NFL Flexes Packers-Ravens Game in Week 15
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFL has changed the Week 15 game between the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens from a noon start to a 3:25 p.m. kickoff.
Putting the game in the marquee national slot makes sense from a league and network perspective. Baltimore is the current No. 1 seed in the AFC with its 8-3 record. Green Bay is the current No. 2 seed in the NFC with its 9-3 record. That makes this a potential Super Bowl preview featuring 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson vs. 2020 MVP Aaron Rodgers.
The game is Green Bay’s only remaining contest against a team with a winning record.
“This was an important one,” Rodgers said after beating the Rams on Sunday. “There’s still a lot to be figured out in the conference, but I like where we’re at. I like our football team. We’ve got some more home games down the stretch. These are the type of winter games where we can and have effectively thrown the football. We’ve controlled the clock for almost 40 minutes. This is what makes it so difficult to play in Lambeau. So, we’ve got to win our division first, secure that home playoff game, and then we have the tiebreaker over Arizona, so we’re right on their heels right now.”
The Packers are on their long-awaited bye. Despite a lengthy injury list, they beat the Los Angeles Rams, who were coming off their bye, on Sunday.
“It’s been a long time,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “It’s been, what, 12 weeks we’re into this thing. We gave them a couple days off after that Thursday night game [at Arizona] but these guys have been grinding hard. I was really impressed with everybody’s ability to stay focused and making sure that they gave their best effort last night. I thought it was extremely important that we were all on the same page there. And I was really proud of our guys’ effort and I thought they came through.”
Here are the Packers' final five games:
Week 14: Home vs. Chicago – Sunday, Dec. 12, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)
Week 15: At Baltimore – Sunday, Dec. 19, 3:25 p.m. (Fox)
Week 16: Home vs. Cleveland – Saturday, Dec. 25, 3:30 p.m. (Fox)
Week 17: Home vs. Minnesota – Sunday, Jan. 2, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)
Week 18: At Detroit – Sunday, Jan. 9, noon (Fox)
