Packers: Late-season success is key to 2018 season
By Nile McNair
Games after the Week 7 bye will make or break the Green Bay Packers season.
In no way is the Green Bay Packers roster set.
There are still multiple cuts that will dwindle the roster to 53 men. Also, you must take into account that injuries will happen. But for the most part, post-draft, you can tell who will be the Week 1 starters.
So with that in mind I wanted to look deeper into the Packers 2018 season, to see just how good Green Bay could be this year.
Once the NFL schedule announcement came out, Green Bay opponents caused them to have the toughest strength-of-schedule in the NFL.
The schedule is somewhat favorable before the Week 7 bye, facing only one 2017 playoff team in the Minnesota Vikings. Also, the Packers only have to leave Lambeau twice in the first six weeks of the season.
Two toughest road games come after bye week
The Week 7 bye is perfect timing for multiple reasons.
For one, it comes at about the middle of the season. The bye week isn’t too early, but also not too late. Furthermore, the bye week will help the Packers get ready for the toughest part of their schedule.
Following the bye, the Packers must travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams. The ensuing Sunday they travel cross-country to Foxborough to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
If Green Bay can at least steal one of these games on the road, it will help them keep pace in a loaded NFC.
After returning home to play the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay must travel to battle the Seattle Seahawks in a Thursday night game. Seattle hasn’t been kind to Green Bay in recent memory. The Packers have lost their last three meetings against the Seahawks when playing in Seattle. Add in the fact they will only have four days to prepare, and you can see how difficult this game will be.
Familiar foes appear once again on Packers schedule
Though given 10 days of rest after the Thursday night game, Green Bay travels to Minnesota the next week. The Vikings are the defending NFC North champions and only loss once at home last year.
The Atlanta Falcons appear on the schedule in Week 14. The Falcons have beaten the Packers three straight times. These were all home games for the Falcons. It will be interesting to see if their offense is that explosive in a December game at Lambeau.
What seems as a norm now, Green Bay will play the Lions in the last game of the season. Detroit will most likely be battling for its playoff lives like Green Bay, so this game is no gimme. This game in Week 17 could decide a wild-card slot, or even the division crown.
After Week 7, the Packers play 10 games. Six of them are on the road and four come against 2017 playoff teams.
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If the Packers want to succeed in 2018, they must perform at their best when facing the stiffest of competition.