Packers: Next three weeks are critical to 2018 season

The next three weeks are critical to the Green Bay Packers’ season.

After laying an egg in Washington, the Packers now look at three critical weeks to their 2018 season.

This isn’t an overstatement. Yes, I know we are not even in October, but the next three weeks could prove to be the difference in Green Bay’s season ending in December, January or beyond.

The Packers have a very winnable stretch of games starting this Sunday against Buffalo at home. They then travel to Detroit before coming home to play the 49ers on Monday night in Lambeau Field. The Packers will then have a bye week to heal and rest up before the second half of the season.

The best-case scenario is winning all three and heading into the bye at 4-1-1. Because after the bye, the Packers face a difficult five-week stretch. Green Bay plays at Los Angeles Rams, then at New England.

The Packers will then come home to face a Miami Dolphins team that is currently 3-0, before heading out to Seattle on a short week to play on Thursday Night Football.

The Packers finish the brutal stretch with a second game against the Vikings in Minnesota.

That’s as rough of a stretch of games as there is. Not just in the teams they play, but the travel involved. The Packers will travel to the west coast twice, and will have to go to New England after the first west coast trip. That’s a coast-to-coast trip with a stop in Green Bay along the way.

Four of those five games will be played on the road, one of them on only three days rest.

It’s possible they could go 1-4 or even 0-5 during that time.

That’s why these next three weeks are going to be so vital to Green Bay’s season.

It won’t be an easy task. Green Bay is struggling to score touchdowns on offense at the moment. If you would’ve told me the Packers would only have six offensive touchdowns during the first three games I would have thought you were crazy.

That’s only two per game. But that’s exactly where they stand after three weeks.

If it wasn’t for a blocked punt and Mason Crosby’s seven field goals, the scoring would be in worse shape.

Green Bay’s offense can’t seem to find a rhythm. Aaron Rodgers is injured and gutting out performances, and his receivers haven’t given him much help with dropped passes.

The running game has been seldom used and the offensive line now has injury concerns — Bryan Bulaga (back), Justin McCray (shoulder).

Not a recipe for success.

Then there’s the defense that has not yet been able to put together one complete game. The passing defense that looked much improved has been torn apart from the second half of the Vikings game through the first half of the Redskins game.

The pass rush has not been able to get home and is now down Muhammad Wilkerson. Also dealing with injury is the Packers’ top cornerback Kevin King (groin) and pass rusher Nick Perry (concussion).

The Packers are used to dealing with adversity. But it’s not often they have to deal with so much this early in the season.

The Packers have started 4-6 and 5-5 and still made the playoffs, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility they could stumble over the next three weeks and be ok. It’ll just be much harder.

There is still a lot of football to be played. Rodgers has worked magic with less.

But these next three weeks could be critical to the success of the 2018 Green Bay Packers.