Toughest challenges in Packers first five games of 2023 season

The Green Bay Packers won't have the toughest schedule to overcome in their first five games, but there remains a slew of obstacles between them and a fast start.

Every team brings a set of players who can be game-wreckers if not contained.

Green Bay's opponents are equipped to expose areas where the Packers struggled in 2022 that, if not cleaned up, could present problems in the early going for Matt LaFleur's 2023 squad.

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

The Bears are coming off a dreadful 2022 season, finishing 3-14. They had the least-efficient passing defense in the NFL.

They had the second-lowest cap space dollars allocated to active players ($78.77 million) and failed to provide Justin Fields with ample weapons or a quality offensive line.

Turn the page to 2023; the Bears have a new-look roster after trading for star wide receiver D.J. Moore, signing one-time Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, bringing in ex-Packers tight end Robert Tonyan, and adding in a pair of stud linebackers in T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds.

Despite that all, keeping Justin Fields under wraps will need to be the top priority for Green Bay if they plan to leave this game with a win.

Fields has yet to solidify himself as a bonified passer in the NFL, but his ability to run, eclipsing 1,100 yards in 2022, can break games open at a moment's notice. After all, Fields was the primary contributor to the Bears' 177.3 rushing yards per game in 2022, most in the NFL.

Last season, Green Bay held Fields in check on the ground, only surrendering 91 yards in their two clashes. But 2023 could be a different story now that Fields has added weapons to thin out the box, a rebuilt defense that should get him more opportunities, and a run-blocking extraordinaire at tight end with Marcedes Lewis.