NFL standings by remaining strength of schedule: Packers face difficult road ahead

As hard as it may be to believe, we're already a third of the way through this 2026 NFL regular season, and while the Green Bay Packers had a rough go of things the first few weeks, they've since played far better football.

After blowing a 12-point lead in the second half to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 en route to a 17-point loss, Green Bay just squeaked by the New York Jets in overtime in Week 2 before being absolutely annihilated in Week 3 by the Atlanta Falcons, 35-14. The Packers got back to .500 in Week 4 with a three-point win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, destroyed the Chicago Bears in Week 5, and then embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday night.

A 4-2 start is solid, of course, but things are about to get a lot tougher for the Green & Gold, as they have the seventh-toughest remaining strength of schedule (SOS) over the final 12 weeks of the season. Here's how things shake out for Green Bay.

• Week 7: at Detroit Lions
• Week 8: vs. Carolina Panthers (Thursday Night Football)
• Week 9: at New England Patriots
• Week 10: vs. Minnesota Vikings
• Week 11: BYE
• Week 12: at Los Angeles Rams (Thanksgiving Eve)
• Week 13: at New Orleans Saints
• Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday Night Football)
• Week 15: vs. Miami Dolphins
• Week 16: at Chicago Bears (Christmas Day)
• Week 17: vs. Houston Texans (Monday Night Football)
• Week 18: vs. Detroit Lions

Now, let's take a quick look at where the Packers sit in the NFL standings by remaining strength of schedule for all 32 teams.

Packers' path to the playoffs won't get any easier with a tough remaining schedule

As you can clearly see, the Packers' remaining opponents currently have a combined winning percentage of .541. And that's even with the winless Miami Dolphins still on the schedule, with that reunion with Jeff Hafley and Malik Willis set for Week 15 at Lambeau Field.

Of Green Bay's 11 remaining games, seven will come against teams that currently own a winning record, those being this Sunday's matchup with the Detroit Lions (3-2), the Week 8 outing against the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers (3-2), the Week 9 showdown with the New England Patriots (4-2), the Week 10 rematch with the Vikings (5-0), the Week 14 Sunday nighter with the Buffalo Bills (5-1), the Christmas Day rematch with the Bears (4-2) in Week 16, and the second battle with the Lions to close out the season in Week 18.

That's obviously not an easy slate.

And that doesn't even include the Los Angeles Rams or the Houston Texans, both of whom are somehow only 2-4 but have way too much talent to be considered "easy" opponents. Even the New Orleans Saints, who are also 2-4, have proven they can hang with tough teams at times this season.

So, the Packers certainly have a rough road ahead, and one could easily assume that they'll have to at least finish 10-7 to have a shot at the postseason.

The silver lining in all this, though, as we're sure you noticed, is that all three of the other teams in the NFC North sit ahead of Green Bay on the list above, with the Vikings ranking first, the Bears ranking in a tie for fourth, and the Lions ranking sixth.

We now just have to sit back and wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.

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