Green Bay Packers face grueling road schedule over the next month
By Paul Bretl
This week the Green Bay Packers will embark on a grueling stretch of games, that as Aaron Rodgers said following the New England game, will test them physically.
From a strength of schedule standpoint, while no team in the NFL should be overlooked, it’s not an overly difficult stretch upcoming for the Packers. Sure, the Giants are 3-1, but the Packers are the more talented team on paper, most notably at the quarterback position, where it often matters most. The Jets are 2-2, the well-coached Washington Commanders are 1-3, as is Detroit, who often plays the Packers tough. Then, of course, there is the trip to Buffalo, who will present the Packers with a tremendous challenge.
However, perhaps the most daunting aspect of the Green Bay Packers next five games is how much travel they are going to have to endure.
It begins this week as Green Bay travels to London to take on the Giants. The Packers then return home, but not to a bye-week as is often customary following a trip across the pond, but rather to play the Jets. When the 2022 schedule was first released, GM Brian Gutekunst acknowledged that the Packers had the option to take their bye in Week 6 but opted to have it later in the season.
Following that home game, the Packers spend the next three weeks on the road, traveling to Washington, Buffalo, and Detroit, in that order. In addition to being on the road, the Packers will also face a Washington team that is coming off their bye week.
While past results aren’t indicative of future performances, in recent years, we have seen the Packers have some issues when facing extended travel, particularly out west, where they had some poor performances against San Francisco and the Los Angeles Chargers, and in those instances that was even coming off a bye week.
In preparation for their trip to London, the Packers have already made some significant adjustments to their weekly routine, which began immediately following the New England game–although LaFleur wouldn’t even begin to reveal what those were.
"“We’ve made some adjustments that I’d rather keep in-house. But definitely had to adjust the schedule.” LaFleur would later add, “I just think it’s such an adjustment that I think a lot of it is who handles this trip the best is going to be able to play to the best of their abilities.”"
The big question from this trip across the pond is, with the travel ahead and the shake-up to the routine, what will be the trickle-down effect into the coming weeks–especially with really no time to recover?
Since taking over as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, LaFleur has been extremely good about listening to his players and giving them added rest when needed. That skill-set is going to be crucial over the coming month as LaFleur balances rest with practice time and preparation.