It wasn't a December to remember for the Green Bay Packers, there's no doubt about it.
Matt LaFleur's team lost four straight to close out the regular season. Micah Parsons tore his ACL. Jordan Love suffered a concussion and missed the final two games of the year. Green Bay threw away leads against the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears, got humiliated by the Baltimore Ravens, and then put the backups in for a meaningless defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.
It sent the Packers into the playoffs with zero momentum, where they would throw away yet another position of strength, a 21-3 halftime lead, in an all-time meltdown at Soldier Field.
The injuries hurt, but the Packers also ran out of gas. It's easy to forget that they closed out the season with three road games in the final four weeks, not to mention their bye week came all the way back in early October.
By the end of the regular season, the Packers were running on fumes. Fortunately, their 2026 schedule sets them up perfectly for the complete opposite.
Packers' schedule couldn't have set up more favorably to enter the playoffs with momentum
Playoffs? Playoffs?! I know, I know. Win a few games first. But we're talking about the playoffs.
Last year's schedule set the Packers up to fail down the stretch. Not an excuse, as they had more than enough opportunities to get it done. But an early bye week mixed with big-time injuries and a run of road games gives you all the ingredients for a late-season meltdown.
The NFL has been much kinder this time around.
First of all, Green Bay's bye is nicely placed in Week 11. Now, it's not exactly perfect, as it's a much shorter bye week than usual, due to the Packers returning for a Wednesday game on Thanksgiving Eve in Week 12.
But it's a bye nonetheless, and they will follow that Week 12 contest with another 11-day break before Week 13. Playing one game in 19 days will help get healthy before the final playoff push.
Even more importantly, the Packers will play four home games in the final five weeks of the season. That is almost unheard of. Either side of a Christmas Day trip to Soldier Field, Green Bay will host the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. It's not an easy run of games, but getting those teams inside the frozen tundra is a huge win.
The Bills are used to the elements, but the Dolphins?! They may be known as Green Bay South these days, thanks to the arrival of Malik Willis, Jeff Hafley, and Jon-Eric Sullivan, but cold-weather games are typically a problem for the Dolphins. Then Green Bay will close out the year by welcoming two dome teams to Lambeau.
Getting four home games so late comes at a price, of course. The Packers will play at Lambeau only five times in the opening 13 weeks, meaning they will play seven road games in that stretch. But if the team can stay in position for a playoff run, they could use the December schedule to get hot and push for the NFC North title.
Last season, they entered the playoffs with no momentum and had to pick up the pieces after four straight defeats. They had no Parsons. No Tucker Kraft. Love hadn't played for three weeks.
Nobody can predict injuries, but the Packers have a chance to bounce back this season. A much later bye week helps, but four Lambeau games in the final five weeks is the chef's kiss of the schedule.
The Packers will have every chance to get hot down the stretch and enter the postseason as the NFL's form team.
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