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ANALYSIS VIDEO: Brutal injuries haunt Packers in loss to Broncos

Ryan Wood joins Dominique Yates to recap the Packers’ 34-26 loss to the Broncos where the team suffered potentially devastating injuries.

Losing to a hot Denver Broncos team wouldn’t have been the worst thing for the Green Bay Packers, but losing several of their best players in the process was.

The Packers took the field Dec. 14 in Denver in first place in the NFC North, holding the second seed in the playoffs and feeling confident after defeating the Chicago Bears the week before. They left Denver after a 34-26 loss, in second place in the NFC North, holding the seventh seed in the playoffs and without a healthy Micah Parsons, Christian Watson, Zach Tom and Evan Williams. It was Denver’s 11th consecutive victory.

The 9-4-1 Packers play the 10-4 Bears at 7:20 p.m. Dec. 20, a Saturday night game at Soldier Field in Chicago. A victory would put them back on solid playoff footing. A loss would not necessarily doom their playoff hopes, but it wouldn’t be a confidence-builder for a Super Bowl run.

All three of the Packers’ final opponents won on Sunday, the Bears and the Baltimore Ravens decisively. The Minnesota Vikings had a closer call, winning by eight points, but when you consider how they were stumbling around just three weeks ago, any win could be considered cause for concern.

The following are secondary market ticket prices as of Dec. 15 and our guesses as to why they are where they are. 

For our look at Packers’ tickets prices, we average the lowest ticket prices for two seats at 11 secondary-market websites: Event USA, Gametime, Green Bay Ticket Service, SeatGeek, StubHub, TicketIQ, Ticket King, Ticketmaster, TickPick, TicketSmarter and Vivid Seats.

Dec. 20, 7:20 p.m., Chicago Bears, Soldier Field, FoxFace-price range: N/AAverage lowest-cost seat: $458Average lowest-cost seat last week: $480Range of lowest-cost seats: $407-$512

Matt LaFleur vs. Bears: 11-1 overall, 6-0 at Soldier Field

Last week: Bears 31, Cleveland Browns 3

Records: Bears 10-4, Browns 3-11

What is special about this game? Everything. If the Packers win, they are back in first place, with a 99% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times playoff simulator. More importantly, it would put them in position to host a wild card game. Even a loss to the Bears would leave them with an 85% chance, but they’d certainly be on the road.

Ticket prices behaved normally last week, falling $22, but when you consider they started at $480, the decrease doesn’t mean much. Bears fans are over-the-top excited about their season and won’t part with their tickets cheaply.

As for the weather, it was 8 on Sunday with subzero wind chills in the game against the Cleveland Browns and the people who did show up – about 20,000 fewer than you’d see at Lambeau Field in the same conditions – broke out in a “Packers still suck” chant, which was more aspirational than accurate. The fact that the Packers defeated their longtime rivals two weeks ago doesn’t seem to have dampened their hopes.

The weather will be better on Dec. 20. The National Weather Service expects it to get into the 40s during the day and high 20s at night.

Dec. 27, 7 p.m., Baltimore Ravens, Lambeau Field, Peacock [and NBC affiliates in Green Bay and Milwaukee)Face-price range: $139-$196Average lowest-cost seat: $217Average lowest-cost seat last week: $226Range of lowest-cost seats: $178-$238

Matt LaFleur vs. Ravens: 1-0, have not played at Lambeau Field

Last week: Ravens 24, Cincinnati Bengals 0

Records: Ravens 7-7, Bengals 4-10

What is special about this game? The Ravens are a .500 team, but that’s enough to be tied for first place with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Hard to know which Ravens team will come to Lambeau, but now we at least know when they will play. The $217 average get-in price is still more than the most expensive face-price ticket in the Lambeau Field bowl, but it’s moderate as prices go in the NFL. Certainly less than either of the Bears or Lions games this year.

This is the second of back-to-back Saturday night games. It’s too soon to know what the weather will be, but it’s a night game, the Packers’ sixth this year, it’s winter, it’s Green Bay, so it will probably be chilly if not downright cold. It would be tempting to call this a national game, but unless you live in the Green Bay or Milwaukee media markets, it’s only available on the Peacock streaming service. That might encourage Packers fans who don’t live in those markets to attend.

Jan. 3 or 4, Time TBD, Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, Network TDBFace-price range: N/AAverage lowest-cost seat: $124Average lowest-cost seat last week: $123Range of lowest-cost seats: $116-$146

Matt LaFleur vs. Vikings: 7-6, including 3-3 at U.S. Bank Stadium

Last week: Vikings 34, Dallas Cowboys 26

Records: Vikings 6-8, Cowboys 6-7-1

What is special about this game? The Vikings are only 6-8, but they’ve got a two-game winning streak, which is more than anyone else in the division. Rookie-ish quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw five touchdown passes in those two victories and he had a 108 passer rating in Dec. 14’s victory over the Cowboys. He has yet to mesh with star receiver Justin Jefferson, but if they do finally synch, that won’t be good news for the rest of the division.

Time and date of this game are still unknown, but that might not be depressing ticket prices as much as the fact that the Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs and before the recent wins were a dumpster fire.

Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@usatodayco.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG.