We knew who the Green Bay Packers 2024 opponents were going to be, but now we know what the exact schedule is going to look like.
On paper anyway, the Packers have one of the more challenging strengths of schedules this season. According to Sharp Football, the Packers’ strength of schedule ranks 14th based on the projected win totals for their opponents. Another metric has the Packers with the fourth-most difficult schedule, based on their opponents’ 2023 win percentages.
However, beyond just who the Packers play and where those games take place, there are other factors that can impact the difficulty of the schedule. Below I dive into some other key takeaways that could factor into how the Packers’ season unfolds.
— Not surprisingly, after playing Week 1 in Brazil, the Packers will be back home for a Week 2 matchup with the Colts. With the Packers’ Week 1 matchup with the Eagles taking place on a Friday, they will have a two-day rest advantage over Indianapolis–although that obviously could be impacted by the nearly 11,000-mile roundtrip flight.
— A mid-season bye-week for the Packers. I imagine that makes Matt LaFleur quite happy. The last two seasons, the Packers’ bye week either came extremely early or extremely late in the season.
— With nine home games and only eight on the road, the Packers only have back-to-back road games once this season, one of which comes in Detroit. There is also only one instance in which the Packers have back-to-back home games.
— The Packers will travel the 10th most air miles this season. However, when you factor in the trip to Brazil making up a relatively decent portion of those miles, the rest of the season, from a travel perspective, works out well for the Packers.
— Andy Herman pointed out that there will only be two games this season where the Packers find themselves at a rest disadvantage compared to their opponent. They occur in Week 18 against Chicago, who will be coming off a Thursday night game, and in Week 17 against the Vikings, with the Packers coming off a Monday night game. On the flip side, there are four games where the Packers will have the rest advantage.
— From Weeks 2 through 8, six of the Packers’ seven games will be played at 12:00 PM CT. However, Weeks 12 through 15 will all be prime-time games.
— The most daunting stretch of the schedule – at least in mid-May – comes in Weeks 12, 13, and 14. The Packers play San Francisco on Sunday of Week 12, then play Miami just a few days later on Thursday, and then head to Detroit for a prime-time matchup in Week 14. That’s three games in 12 days against three of the NFL’s better teams. The good news is that the San Francisco and Miami games are both at home.
— If the Packers are in need of banking some late season wins, two of their final three games will be played at Lambeau Field.
— Four of the Packers’ final nine games will come against NFC North opponents. A great opportunity to either play catch-up or separate themselves.
— The Packers don’t play the Bears for the first time until Week 11, meaning that at that stage of the season, they’ll be seeing a fairly experienced – relatively speaking – Caleb Williams.
— I’m not sure how Green Bay vs. Houston wasn’t a prime time matchup. That game should be fantastic.
— Early record prediction: 12-5