The Green Bay Packers will head into Week 1 as clear underdogs in the NFC North as pundits have clearly favored the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions throughout the summer. This doesn't come as a huge surprise despite Green Bay's consistent divisional dominance over the last three decades. It simply serves as a reminder of the level of urgency the Packers must have understanding that even amid the lack of pressure the standard is incredibly high due to the talent in the NFC and specifically in the North.
With this in mind, Week 1 is incredibly important as the Packers take on the Minnesota Vikings in a game that could set the tone for the division and season ahead. Green Bay opens the season with the Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, and Tampa Bay Bucs, four teams that missed the playoffs a season ago.
Playing a division rival is always tough, but the Packers have a huge talent advantage and every reason to believe they should win this game. Beating the Vikings should offer a hot start with 3-1 or 4-0 being a very reasonable expectation and giving Green Bay a great chance to grab early-season control of the division.
Both the Lions and Bears have a more difficult start to the year and the Packers can take advantage of this. However, this requires being able to beat the Vikings with LaFleur having past trouble against the rival having a 7-6 record against the rival.
Packers Have Elite Opportunity to Jump Out to Defining Division Lead with Week 1 Win
Winning the first game of the season should all put lock a 3-1 record at absolute worst with both the Falcons and Jets being completely lost. Neither team has anywhere close to the total roster talent of the Packers and lack a franchise quarterback. Jordan Love should be able to take advantage of both defensive backfields and push both games out of reach early.
Minnesota is perhaps the only real challenge for the Packers to grab the North lead and see how their rivals respond to the pressure. While Green Bay has a clear talent advantage over the Vikings the two division rivals have played each other closely over the last seasons no matter who had the clear advantage.
With this in mind, Green Bay fans should expect a hard fought game and one that has a chance to define the first half of the season. A win starts the season rolling in the right direction and should hand Green Bay control of the division and perhaps a chance to prove that the summer full of doubt has been misplaced.
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