![]() They also became the first team in NFL history to finish three consecutive seasons with 13 or more wins. With their victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17, they earned home field advantage, a first round bye, and the No. With a Week 15 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Packers won the NFC North for the third consecutive year. Either way, attention will be on the Packers.The 2021 season was the Green Bay Packers' 101st season in the National Football League (NFL), their 103rd overall and their third under head coach Matt LaFleur. If Jordan Love is under center, well, it’ll be interesting, to say the least. If Aaron Rodgers is under center, then this is a Super Bowl-caliber team. On top of that, only one of their home games will start at noon–the rest will begin at 3:25 CST or later. Green Bay will be in the national spotlight quite often this season, playing five primetime games along with a matchup with Cleveland on Christmas Day. So, fortunately, they don’t have any three-game stretches on the road, and they also have two stints where they will be home back-to-back weeks as well. On two occasions, the Green Bay Packers will play back-to-back games on the road, once against Cincinnati and Chicago and then again against Arizona and Kansas City. I don’t want to use the term “easy,” but to answer the question, I’ll say the friendliest stretch for Green Bay comes over that final six games when four are at home, and they have their bye week mixed in as well. In addition to playing the NFC North, they also have to face the NFC West, which could be the best division in football, along with a loaded AFC North as well as Kansas City. In fact, their overall schedule is quite difficult. You never want to count a team out on the NFL, but even so, I’m not sure that there is a stretch of games that I would consider “easy” for the Green Bay Packers. From there, they then head to Kansas City for another road game, are home to face Seattle, who is always a tough opponent, then to Minnesota for an always challenging divisional game in a difficult road environment, then back home for the Rams. They start by heading to Arizona for a Thursday night matchup, and typically, the home teams on these short weeks have a major advantage. Right in the heart of the season leading up to Green Bay’s bye is when I believe they will face their toughest stretch. For Green Bay, they will be at home against Washington then have to fly halfway across the country to face the Cardinals. With it being such a short week, there is far less time to prepare for the opponent teams are still recovering from the previous Sunday’s game, and add in that they also have to travel. Road teams on Thursday night have fared better as of late, particularly last season, but overall the home team still has a distinct advantage–oftentimes winning by multiple scores. As a result, this could lead to a slower start out of the gates for Green Bay. Four of their first six will come away from Lambeau Field and against some difficult opponents as well, including the Saints, 49ers, Bears, and Bengals. If you’re going to finish the season predominantly at home, that means at some point there is going to be a stretch of road games, and that comes right away for the Green Bay Packers. ![]() ![]() It’s an advantage that can and should play into Green Bay’s hands.įor the Packers, this final stretch will give them the opportunity to finish the season strong, potentially banking some needed wins and hopefully entering the playoffs on a hot streak–which as we’ve seen over the years can be key to playoff success. How many home games do the Green Bay Packers have in December and now January? The Tennessee Titans game from a season ago is a prime example of the effect that playing in the cold and snow can have on an opponent–especially one from warmer climates. This is one of the first things that I look for when the schedule is released. But for the most part, if the Packers are battling injuries, they’ll have to fight their way through them. The silver lining, if you want to call it that, is that Green Bay plays their Thursday night game in Week 8, which means they’ll have a mini-bye going into Week 9 for some additional rest. In what will be a 17 game season, the Green Bay Packers will have only five games left once their bye week is over. If I had to guess, I’d say that players would prefer to have their bye week later in the season than earlier, but I imagine Week 13 is pushing it. Five primetime games highlight the 2021 slate. ![]()
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