The Green Bay Packers are riding high after beating the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, but they've still got a lot of work ahead of them with the Chicago Bears also going on the road and beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday.
Two of the Packers' next three games are against the Bears, which will make for a dramatic start to the month of December. But it will also be a huge advantage in the long run for the Packers, who will essentially be playing high-stakes games all throughout the month.
The Packers' next five games are a gauntlet, and there's no way around it. Well, four of them at least. And then they play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. How will these next five weeks go for the Packers? Will they take care of business and win the NFC North?
Game-by-game picks for the Packers in the final five weeks of the regular season
Week 14 vs. Chicago Bears
This is what December football is all about. A high-stakes game being played in Green Bay between the Packers and Bears. Does it get much better than that? This is the epitome of football. This is the NFL's December opus.
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Oh, and by the way: We get this matchup twice in the next three weeks. This one, however, is one the Packers need. The Bears already have a narrow lead in the win column over the Packers, and getting this head-to-head would be a huge swing either way. The way the Bears have been playing offensively, this one could be a shootout.
Prediction: Packers win, 34-28 (9-3-1)
Week 15 at Denver Broncos
Here on December 14, the Packers will be looking to exact a small measure of revenge against the Denver Broncos, who beat the Packers in Denver back in the 2023 season. That was Sean Payton's first year in Denver, and the win against Green Bay -- at the time -- marked the start of a pretty substantial run the Broncos went on.
This is about as tough as it gets for any NFL team going on the road in December. The Packers will be used to playing in the elements, but there's something truly different about playing at altitude in the elements.
Not only that, but the Broncos are currently one of the best teams in the AFC. They do not have a consistent offense, but their defense is as good as it gets in the NFL this year. This is a tough one that could truly go either way, but a coin flip goes to the home team.
Prediction: Packers lose, 23-20 (9-4-1)
Week 16 at Chicago Bears
Once again, it does not get much better than a high-stakes NFC North matchup in the month of December. The Packers need to make sure they get one of these next two games on the schedule (Bears, Broncos), because they need to have a little margin for error built in going into this game.
Even though the Bears have the better overall record at this point, and even though this is a road game for Green Bay, you already know this is going to be a tight one to the end. The Bears are better than any other NFL team this season at forcing turnovers, and their running game is hitting a stride at the perfect time.
The Packers need to force this game into Caleb Williams's hands and let their pass rush feast.
Prediction: Packers win, 24-23 (10-4-1)
Week 17 vs. Baltimore Ravens
Something is wrong with the Baltimore Ravens right now, and it's not just that players are injured. Of course, Lamar Jackson did miss time this year, but that no longer seems to be the issue. This team has lost its mojo, and we can't say at this point whether or not they're going to get it back by Week 17.
Sitting here today, the Packers are just the far better team compared to the Ravens, but even with the Ravens coming to Green Bay, this one is dangerous. Lamar Jackson, the MVP version, is still in there somewhere. Derrick Henry can still take over games.
Although the Ravens might want to consider actually giving him the most snaps of their running back stable.
I think the Packers win this one, regardless of whether the Ravens are in shootout mode or if this one is a defensive battle. The Packers can beat Baltimore at its own game.
Prediction: Packers win, 27-24 (11-4-1)
Week 18 at Minnesota Vikings
The Packers should have no issues with the Vikings. We saw even just a couple of weeks ago that they were able to beat the Vikings handily while not playing their best overall game offensively of the season, by any stretch.
By this point in the year, we'll see how rough the Vikings' quarterback situation really is. It's bad enough already. The Packers will likely still be fending off the Bears and Lions at this point, possibly even playing for a higher seeding in the NFC overall. It wouldn't be shocking if the #1 seed was on the line at this point.
And at least this year, the Vikings are a pretty favorable draw for the Packers in Week 18.
Prediction: Packers win, 34-16 (12-4-1)