Bye Weeks and Eight More Facts About the Packers’ Schedule
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The bye week surprisingly has not delivered much of an advantage. Over the last five seasons, teams are 83-77 in the game coming out of their bye. The Green Bay Packers are a feeble 1-4, including last year’s 37-8 bludgeoning at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
For the Packers, their bye comes in Week 5 – perhaps handy timing with a game at Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers looming in Week 6.
On the other hand, the Packers get a bye-week disadvantage twice – both against divisional foes. Minnesota has a Week 7 bye ahead of a Week 8 game at Lambeau Field. And Chicago has a Week 11 bye ahead of a Week 12 game at Green Bay. That’s obviously not ideal for the Packers, who went 6-0 in division games last season en route to winning the NFC North.
Meanwhile, the Packers and 49ers play on Thursday night in Week 9. Both teams will be coming off divisional slugfests, with Green Bay’s game against Minnesota and San Francisco’s game at Seattle. The Packers were crushed in three West Coast trips last season. Going to San Francisco for an NFC Championship Game rematch on a short week doesn't seem to be a recipe for success.
The good thing about a Thursday night game is the mini-bye that follows. For Green Bay, that means a few extra days of rest before a home game against Jacksonville.
Here’s what else stands out about the Packers’ schedule.
2. Clearly the toughest stretch comes after the bye week, with games at Tampa Bay (with Tom Brady leading what could be the best offense in the NFL) and Houston (back-to-back AFC South champions), home against Minnesota (which, as was noted, will be coming off its bye) and a short-week showdown at San Francisco.
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3. It’s a quarterback-driven league, and the Packers will face quite a gauntlet in the first half of the season. It’s Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins in Week 1, followed by Detroit’s Matthew Stafford in Week 2, New Orleans’ Drew Brees in Week 3, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan in Week 4, Tampa Bay’s Brady following the bye in Week 6, Houston’s Deshaun Watson in Week 7 and Cousins again in Week 8. Those prolific passers will test a Green Bay defense that finished an excellent sixth in the league in opponent passer rating.
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4. Lambeau Field hosts Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame on Oct. 3. Because of that, as ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky reported, the Packers asked to be on the road in Week 4. Instead, they were given a Monday night home game against Atlanta. One, it will be a short turnaround to get the field ready and the stadium cleaned out. Two, the Packers will have a typical “Friday” workday of practice and meetings on the Saturday of the college game.
5. The Packers are scheduled to play five prime-time games, which you might expect because of the quality and popularity of their team. Those games are Week 3 at New Orleans, Week 4 against Atlanta, Week 9 at San Francisco, Week 12 against Chicago and Week 16 against Tennessee.
6. Last year, the Packers had to be road warriors, with back-to-back road games on three occasions. That was the byproduct of an early stretch of five home games in six weeks. There will be no such issues this year. They will play on the road in consecutive weeks only once this season, at Tampa Bay and at Houston after the bye.
7. It’s going to be an icy-cold finish to the season. Check out these last six games, a stretch that begins on Nov. 29: home game in prime time against Chicago, home game against Philadelphia, an indoor reprieve at Detroit, home against Carolina, a prime-time home game against Tennessee and at Chicago. That’s potentially five frigid games to end the season. That Dec. 27 game against the Titans could be particularly miserable. According to WLUK-TV's Pete Petoniak, the average low for Dec. 27 is 11. On Dec. 27, 2017, the low was minus-15.
8. It’s not often you get a first with a franchise as old as the Packers, but this will be the first time the Packers have kicked off a season at Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Vikings have won four straight season-opening games overall. They've opened at home each of the past three seasons and posted wins over the Falcons in 2019, 49ers in 2018 and Saints in 2017.
9. The last word goes to Kevin King.
