Packers: Four teams to root for during Week 7 bye

The Green Bay Packers are on bye, but four teams can help them out this week.

Despite making an inconsistent start to the 2018 season and entering their bye at 3-2-1, the Packers are still very much in contention in the NFC North.

They are just behind the division-leading Chicago Bears, who are 3-2 following last week’s loss at Miami.

Let’s look ahead to this weekend’s games. Packers fans should cheer these teams on:

New England Patriots (at Bears)

Any time the NFC North leaders are in action, the Packers will be hoping they slip up. That’s especially true when their opponent is in the AFC.

The Bears have lost their past four games against the Patriots, but a lot has changed since the last time they met, a 51-23 New England victory back in 2014.

The Patriots have already lost on the road against an NFC North opponent this year, and Chicago’s pass rush is good enough to give Tom Brady some problems.

But this is the Patriots we are talking about. Even if Rob Gronkowski misses the game due to injury, they will expect to win.

And if they do, the Packers can move into first place of the division without even playing.

New York Jets (vs. Vikings)

For that to happen, the Packers would also need the Vikings to lose at New York. The Jets helped the rest of the NFC North out in Week 1 by defeating the Lions in Detroit.

The Jets have won two straight and won’t be an easy team to beat at home.

The Vikings, too, have bounced back with consecutive victories and will be expected to win again at MetLife Stadium.

A Jets win would be great news for the Packers. Minnesota would fall to 3-3-1, which would ensure they remain in third place in the NFC North ahead of next week’s meeting with the New Orleans Saints.

Miami Dolphins (vs. Lions)

Last week, Brock Osweiler led the Dolphins to a surprising overtime victory over the Bears. The Packers will be hoping he can do it again at home to the Lions.

Detroit can’t move ahead of Green Bay in the division this week, but they currently own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Packers and can match their three wins here.

A loss for Detroit would put them in a bad position. The Lions would be 2-4, playing in a tough division, and still have games with the Vikings (twice), Bears (twice), Rams and Panthers to come.

But with a win on Sunday, they will be right back in the NFC North race.

Baltimore Ravens (vs. Saints)

There are a couple of reasons to want the Ravens to win this week.

First, if the Packers are going to make the playoffs this year, it’s possible they’ll be competing for a wild-card berth along with the Saints. That’s a long way off, and New Orleans will probably win the NFC South, but it’s still a possibility.

Green Bay also owns New Orleans’ first-round draft choice in 2019. While the hopes of that pick being in the top 10 can be forgotten, the more the Saints lose, the better for the Packers.

As New Orleans plays against an AFC rival, there’s even more reason to want them to lose this week.