Three games that may come to define the Packers’ 2021 playoff hopes

Below a brand new format this upcoming NFL season, the Green Bay Packers face an 18-week regular-season schedule that will likely be notably testy on the highway.

With quite a lot of highway contests towards playoff contenders and near-postseason qualifiers, it is going to be vital for the Packers to profit from their home-field benefit all through the season. Looking forward to the 2021 season, two of these house video games particularly stand out and make up three of the extra defining video games of Inexperienced Bay’s quest to achieve the playoffs as soon as once more, with or with out Aaron Rodgers. Coincidentally, they’re all anticipated to be later afternoon video games in entrance of a wider nationwide viewers.

Final 12 months’s Week 3 shootout noticed the Packers escape New Orleans with an exhilarating 37-30 victory. It was a catalyst sport for Inexperienced Bay in reaching an early bye with momentum and a 4-0 report.

This might find yourself being an intriguing Week 1 sport to look at for all NFL followers if it ought to characteristic two groups with model new beginning quarterbacks. The Saints determine to trot out Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston below heart as an alternative of Drew Brees, however the Superdome continues to be one of many hardest venues for opposing groups to play. If Jordan Love is the starter, what sort of influence will the noisy surroundings have on the first-time starter? This time round, it might be extra of a story of the defenses and which offense can transfer the ball sufficient to attain.

Whoever is the Packers’ quarterback, Week 1 will set the tone for the staff’s season, particularly with a lighter schedule within the earlier a part of the season. Will probably be as much as the Packers to benefit from ensuing video games towards the likes of Detroit, San Francisco, and Cincinnati earlier than waiting for matchups towards final 12 months’s playoff groups in 5 of the subsequent seven weeks. However the early momentum to gas extra wins begins with choosing up a giant highway win on the Saints.

Final winter’s divisional spherical matchup between Inexperienced Bay and Los Angeles could have been the primary of many significant conferences between these two groups within the coming years. Within the playoffs, the Rams actually struggled to hit on huge performs, averaging simply 4.9 yards per play within the contest. Enter Matthew Stafford this season and the Rams are relying on the veteran quarterback to be the needle-mover lacking from final 12 months’s contending squad to create chunk performs. The Packers are very accustomed to Stafford’s arm and on a staff prepared to enrich him with weapons Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, in addition to a stingy protection, the Rams seem poised for one more playoff run.

For the Packers, this contest is available in Week 12, the ultimate sport earlier than a really late bye week. Not solely ought to this sport issue into playoff positioning, however it’s going to come at a time by which Inexperienced Bay could also be dealing with a major degree of fatigue and damage in a run from mid-September to late November with out an off week.

The bye week itself is fascinating and never superb for the Packers on this matchup. Maybe it is going to be factor that this sport comes on the entrance finish for Inexperienced Bay, because the staff has misplaced the fast sport following the bye week every of the previous 4 seasons; that makes a win versus the Rams all of the extra vital. Conversely, the Rams will enter this sport contemporary off a bye of their very own and have two weeks to arrange for the Packers.

The NFC West poses a severe problem to the NFC North this season with Seattle, Arizona, and a mended San Francisco on the schedule. However a rested Los Angeles might be the hardest matchup of all of them for Inexperienced Bay’s protection, even when the sport is performed at Lambeau Area.

The ultimate stretch of the season is daunting for Inexperienced Bay in that three of the ultimate 5 video games to shut the season will come towards the Packers’ NFC North rivals. Definitely, a divisional title will come all the way down to the Packers’ efficiency on this slate, in addition to a tough highway matchup with Baltimore. However sandwiched in the course of the chaos is a Christmas Day date with Cleveland.

If the divisional video games weren’t sufficient of a distraction to this sport on the schedule, the vacation might present one other. The Packers personal a 1-1 report on Christmas Day, enjoying each video games towards Chicago in 2005 and 2011. Normally, the Packers may need a bonus within the chilly of December at house, however they are going to be taking the sphere towards a Browns staff from the Midwest and contemporary off a playoff run final season. There’s some grit to this Cleveland staff that noticed an improved season from Baker Mayfield a 12 months in the past, constructed a strong line of defense that now consists of Jadeveon Clowney, and boasts one of many league’s prime dashing assaults for a sloppy discipline. Cleveland has shaped itself into one of many AFC North’s prime groups with a renewed sense of confidence and will likely be in search of a second straight journey to the postseason.

It is a harmful sport for Inexperienced Bay if it overlooks the Browns whereas waiting for Minnesota and Detroit, and one it can’t afford to let slip away.