Packers schedule: Stretch of road games presents huge challenge

The Green Bay Packers will play four road games in five weeks in the middle of the 2018 season.

There’s a lot to like about the Packers’ regular season schedule. First off, the team begins the season with four home games in six weeks before taking a Week 7 bye. That works.

Three of their final five are also at home, including the season finale against Detroit. I like that a lot.

But it’s the games in between that are concerning.

Following Green Bay’s bye, it hits the road four times in the space of five weeks. The opponents? Oh, just three playoff teams from last year.

First up is the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. The Rams have signed Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, Ndamukong Suh and Brandin Cooks already this season. Talk about going all in for 2018. The Rams should be considered strong contenders in the NFC. This will be a difficult challenge for Mike McCarthy’s team.

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The Packers then travel across the country to take on the AFC champs in Week 9. Tom Brady and the Patriots will be waiting. It should be a fun game, but arguably the toughest on Green Bay’s schedule.

In Week 10 Green Bay gets to return home in a favorable matchup with the Miami Dolphins. But just four days later they will be in Seattle for Thursday Night Football. Playing on the road isn’t easy, particularly on a short week.

Up next is a Sunday night showdown with the Vikings. In the space of 10 days, Green Bay plays at CenturyLink Field and U.S. Bank Stadium, home of two miserable recent memories for Packers fans.

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If the Packers can come out of this five-game stretch with a couple of victories, they will have to be pleased. The schedule always presents a few difficult challenges.

This stretch in the middle of the season is as tough as it gets.