Uncommon schedule merchandise: No back-to-back division video games for Packers

GREEN BAY – For all of the evening video games, vacation involvement, and completely different days of the week when video games fall, the Packers’ 2026 schedule is notable for one thing it does NOT have.

Back-to-back division video games.

In truth, the slate of NFC North contests is slightly calmly unfold out, with no concentrated stretches that really feel like make-or-break cruxes within the division race.

Between the Week 1 journey to Minnesota and the Week 18 internet hosting of Detroit, the Packers’ different division video games are in Week 5 (vs. Chicago), Week 7 (at Detroit), Week 10 (vs. Minnesota) and Week 16 (at Chicago).

Nothing consecutive, and nothing extra crowded than two division video games in a span of three weeks.

Is this good or dangerous? TBD. It may help by way of accidents, as a result of short-term absences are much less more likely to influence a number of division video games. But that cuts each methods and works the identical for the rivals, too.

What is definite is it is extremely uncommon in Green Bay. It’s a primary for the Packers because the introduction of the NFC North, really.

Since 2002, when the league went to four-team divisions with six division contests on the schedule, the Packers have all the time had at the least one stretch of back-to-back division video games yearly. So this schedule snaps a 24-year streak.

Moreover, 10 occasions in these 24 years, the Packers had a number of stretches of consecutive division video games, together with three years when each the primary two and final two weeks have been division video games, which means solely two division video games have been performed within the intervening three months.

Seven occasions there have been three straight division video games, together with a run of 4 in a row in 2015. Two of the extra egregious jammed-up schedules got here in 2012 and final 12 months, when 5 of the six division video games have been slated over the ultimate seven contests of the season. Last season, that turned six division video games in a span of eight contests when the Packers and Bears met within the wild-card playoffs.