Packers' quest for a Super Bowl won't get easier this season
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers were better than expected in 2023, and fans hope they'll be improve further in the coming season.
Given their opponents, they'll need to.
The Packers have six games against playoff teams, and several possible playoff teams are among the rest.
The Packers, who were expected to be in a rebuilding year last season, earned the final NFC playoff spot, knocked off the second-seed Dallas Cowboys in Texas and nearly defeated the first-seed San Francisco 49ers in California. They finished 9-8 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.
Green Bay has nine home games this year, as it is the NFC's turn to get the extra game in the NFL's unbalanced 17-game season. Home opponents include the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.
Road opponents include the Bears, Lions and Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. As of now, the Packers are not scheduled to play an international game, although the Eagles, Vikings, Bears and Jaguars are. Their opponents have not been announced.
As the winningest team in NFL history, the Packers have all-time losing records against only six of the NFL's 31 other teams. All six are AFC teams, including the Colts, Dolphins and Titans, who are on this year's schedule.
All time, including playoff games, the Packers are 836-624-38, making them the winningest team in NFL history. The Bears are second at 810-654-42. Green Bay has a 10-game winning steak versus the Bears.
Overall, Packers opponents were 121-117 last year, not counting playoff games.
Minnesota Vikings
First of 127 games, Oct. 22, 1961.
Packers lead series 66-58-3.
2023: The Vikings won 24-10 in Green Bay, and Packers won 33-10 in Minneapolis.
Home or away? One of each
Worth noting: Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is a free agent this year. Cousins missed half of last season with an injury and the Vikings finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs. The Vikings find themselves in a division with two and possibly three ascending teams, and there is no obvious heir apparent if they don't re-sign Cousins.
Detroit Lions
First of 189 games, Nov. 2, 1930, when the Lions were the Portsmouth Spartans.
Packers lead series 106-76-7.
2023: The Lions won 34-20 in Green Bay, and the Packers won 29-22 in Detroit.
Home or away? One of each
Worth noting: Detroit made it to the NFC championship game for the first time since 1991 and, like the Packers, came within four points of defeating the 49ers. The Lions defeated the Packers in their first meeting in 2023, but Green Bay's shocking Thanksgiving Day victory over Detroit at Ford Field was a sign the Packers were not just in rebuilding mode.
Lions games were among the most expensive secondary market tickets on the Packers' schedule in 2023, driven higher by excited Detroit fans. Expect more of the same this year, because Lions fans will have high expectations after the success of last year.
Chicago Bears
First of 208 games, Nov. 27, 1921.
Packers lead series 107-95-6.
2023: Packers won 38-20 in Chicago and 17-9 in Green Bay.
Home or away? One of each
Worth noting: One suspects the Bears turnaround, if they have one, won't be complete until they beat the Packers, which they've failed to do in 27 of the last 31 games. The Bears had the kind of season Packers fans were expecting for Green Bay. They improved from 3-14 in 2022 to 7-10, and defeated the Vikings and Lions back-to-back on the way to a a 5-3 record in the last half of the season. They have the first and ninth picks in the 2024 draft, so will have a good opportunity to continue their rebuild. The question of the off-season is whether the Bears will stick with quarterback Justin Fields or draft "can't miss" prospect Caleb Williams.
Tickets to Bears-Packers games tend to be among the more expensive on the schedule. If the rivalry reasserts itself, with both teams capable of winning, it will be more so.
Los Angeles Rams
First of 99 games, Oct. 17, 1937, when they were the Cleveland Rams
Packers lead series 50-47-2.
2023: Packers won 20-3 in Green Bay.
Home or away? At Los Angeles.
Worth noting: The Packers defeated the Rams 20-3 at Lambeau Field last season. The Packers won nine of the last 10 games against the Rams, with the most recent four victories coming at Lambeau Field. Green Bay's loss was by two points in 2018 in Los Angeles.
New Orleans Saints
First of 28 games on Nov. 17, 1968.
Packers lead series 18-10-0.
2023: Packers won 18-17 in Green Bay.
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: Matt LaFleur is 2-1 against the Saints, who signed Derek Carr before last season to finally replace Drew Brees, who retired in 2020. With Carr at quarterback, the Saints finished 9-8, like the Packers, but failed to make the playoffs.
Arizona Cardinals
First of 76 games on Nov. 20, 1921 as the Chicago Cardinals.
Packers lead series 46-26-4.
2021: Packers won 24-21 in Glendale, Arizona.
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: The Cardinals have been around longer than the Packers, but not as successfully. The Cardinals, formed in 1898, are the oldest continuously operating football franchise in the country, and the Cardinals and Bears are the only existing charter members of the NFL. The Cardinals have been on the cusp of success from time to time without actually getting there. They were 11-6 in 2021, but 4-13 the last two seasons. The last head coach to have an all-time winning record for the Cardinals was interim head coach Larry Wilson, who was 2-1 in 1979. That said, the Cardinals defeated the Eagles and the Cowboys last year.
Houston Texans
First of five games on Nov. 21, 2004.
Packers lead series 4-1-0.
2020: Packers won 35-20 in Houston.
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: A matchup of two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, Jordan Love for the Packers and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud for the Texans, will take place in Lambeau Field. The Texans were 10-7 last year, hammered the Cleveland Browns in a wild card game, then lost to the Baltimore Ravens. The Packers' only loss to the Texans was in 2008 at Lambeau Field. A Love-Stroud meeting is the kind of contest fans love, so ticket prices for this one could be on the higher end.
The Texans achieved the rare feat of having both the offensive and defensive rookies of the year, with defensive end Will Anderson Jr. receiving the defensive honor.
Indianapolis Colts
First of 46 games in Nov. 5, 1950, when they were the Baltimore Colts.
Colts lead series 24-21-1
2020: Colts won 34-31 in overtime in Indianapolis
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: The Colts ambush the Packers on a regular basis. The Packers lost four of the last five games, three times in Indianapolis, dating to 2004. The Colts have been on the quarterback carousel since Andrew Luck retired after the 2018 season. Nonetheless, they forged a 9-8 record last season and just missed the playoffs. The Packers might be glad they are playing them at Lambeau.
Miami Dolphins
First of 16 games on Dec. 19, 1971.
Dolphins lead series 10-6-0.
2022: Packers won 26-20 in Miami.
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: Another matchup between good young quarterbacks, the Packers' Love and Miami's Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins finished 11-7 last year, but had some bizarre games. They scored 70 points against the Denver Broncos, but gave up 56 to the Baltimore Ravens. They played the Buffalo Bills in the last game of the season. Had they won, the Bills would have missed the playoffs. Instead, the Dolphins lost 21-14, the Bills shot to the second-seed and the Dolphins ended up as sixth-seed. The Packers are 3-0 against the Dolphins since 2014. The Packers trail in the overall series because they were 0-8 between 1971-1994.
San Francisco 49ers
First of 73 games on Nov. 26, 1950.
Packers lead series 38-34-1.
2024: 49ers won 24-21 in Santa Clara, California, in the divisional round playoff game.
Home or away? At Lambeau Field.
Worth noting: The 49ers might as well join the NFC North. The Packers and 49ers played seven times in the last six years, with Green Bay winning three. Unfortunately for the Packers, three of their losses where in playoff games. The Packers nearly defeated the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023, but the 49ers rallied to beat the Packers, as they did against the Lions in the NFC championship game to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.
Jacksonville Jaguars
First of seven games on Sept. 24, 1995.
Packers lead series 5-2-0
2020: Packers won 24-20 in Green Bay.
Home or away? At Jacksonville.
Worth noting: Jacksonville is one of four teams that have never played in the Super Bowl, but they've played more International Series games than any NFL team. They top the list at 11, with the Dolphins second at six. The Packers won their last three games, dating to 2012. The Jaguars went from 1-15, the last time they played the Packers, to 9-8 the last two seasons.
Philadelphia Eagles
First of 46 games in Oct. 29, 1933.
Packers lead series 28-18-0.
2022: Eagles won 40-33 in Philadelphia.
Home or away? At Philadelphia.
Worth noting: The Eagles engineered a spectacular collapse at the end of last season, losing five of their last six games and finishing 11-6, and in second place in the NFC East to the Cowboys. They got hammered 32-9 in the wildcard round by the Buccaneers. The Packers are 1-2 against the Eagles under Matt LaFleur.
Seattle Seahawks
First of 24 games on Oct. 10, 1976.
Packers lead series 15-9-0.
2021: Packers won 17-0 in Green Bay.
Home or away? At Seattle.
Worth noting: There was a time when Packers-Seahawks was an intense rivalry, the result of a lot of cross-pollination of personnel (mostly from Green Bay to Seattle), and several distressing Packers losses, including the 2015 playoffs. Since that game, the Packers are 5-1, including a playoff win in Matt LaFleur's first season. The lone loss was in Seattle in 2018.
Tennessee Titans
First of 14 games on Nov. 19, 1972.
Titans lead series 8-6-0.
2022: Titans won 27-17 in Green Bay.
Home or away? At Nashville.
Worth noting: The Titans are a team in transition. They fired respected coach Mike Vrabel after a 6-11 season. Vrabel led the Titans for six years, compiling a 54-45 record. Tennessee had quarterback uncertainty last season, but appear to have settled on second-year man Will Levis over longtime starter Ryan Tannehill. Also, offensive stalwart running back Derrick Henry will be a free agent. The Packers are 1-1 against Tennessee in the LaFleur era, with both games at Lambeau Field.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers' quest for a Super Bowl won't get easier this season
