The Green Bay Packers begin the 2016 playoffs with a home game against the New York Giants, a team they defeated in the regular season… a Week #5 contest in Green Bay won by the Packers, 23-16.

Of the 12 playoff teams this year, the Packers played the most regular season games in 2016 against teams that eventually made the playoffs, seven. The Pack defeated division foes Detroit twice this season, and beat fellow playoff teams Houston, the Giants and Seattle. They lost to the NFC’s #1 and #2 seeded teams, the Cowboys and Falcons.

Let’s look at the records of this year’s 12 playoff team in games against teams that also made the playoffs.

Green Bay 5-2
New England 4-1
Seattle 3-1
Dallas 3-2
Kansas City 3-2
New York Giants 3-2
Atlanta 2-2
Houston 2-3
Pittsburgh 2-3
Miami 1-3
Oakland 1-3
Detroit 0-5

Here’s another stat to consider… In each of the last four post-seasons, the Packers were knocked out of the playoffs by a team they had lost to in the regular season. In 2015, the Packers lost in the playoffs to Arizona, a team they lost to in the regular season. In 2014, the Seattle Seahawks defeated Green Bay in the post-season and beat the Packers in the ’14 regular season. And, in both 2012 and 2013, the Packers were eliminated in the playoffs by the San Francisco, and were beaten in the regular season by the 49ers in each of those years.

Might this “trend” again hold for 2016? Well, the 2016 playoff teams the Packers lost to in the 2016 regular season were Dallas and Atlanta. The Packers, if they win this Sunday against the Giants, will face either one of these teams (Cowboys or Falcons) in the next round. If they get by one of those teams in the second round, there’s a good chance the Packers could face the other of the two (Cowboys or Falcons) for the NFC Championship.

Just something to think about!

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp