We wrote a couple weeks ago about the Green Bay Packers chances of getting through the regular season and the NFC playoffs undefeated. So far so good for fans of the green and gold.

So what happens if they do make it unscathed to the Super Bowl? Do they meet the same fate the 18-1 New England Patriots did in 2007? Or do they finish the job and become the league’s first unbeaten team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins?

The AFC is a logjam this season. Nobody in the conference is better than  Green Bay. But there are a few teams that could at least give the Packers a good game. Here are our guesses:7. New York Jets – Somehow New York has managed to get hot at just the right time the last couple of seasons, barely squeaking into the playoffs before making some noise. There is enough defensive talent on the roster to make it happen again this year.

Why they won’t win: Let’s be real. In order to beat Green Bay, you’re going to have to score. Mark Sanchez has taken several steps back this year. The run game has been nonexistent at times. This team will be lucky to make the playoffs at this point, much less give the Packers a game in the Super Bowl. Rex Ryan is going to have to shelf his bravado for yet another off-season.

6. Oakland Raiders – Michael Bush and Darren McFadden, if he comes back, can grind the ball, keeping it away from Green Bay. And Carson Palmer has provided a spark to the Raiders’ deep passing game. Perhaps they come out of nowhere and do it for Al Davis, their fallen leader?

Why they won’t win: The Raiders are 6-4 and are headed in the right direction for the first time in perhaps a decade, but they’re mostly included on this list because they appear to be the best team in one of the league’s worst couple divisions. In truth, Green Bay is just much, much better than Oakland right now and this would likely be a dud of a Super Bowl.

5. Cincinnati Bengals – Andy Dalton and AJ Green give the Bengals one of the more entertaining rookie duos to enter the league together in quite awhile. The team also plays pretty competitive defense.

Why they won’t win: Same deal as the Raiders. Cincinnati is heading in the right direction but they aren’t there yet. Plus what had been a top-notch cornerback duo in Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph is completely gone. Hall is out with an injury and Joseph left as a free agent. Put lesser quality corners on the Packers’ receiving corps and it is a recipe for getting blown out.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger has taken his game up a notch this year and his receiving corps, from Mike Wallace to Antonio Brown on down to Heath Miller and Jerricho Cotchery, give the Steelers a chance to avenge last season’s Super Bowl loss. And they’re coming on strong of late, winning tight match-ups against good New England and Cincinnati teams amid winning five times in its last six games.

Why they won’t win: There’s something about this Steelers team that just rubs wrong. The running game has not gotten on track. The defense is still good, but it sometimes plays old. They lost twice to Baltimore, getting annihilated in the season opener. I can’t put my finger on why this doesn’t feel like Pittsburgh’s year, but it just seems to me that this team is vulnerable and that the door may have closed on them after last season.

3. Baltimore Ravens – They’ve got Ray Rice, they’ve got a possession receiver in Anquan Boldin and they’ve had a deep threat emerge in rookie Torrey Smith. They’ve got Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. I thought the Ravens had a chance to be the best team in the AFC going into the season and they’ve certainly showed it at times, with a sweep over division rival Pittsburgh. On any given Sunday this team could be among the league’s most dominant and they definitely have a defense that could give the Packers fits.

Why they won’t win: This team has had a maddening tendency to play to the level of its opponents. The sweep over Pittsburgh has been accompanied by losses to Seattle and Jacksonville and a near-loss at home to Arizona. Joe Flacco has not taken the expected step forward and the offense disappears at times. That would not play against a Green Bay team that puts up points even when it isn’t playing particularly well.

2. Houston Texans – Andre Johnson. Arian Foster. Ben Tate. This team has all the offensive firepower to be a Super Bowl champion and Wade Phillips has performed miracles with this defense. The Texans are good enough to make life miserable for anyone.

Why they won’t win: Injuries. At full strength the Texans would be my top guess from the AFC for giving the Packers a game. But while the Texans are much improved, even at full strength they’d still lose to Green Bay more than they’d beat the Packers. Throw in injuries to Mario Williams and particularly Matt Schaub, and it becomes highly unlikely that they get to the Super Bowl, much less stop the Packers from achieving an unbeaten season if they do somehow get there.

1. New England Patriots – Do unto others as they have done to you. Wouldn’t it be something if the last team to lose after reaching the Super Bowl unbeaten turned the tables on Green Bay? In Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the Patriots have the strategist and the executioner to get the job done. There are also plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball to make it happen. I think the Patriots have the best chance of stopping the Packers’ unbeaten run.

Why they won’t win: While the Patriots remain a force on offense, the defense has been statistically among the league’s worst all season. It has shown signs of improvement during the latter half of the season but the presence of wide receiver/special teamer Julian Edelman playing a key role in nickel packages illustrates the team’s shortcomings. Rodgers would probably exploit this group all day long, forcing Brady to score nearly every time New England had the ball.

So there are a couple teams that could give the Packers a real game. But the NFC seems stronger than the AFC this year. So if anyone is going to knock Green Bay off its undefeated pedestal, it’s likely going to have to happen before the big game. I fully expect the Packers to be hoisting yet another Lombardi Trophy at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis come February 2012.