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Player who must step up: K Mason Crosby

Not all of the follies with the field goal unit have been Crosby's fault; he got a new holder right before the season opener and a new long-snapper nine games in. But ultimately it's on the kicker, and Crosby ranks tied for 35th in the league this season in field goal percentage (66.7%, 18-of-27). He went through a slump in 2012, and the Packers stuck with him. He responded with one of his best years in 2013. But at age 37 and with a $3.4 million salary and $4.735 million cap charge for next year, Crosby might need a strong finish to secure his future here. -- Rob Demovsky

Aaron Jones returned to the lineup in the Week 12 win over the Rams after missing a week with a knee injury and saw significantly less work than upstart second-year back A.J. Dillon. Was this a case of Green Bay wisely easing its star rusher back onto the field -- or has Dillon shown enough to carve out a legitimate timeshare in the backfield? Jones is too talented as a runner and receiver to take out of the mix, but a 1-2 punch of Jones and Dillon makes the Packers' running game deadly in the same way that Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are weaponized to close out opponents for the Browns. You know what's better than having The Guy in your backfield? Having two of them.

They come off the bye with a home game against the Bears. They were playing well before the week off, so they have to hope that continues.

QB Aaron Rodgers' mangled toe got some rest, and Pro Bowlers David Bakhtiari, Za'Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander are all primed to return soon. That type of late-season boost -- combined with the NFC's easiest remaining schedule (.408 combined opponent winning percentage) -- might actually enable the Pack to break away from the NFC's ... pack.

Best-case scenario: The Packers are already one of the NFC's top teams. But they might have some big-time reinforcements on their way back. Coming off the bye week, coach Matt LaFleur said it's possible Green Bay's trio of injured All-Pros -- left tackle David Bakhtiari, outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander -- all could be back on the practice field this week. It's uncertain when each would be ready to play. But getting all three back and ramped up for the playoffs represents the best-case scenario for a Packers team hoping to lock up snow-field advantage for the postseason.