, with no battles against teams that are currently above .500 among the five remaining clashes.

A win over Minnesota would go a long way toward giving the Packers a tiebreaker over the Vikings, as well. They'd split the head-to-head games in that case, and both teams would then have two losses in the division. The Vikings still have two games left against division frontrunner Detroit, whereas the Packers only have one additional divisional game against the last-place Bears.

Green Bay (6-6). Remaining schedule: at New York Giants (4-8), vs. Tampa Bay (5-7), at Carolina (1-11), at Minnesota (6-6), vs. Chicago (4-8)

Minnesota (6-6). Remaining schedule: at Las Vegas (5-7), at Cincinnati (5-6), vs. Detroit (9-3), at Green Bay (6-6), at Detroit (9-3)

Seattle (6-6). Remaining schedule: at San Francisco (9-3), vs. Philadelphia (10-2), at Tennessee (4-8), vs. Pittsburgh (7-5), at Arizona (3-10)

Atlanta (6-6). Remaining schedule: vs. Tampa Bay (5-7), at Carolina (1-11), vs. Indianapolis (7-5), at Chicago (4-8), at New Orleans (5-7)

Tampa Bay (5-7). Remaining schedule: at Atlanta (6-6), at Green Bay (6-6), vs. Jacksonville (8-3), vs. New Orleans (5-7), at Carolina (1-11)

New Orleans (5-7). Remaining schedule: vs. Carolina (1-11), vs. New York Giants (4-8), at Los Angeles Rams (6-6), at Tampa Bay (5-7), vs. Atlanta (6-6)

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS:Jordan Love shines in victory over Chiefs on Sunday night

Forget one of the last wild cards. Can't the Packers aim even higher?

They're still three games behind the Lions in the division and three games behind Dallas for the No. 5 wild-card spot, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. A lot of crazy stuff would have to happen for Green Bay to fare better than the No. 6 seed.