Packers: Takeaways from 2020 regular season schedule release
Quick takeaways from the Green Bay Packers’ 2020 schedule.
The NFL released the schedule for the 2020 season on Thursday evening.
The Green Bay Packers will open up on the road against the Minnesota Vikings and close the season against the Chicago Bears, also away from Lambeau Field.
Here are some quick takeaways from the schedule:
No long stretch of road games this year
Last season, the Packers had to play four road games in the space of five weeks. Six of their final nine games were away from Lambeau. They also played four road games in five weeks back in 2018.
No such problem this time.
The Packers will only play consecutive road games once this season, in Weeks 6 and 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans. Four of Green Bay’s opening six will be on the road, but two home games and a bye break up the road games quite well.
Early bye week
Some potentially bad news is that the Packers’ bye week is in Week 5. You never truly know when the perfect time will be for the bye as it depends on injuries at the time, but in an ideal world, the bye would come around halfway through the schedule.
Green Bay’s is a little on the early side this year after just four games. But as it’s in the stretch of four road games in the opening six games, it could be helpful. It again breaks up the games on the road, giving the Packers some much-needed rest. They will play their only consecutive road games immediately after the bye, which is good.
49ers game becomes even tougher
The road game against the San Francisco 49ers looks to be the most challenging contest on the schedule. It’ll now be that little bit tougher as it’s on a short week.
Four days after hosting the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers will travel to the West Coast to meet the 49ers.
Playing at home on a Thursday night is an advantage as the opposing team has to travel on a short week. This will also be a long journey for the Packers.
Packers can finish season strong at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field conditions give the Packers an advantage when the temperatures drop. The good news is that Green Bay will host four games in the final six weeks of the season including a divisional matchup with the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Packers had most of their home games out of the way early last season. The opposite is true this year. If they can come through to the end of November with a good record, they’ll be well-positioned to finish strong with plenty of home games to enjoy.