Green Bay Packers-Cleveland Browns Christmas Day tickets remain a bargain, while Vikings game prices edge upward
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GREEN BAY - With the NFL having cooperated fully this weekend, the Green Bay Packers enter Saturday's Christmas Day game leading the contest to be No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Packers, at 11-3, hold the best record in the NFL because both the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost on Sunday. Those teams are 10-4, as are the Dallas Cowboys.
By beating the Baltimore Ravens 31-30 on Sunday, the Packers also secured the NFC North title, which guarantees them one home game during the playoffs. If they are the first seed in the NFC, they will get a bye during the first week of the playoffs and be assured of playing home games the next two weeks, assuming they keep winning.
Ticket prices for the final three games, against the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, held their value Monday. Prices are determined by averaging the lowest prices at 10 secondary market websites.
The Christmas Day game on Saturday against the Browns at Lambeau Field had an average lowest price on Monday of $105. That is $2 higher than last week, but otherwise the lowest it's been this year, and $13 below the cheapest face-value tickets at Lambeau Field.
Secondary market site TickPick said 14% of its purchases were from Ohio, which suggests a relatively strong contingent of visiting fans. TickPick said 15% of ticket purchases were made during the past week.
The Packers will play on a shorter week because of the Saturday game, but the Browns will play on an even shorter one after their Sunday game against the Las Vegas Raiders was postponed until Monday because of the COVID outbreak in the NFL.
Behind practice squad quarterback Nick Mullen, the Browns very nearly defeated the Raiders before losing 16-14 on a final-second field goal. Had they won, the Browns would have been in first place in the AFC North. Instead, they are in last; that's how close that division is. That means the Browns will come to Lambeau Field with considerable motivation.
Presumably Baker Mayfield, the Browns' starting quarterback, and some of his 18 teammates who also were sidelined by COVID, will play in Green Bay, but the pandemic and the rise of the omicron variant leaves everything on a day-to-day basis. So far, the Packers have been only lightly touched by COVID, at least compared to other teams, but that could change as well.
The Packers host the dangerous Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 2 for their third Sunday Night Football appearance of the season. The Packers have also played Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football games this year, none of which are especially convenient for fans attending the games, but which are, for the Packers, the price of success.
The Vikings are one of three teams that defeated the Packers this season, and in 14 games, they have played only one that was decided by more than eight points. After beating the Chicago Bears 17-9 Monday, the Vikings are 7-7 and remain in the playoff hunt. They play the 9-4 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Tickets for the Vikings game were $10 more than last week, coming in at $173 on Monday.
The Packers close out the regular season on Jan. 9 at Ford Field in Detroit. Prices for that game actually crept up by $3, to a $58 average for the cheapest and worst seats in the stadium.
Detroit in the last seven weeks has shown it can't be taken for granted, its 2-11-1 record notwithstanding. During the last three weeks, the Lions beat the Vikings by two points and drubbed the Cardinals 30-12 on Sunday, coincidentally leaving the Packers with the best record in the NFL.
It could be that Lions fans are waking up, thus the slight increase in price, but if history is any indication, they won't wake up that much. Prices for that game will remain a bargain, especially if you aren't picky about where you're sitting.
Speaking of playoffs, Packers season ticket holders laid claim to the right to buy all playoff tickets. Tickets are not yet available, of course, but the opportunity to claim them already is showing up on secondary market sites. This is the point where it is proper to advise potential buyers to only deal with sites with which they are familiar or which provide a guarantee.
Last week's recap
Green Bay Packers 31, Baltimore Ravens 30
Stadium: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Attendance: 70,815
Records: Packers 11-3, Ravens 8-6
Las Vegas Raiders 16, Cleveland Browns 14
Stadium: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 67,431
Records: Browns 7-7, Raiders 7-7
Ticket prices
The following are secondary market ticket prices as of Monday.
For our look at Packers' tickets prices, we averaged the lowest ticket prices at 10 secondary market websites: Event USA, Gametime, Green Bay Ticket Service, SeatGeek, StubHub, TicketIQ, Ticketmaster, TickPick, Ticket King and Vivid Seats.
Dec. 25, 3:30 pm., Cleveland Browns, Lambeau Field, Fox
Face-price range: $118-$149
Average lowest-cost seat: $105
Range of lowest-cost seat: $76-$133
COVID-19 protocols: Masks recommended indoors for everyone and for unvaccinated fans in crowded outdoor settings.
Jan. 2, 7:20 p.m., Minnesota Vikings, Lambeau Field, Sunday Night Football, NBC
Face-price range: $118-$149
Average lowest-cost seat: $173
Range of lowest-cost seat: $150-$207
COVID-19 protocols: Masks recommended indoors for everyone and for unvaccinated fans in crowded outdoor settings.
Jan. 9, noon, Detroit Lions, Ford Field, Fox
Face-price range: N/A
Average lowest-cost seat: $58
Range of lowest-cost seat: $44-$74
COVID-19 protocols: Ford Field recommends masks for all guests, including those who are fully vaccinated, for all indoor locations, as recommended by the City of Detroit Health Department.
Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers-Browns Christmas Day tickets a bargain; Vikings game prices up
