Absolutely Brutal Seven-Week Stretch Will Determine Fate of Packers’ Season

In the NFL, it is usually not how you start, but rather how you finish. The Green Bay Packers can certainly attest to that after the way their 2025 season went.

The Packers entered last season like a bat out of hell, ripping off two dominant victories over the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. Combine those performances with the acquisition of Micah Parsons, and it felt like the Packers were destined to be playing on Super Bowl Sunday.

Despite some midseason struggles, those conversations only got louder as the Packers knocked off the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field to improve to 9-3-1. The following week, they held a nine-point lead in Denver against the eventual top seed in the AFC playoffs.

Of course, we all know how the season changed during that game against the Broncos. The Packers’ season torpedoed after Christian Watson left the game with a shoulder injury, Parsons was lost for the season with a torn ACL and Zach Tom played his final snaps of the season because of a knee injury.

The Packers’ season, which looked like it had so much promise, ended with a giant thud against a proverbial wall with five consecutive losses.

When looking at the 2026 season, the Packers could be primed for another fast start, but after looking at the schedule, it’s pretty clear what stretch will define their season.

Once again, it is how they will finish. Here is the stretch that will define Green Bay’s season.

Week 12: Packers at Rams

If you believe in measuring-stick games, the Packers’ matchup on Thanksgiving Eve at Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams certainly qualifies.

By this point, Parsons and Tucker Kraft should be back at full strength and perhaps at the peak of their powers. Any growing pains with new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will have taken place, with most of the kinks worked out.

The Rams are a team on a mission to get back to the Super Bowl after falling in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion each of the last two years. In both of those games, they were just one play away from potentially experiencing the joy of victory rather than the agony of defeat.

The Packers, meanwhile, are trying to prove they are true title contenders after falling apart to finish last season. Beating the Rams on the road would be a significant step to proving their mettle against the best the NFL has to offer.

Week 13: Packers at Saints

This matchup at the New Orleans Saints is a classic trap game. Matt LaFleur insisted there was no such thing last season, but his team fell victim to at least two games that could have been considered traps before the calendar moved to December.

After a 2-0 start, the Packers felt like a lock to go to 3-0 when they faced the Cleveland Browns, who were 0-2 and coming off a 24-point loss.

Confidence was sky high in Green Bay, with former left tackle Rasheed Walker saying he felt his team could go undefeated in the regular season.

Mere days later, the dreams of an undefeated season went up in smoke with an embarrassing 13-10 loss to the Browns in which they made a litany of mistakes on offense and special teams to blow what was a winnable game.

Two months later, the Packers faced the Panthers before a showdown against the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles. Once again, the Packers were disjointed, sloppy and unable to find traction against an inferior Panthers team, losing a game they had no business losing.

This year, that late-season trap game could be the Saints. They are not projected to be a top team in the NFC, with a combined 11 wins the last two seasons. The Packers, meanwhile, could be ripe for a letdown after facing the Rams.

No game in the NFL is an easy one, as any team can win on any given Sunday, but the best teams usually take care of business against inferior opponents.

Had Parsons not torn his ACL, the losses to Cleveland and Carolina could have been reasons why the Packers failed to get the top seed in the NFC playoffs.

They cannot afford those types of missteps this year.

Week: 14 Packers vs. Bills

Bills quarterback Josh Allen slides in front of former Packers safety Darnell Savage when the teams played in 2022. | JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE / USA TODAY NETWORK

If you’re going to win a Super Bowl, you’re probably going to have to beat an elite quarterback or two along the way. A Sunday Night Football showdown against Josh Allen, obviously, qualifies as a test against one of the league’s best quarterbacks.

Allen and the Bills have a new head coach but still expect to compete for a championship after knocking on the door since the 2020 season. Apart from the Rams, it could be argued that the Bills are the best team on Green Bay’s schedule. Allen is certainly the best quarterback on Green Bay’s schedule.

In a perfect world, the Packers would win both games against the Rams and Bills, but they could even be content with a split in this situation. If they were to drop the game two weeks earlier against the Rams, the importance of knocking off the Bills would skyrocket.

Week 15: Packers vs. Dolphins

By the same token that the Saints could be a trap game, so, too, could be the Miami Dolphins. The difference is that it’s hard to envision the coaching staff and players taking for granted a matchup against a team with so many former players, coaches and executives.

Competition breeds excellence, and while there is no animosity between Jeff Hafley and Matt LaFleur, both men will certainly want to beat up on the other as a reminder of who the best coach.

The same is true of Jordan Love and Malik Willis. No animosity, but plenty of competition there.

The reality is, like the Saints, the Packers are more talented than the Dolphins and should be able to win this game on their home field against a Dolphins team who is in the midst of a rebuild.

Like the Saints game, with other tough games on the horizon, the Packers have to resist the temptation to look ahead to who they’re playing on Christmas and take care of business against Miami.

Week 16: Packers at Bears (Christmas)

Last year on Dec. 20, Green Bay’s matchup against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field wound up being a big factor in deciding who would win the NFC North.

The Packers led 16-6 late into the fourth quarter and looked prime to take a stranglehold on the division and a top-two seed in the NFC playoffs. One collapse later, and the Packers were at the bottom of the NFC playoff picture and lost their chances at a division title.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) mishandles an onside kick. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This year’s matchup on Christmas could hold similar stakes. Depending how their matchup on Oct. 11 at Lambeau went, this game could have massive ramifications for tiebreaker purposes.

This entire stretch of games could define Green Bay’s season, but it really could all be broken down into this game being the one that could define their season.

Week 17: Packers vs. Texans

Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field is always a fun environment to be part of, and the Houston Texans will be bringing their salty defense to town to try and spoil the Packers’ first game of the 2027 calendar year.

The Texans made the divisional round of the playoffs a year ago on the strength of their pass rush. Houston finished last season ranked second in points allowed, first in total defense, third in interception percentage, third in takeaways and eighth in sack percentage.

If we were to break this matchup down into just one position group, this game will be a measuring stick game for Green Bay’s new-look offensive line.

Assuming they’re healthy, which is assuming a lot considering the position they play, the Packers will be asking a lot of guys like left tackle Jordan Morgan and right tackle Zach Tom as they face off against Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.

The Packers could be playing for seeding in the NFC playoffs, whether moving up as a division champion or fighting for their lives. Making sure Jordan Love is upright for this matchup will go a long way toward them being able to get a win.

Week 18: Packers vs. Lions

This game could carry significant stakes. It could be win or go home for both teams. It could decide the NFC North, like this matchup did in 2014. It could only mean something for one team, with the other attempting to play spoiler.

If the Lions are asked to play spoiler, that’s a role they’ve relished in the past.

The Packers have fallen in each of their last two season finales while taking two different approaches. The approach did not matter as they endured one-and-done postseasons on both occasions.

Regardless, the Packers are hoping to be playing for something when they enter the final week of the regular season.

If they are, then this stretch that will define their season has gone in their favor.

If they are not, there will be a lot of questions that need to be answered at the end of the season.

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