The Green Bay Packers will begin the 2021 season on the road in New Orleans against the Saints and finish the year in Detroit against the Lions. In between, Matt LaFleur’s team will play five primetime games and host the Cleveland Browns on Christmas Day.
Here are some quick thoughts, observations and takeaways from the Packers’ schedule:
– The first two months will be challenging. The Packers play six of their first nine games away from home, including a five-game stretch featuring four road games. Last season, the Packers played five road games in the first nine weeks but had a Week 5 bye. This season, there’s no bye and one extra road game.
– The Packers will get a chance to play five of their final six games outdoors, including four at home. Games against teams like the Bears, Ravens, Browns and Vikings will provide a terrific opportunity to forge some toughness as a football team and prep for the playoffs.
– Playing the AFC champion Chiefs as the second half of a two-game road trip isn’t ideal, but the Packers will get the mini-bye beforehand thanks to playing the Cardinals on Thursday night the week before.
– Two short weeks before heading out west. The Packers play in San Francisco after a Monday night game and in Arizona on a Thursday night.
– The Week 13 bye creates a marathon start to the season. Twelve straight games. The Packers had a Week 5 bye last year. It’s two months later in 2021. But with 17 games and 18 weeks, maybe a late bye will be beneficial.
– The Packers will play an NFL-high 10 games against playoff teams. And consider this: Matt LaFleur’s team will play five of the other seven teams that qualified for the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year: Saints, Rams, Ravens, Browns, Chiefs.
– Between Week 9 and Week 15, a stretch of seven games, the Packers will play six games against 2020 playoff teams. The lone non-playoff team is the Vikings, and the game is in Minnesota.
– In Weeks 10-12, the Packers will play at home against the Seahawks and Rams – with both teams coming off the bye week – and on the road in Minnesota.
– The early quarterback stretch doesn’t look terrible. It could be this during the first seven games: Jameis Winston/Taysom Hill, Jared Goff, Jimmy Garoppolo, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Burrow’s backup, Andy Dalton and Ryan Fitzpatrick/Taylor Heinicke.
– Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford create a much tougher challenge in Weeks 8-12.
– The Packers will play seven of the last eight first overall draft picks in the NFL draft. Trevor Lawrence is the lone miss. Among the seven top picks are quarterbacks Jamies Winston, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow. The Packers will also play 2009 top pick Matthew Stafford, a familiar foe.
– There’s only one noon kickoff scheduled at Lambeau Field. The NFL is expecting the Packers to be a big draw. Overall, this team has 11 total primetime and late-afternoon games, the same number as last year.
– The Packers have started the season on the road during seven of the last nine seasons, and they’ll finish the season in Detroit for the fourth time in six years. Overall, this will be the third straight season in which the Packers are starting and finishing the season on the road.
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