GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers will tell you that his recent run-the-table remark was based on a vibe, a feeling. The Green Bay Packers quarterback admits that while he truly believed his team could win its final six games when he said so Nov. 23, he didn't have one iota of evidence to support his contention.

But if his Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, Rodgers will have some pretty convincing proof that his team is indeed capable of winning out and morphing into the playoff team no one wants to face. It is potential not many others saw when the Packers were 4-6 and Rodgers talked them up.

For while the Packers' back-to-back victories over the Philadelphia Eagles (27-13 on Nov. 28) and Houston Texans (21-13 last Sunday) did get them back to .500 at 6-6 and made playoff talk more than just a pipe dream, the reality is that those triumphs came over teams that currently are on three-game losing streaks.

But beat an 8-3-1 Seahawks team that has won four of five, including a Nov. 13 road victory over the New England Patriots and a thrashing of the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers last Sunday night? Now that'd qualify as a season-changer.

"I think there's a lot of confidence in the locker room right now. I think guys really believe in that this team has the potential to make a run," said Rodgers, who over the past four games has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,244 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions (103.1 rating). "We've shown it the last two weeks, [with] a tough road win and then holding serve at home.

"But obviously this is a little bigger game [given] the opponent, and as every game progresses, there's more on the line for us to play for. So I'm confident in the guys, that we're up to the challenge."

In the past four meetings between the Packers and Seahawks -- including the infamous 2012 "Fail Mary" game and the Packers' inexplicable late collapse in the 2014 NFC Championship Game -- Green Bay is 1-3, with the lone victory having come in a 27-17 Week 2 triumph last season. Given how frequently they've seen each other of late, this has a rivalry-game feel, even though they aren't division opponents.

"I think it fits," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of the rivalry designation. "You've got two teams that have played big games against one another. I don't think you have to go past that.

"This game's important to them. It's very important to us. There's a style of play that they play to, and there's definitely one that we play to, and we're going to maximize that out as far as preparing for the game. But it's all about winning."

The Packers could conceivably lose to the Seahawks and still make the playoffs if they win at Chicago on Dec. 18, beat Minnesota at Lambeau Field on Dec. 24 and then win in Detroit on New Year's Day. But they'd either need other wild-card contenders to fall by the wayside or need the Lions, who lead the NFC North at 8-4 and play at home against the 3-9 Chicago Bears on Sunday, to lose three of their last four.

After facing the struggling Bears, Detroit plays at the New York Giants (8-4) and at Dallas (11-1) before what could be essentially the NFC North championship game against the Packers on Jan. 1.

That's why, while Rodgers would never call Sunday's game against the Seahawks a must-win -- "World War II was a must-win," he said Nov. 10, channeling his inner Marv Levy -- he knows how important it is.

"We know what's at stake for us. Obviously they have a lot stake, too," Rodgers said. "It's a big game for us, and we've got to be ready to go. And I think we are."

Jason Wilde covers the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Wisconsin.