Packers schedule release: 5 toughest games in 2022 season

3. vs. Dallas Cowboys (Week 10)

The Los Angeles Rams are a better team than the Dallas Cowboys, so why is this a tougher game?

Again, strength of the opponent is the biggest factor, but not the only one. There are a couple of areas the Cowboys have an advantage over the Packers.

One is the schedule leading into this game.

Dallas has a bye in Week 9 coming off two home games. Mike McCarthy’s team will be well-rested and has two weeks to prepare for Green Bay.

If there’s a coach who knows how to get his team ready after the bye week, it’s McCarthy. In his head-coaching career, McCarthy is 11-4 in the game following the bye.

The Packers, in contrast, will be returning home after a three-game road stretch. From Weeks 5 to 9, Matt LaFleur’s team will travel to London, Washington, Buffalo, and Detroit with just one home game in the middle.

McCarthy will enter Lambeau Field with a point to prove.

It sure helps him that he will arrive with the NFL’s top-ranked offense from last season and a defense that forced a league-high 34 turnovers.

A top NFC team that is well-rested, versus a Packers team that will have spent the best part of a month playing road games.

Not ideal.