Despite a 4-5-1 record after 10 games, the Green Bay Packers have two straightforward paths all but guaranteeing a playoff spot in 2018.

The first is simple: Run the table and win the final six games.

When we used the New York Times’ “Playoff Simulator” application, the Packers make the postseason in over 99 percent of simulations and actually win the NFC North in roughly 70 percent of simulations by finishing the season with six straight wins and a 10-5-1 record.

The Packers’ final six opponents are, in order: Minnesota Vikings (away), Arizona Cardinals (home), Atlanta Falcons (home), Chicago Bears (away), New York Jets (away) and Detroit Lions (home).

Mike McCarthy’s team would have to catch fire to finish 2018, starting Sunday night in Minnesota. It’s an unlikely proposition given Green Bay’s 0-5 record on the road and maddening week-to-week inconsistency, but an unbeaten run certainly isn’t impossible.

The other path is similar but allows for a tiny bit of wiggle room. The Packers make the playoffs in 95 percent or more of simulations by winning five of the final six games, just as long as the one loss isn’t in Minnesota.

Then again, even having the Packers lose to the Vikings and win the final five games provides a roughly 88 percent chance of Green Bay making the playoffs.

The NFC is so jumbled in the middle that nine wins will likely be enough to qualify as a wild card.

Amazingly, the Packers have a chance to control their own destiny over the final six games.

Will the Packers galvanize over the final month and a half and find a way to get five or six wins and sneak into the playoffs? Or will McCarthy’s team crumble under the pressure, limp to the finish line and miss out on the postseason for the second straight season?

The Packers are certainly staggered and on the ropes, but they’re not knocked out yet. A few big counterpunches – starting Sunday night in Minnesota – and a sleeping giant could awaken in the NFC.