One year ago, the Green Bay Packers were an 11-win team. They had a solid defense and a good enough offense to earn a playoff spot, but the only catch was that they played in the NFC North. While an 11-6 mark wasn’t a disappointment by any stretch, it was a ways away from the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings and the 15-2 Detroit Lions. This forced Green Bay to start the postseason on the road, where they were promptly bounced in the wild-card round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Five games into the 2025 campaign, the NFC North looks like a dogfight again. The Packers won their first two games, but a loss to the Cleveland Browns and a tie with the Dallas Cowboys have them sitting at 2-1-1 coming out of last week’s bye.
With the Lions and Vikings earning wins last Sunday, it’s clear the division could come down to the wire again. And while Green Bay has five divisional matchups remaining this season, it could be what they do in October that determines whether they’ll celebrate as NFC North champs or be a good team that gets outclassed in January.
October Could Be the Turning Point in the Packers’ Season
The Packers' month begins Sunday when they host the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been a wreck since Joe Burrow went down with a severe turf toe injury, but they still have dynamic receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati also traded for Joe Flacco, who defeated the Packers in Week 3. Even if Flacco can learn enough of the offense to see the field this weekend, the 40-year-old has been dreadful in 2025, with six interceptions over four games, before being benched in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel.
With Flacco coming to Lambeau Field, the Packers should have a significant advantage this time around. That could establish some momentum when they host another struggling team in the 2-3 Arizona Cardinals.
All five of Arizona’s games have been decided by one possession or less. While they won those first two contests against the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, they’ve dropped their last three. The Cardinals have also made a habit of making the wrong play at the worst time. These head-scratching decisions include a short kickoff by Chad Ryland that set up Sam Darnold in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. That mistake was followed by Emari Demercado inexplicably letting go of the ball at the one-yard line, which was the difference in Sunday’s loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans.
Those two games set up the most anticipated matchup of the month, when the Packers travel to the Steel City to visit old friend Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Rodgers has led the Steelers to a 3-1 record, the Steelers rank 20th in points allowed (24.5 per game) and 17th in points scored (24.0 ppg) coming out of their bye week. It’s also possible that one of the oldest teams in the league wears down as they did last season, making what could be a tough matchup on the road a little more manageable.
If Green Bay can finish this stretch with three wins, it would put them at 5-1-1 ahead of a matchup against the 2-3 Carolina Panthers to open November. That could make a 6-1-1 start a realistic outcome heading into a primetime matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 10.
For a team that has shown lapses of concentration against inferior opponents, going 3-0 isn’t a given. But every game counts, especially when the Packers will finish the season with five of their final seven contests coming against divisional opponents. If Green Bay expects to make a deep playoff run, it must take advantage of this stretch. If the Packers do, they could be in line for a division title and the highly coveted home playoff game that comes with it.