Green Bay Packers: 8 Quick Takeaways from 2021 Schedule

We knew who the Green Bay Packers’ opponents were going to be in 2021 and where those games were going to be played, but we didn’t know what the exact layout of the schedule would look like–well, that was until Wednesday when it was released.

How a schedule falls for a team can certainly have an impact on their season. Do they have an early or late bye week? Any long road trips? Are there tough stretches? All of this and more can have an impact on the team’s final record.

So with that in mind, below, you can find the full 2021 schedule for the Green Bay Packers and then I’ll have my initial thoughts as well.

A Late Bye Week

If I had to guess, I’d say that players would prefer to have their bye week later in the season than earlier, but I imagine Week 13 is pushing it. In what will be a 17 game season, the Green Bay Packers will have only five games left once their bye week is over.

The silver lining, if you want to call it that, is that Green Bay plays their Thursday night game in Week 8, which means they’ll have a mini-bye going into Week 9 for some additional rest. But for the most part, if the Packers are battling injuries, they’ll have to fight their way through them.

4 of the Last 6 at Lambeau Field

This is one of the first things that I look for when the schedule is released. How many home games do the Green Bay Packers have in December and now January? The Tennessee Titans game from a season ago is a prime example of the effect that playing in the cold and snow can have on an opponent–especially one from warmer climates. It’s an advantage that can and should play into Green Bay’s hands.

For the Packers, this final stretch will give them the opportunity to finish the season strong, potentially banking some needed wins and hopefully entering the playoffs on a hot streak–which as we’ve seen over the years can be key to playoff success.

4 of the First 6 on the road

If you’re going to finish the season predominantly at home, that means at some point there is going to be a stretch of road games, and that comes right away for the Green Bay Packers. Four of their first six will come away from Lambeau Field and against some difficult opponents as well, including the Saints, 49ers, Bears, and Bengals. As a result, this could lead to a slower start out of the gates for Green Bay.

On the road for Thursday night

Road teams on Thursday night have fared better as of late, particularly last season, but overall the home team still has a distinct advantage–oftentimes winning by multiple scores. With it being such a short week, there is far less time to prepare for the opponent; teams are still recovering from the previous Sunday’s game, and add in that they also have to travel. For Green Bay, they will be at home against Washington then have to fly halfway across the country to face the Cardinals.

Toughest stretch: Weeks 8 through 12

Right in the heart of the season leading up to Green Bay’s bye is when I believe they will face their toughest stretch. They start by heading to Arizona for a Thursday night matchup, and typically, the home teams on these short weeks have a major advantage. From there, they then head to Kansas City for another road game, are home to face Seattle, who is always a tough opponent, then to Minnesota for an always challenging divisional game in a difficult road environment, then back home for the Rams.

Easiest stretch? Is there one?

You never want to count a team out on the NFL, but even so, I’m not sure that there is a stretch of games that I would consider “easy” for the Green Bay Packers. In fact, their overall schedule is quite difficult. In addition to playing the NFC North, they also have to face the NFC West, which could be the best division in football, along with a loaded AFC North as well as Kansas City.

I don’t want to use the term “easy,” but to answer the question, I’ll say the friendliest stretch for Green Bay comes over that final six games when four are at home, and they have their bye week mixed in as well.

Road Trips

On two occasions, the Green Bay Packers will play back-to-back games on the road, once against Cincinnati and Chicago and then again against Arizona and Kansas City. So, fortunately, they don’t have any three-game stretches on the road, and they also have two stints where they will be home back-to-back weeks as well.

All eyes on the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay will be in the national spotlight quite often this season, playing five primetime games along with a matchup with Cleveland on Christmas Day. On top of that, only one of their home games will start at noon–the rest will begin at 3:25 CST or later. If Aaron Rodgers is under center, then this is a Super Bowl-caliber team. If Jordan Love is under center, well, it’ll be interesting, to say the least. Either way, attention will be on the Packers.