Packers Schedule Release Leaks: Does Thanksgiving Eve at Rams Mean Late Bye?

In the first announced game on the Green Bay Packers’ 2026 schedule, they will play at the Los Angeles Rams the night before Thanksgiving on Netflix.

The date is Wednesday, Nov. 25, with a 7 p.m. (Central) kickoff.

While the Thanksgiving Eve game means the Packers can enjoy the traditional turkey at home, it will create some unique scheduling challenges that the league will reveal when it announces the full schedule on Thursday.

A potential workaround would be having a bye before the Wednesday game. And then after facing the Rams, they could play back-to-back short-week games on Monday night and Sunday to get back into a normal cadence.

Or, they could go Thursday-Wednesday-bye.

Either way, it could mean a coveted late-season bye as opposed to a Week 5 bye last year. "Could" is the key word, though.

In 2024, the Ravens played the Texans and the Steelers played the Chiefs on Christmas, which fell on a Wednesday. The NFL made it work without a bye.

The Ravens and Steelers played on Sunday in Week 15, Saturday in Week 16, Wednesday in Week 17 and Saturday in Week 18. The Chiefs and Texans played on Sunday in Week 15, Saturday in Week 16, Wednesday in Week 17 and Sunday in Week 18.

The NFL could follow that same model, though a Saturday game in November and during the heat of the college football season would be an oddity.

Other than those two games, Steelers-Ravens in 2020, a game pushed to Wednesday due to the pandemic, and Cowboys-Giants in the 2012 opener, the NFL has not played a Wednesday game since 1948.

In 1938, the Packers beat the Chicago Cardinals 24-22 in Buffalo. Don Hutson caught a touchdown pass from Cecil Isbell and Tiny Engebretsen kicked the deciding field goal.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur is 5-0 against his former boss, Rams coach Sean McVay. The teams last met in SoFi Stadium in 2024, with the Packers holding off the depleted Rams 24-19. It was Jordan Love’s first win of the season following the knee injury sustained in the opener against the Eagles.

No International Game

The Green Bay Packers were scheduled to play nine home games and eight road games this season, and that’s how it will remain as Green Bay will not play in any of the league’s nine international games.

Here’s the full global lineup, which includes the Detroit Lions facing the New England Patriots in Munich in Week 11 and the Minnesota Vikings playing the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City in Week 12.

Following losses to the Giants in London in 2022 and the Eagles in Brazil in 2024, the Packers no doubt are thrilled with getting to play all their games in the United States. Now, when the full schedule is released on Thursday, will they get the benefit of playing a team coming off an international game?

Packers Opponents, And Where They Finished in 2025

As wait for the times and dates:

Division games: Chicago Bears (11-6; first place), Minnesota Vikings (9-8; third place), Detroit Lions (9-8; last place).

Home games: Carolina Panthers (9-8; first place, NFC South), Atlanta Falcons (8-9; third place, NFC South), Buffalo Bills (12-5; second place, AFC East), Miami Dolphins (7-10; third place, AFC South), Dallas (7-9-1; second place, NFC East), Houston Texans (12-5; second place, AFC South).

Road games: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9; second place, NFC South), New Orleans Saints (6-11; last place, NFC South), New England Patriots (14-3; first place, AFC East), New York Jets (3-14; last place, NFC East), Los Angeles Rams (12-5; second place, NFC West).

Speaking of Road Trips

The 49ers’ round trip from San Francisco to Melbourne, Australia, for Week 1 against the Rams will cover almost 16,000 miles. That’s more miles than all of Green Bay’s road trips combined.

In fact, according to Bookies.com, only four teams will travel fewer miles than the Packers. Their longest road trip is 3,492 miles for their game against the Rams. They will change time zones for four games.

Scheduling Wish List

One wish came true with Green Bay avoiding an international game. Here are five more, including the obvious of backloading the NFC North games so Micah Parsons will be on the field for those rivalry games.

Not to be overlooked is when the Packers get their bye. Last year, they got it in Week 5, meaning they finished the season with 14 consecutive weeks of games. It’s not an impossible-to-overcome hurdle, but the Super Bowl history is hard to ignore.

Packers Home Games

Here’s a quick-hitting look at the teams that will visit Lambeau Field.

Chicago: The Packers lead the all-time series 109-98-6. About three decades of overwhelming dominance vanished last year, though, as Chicago stunned the Packers 22-16 in Week 16 and 31-27 in the playoffs. Green Bay has won nine of the last 10 at Lambeau, with the loss coming in the 2024 finale.

Detroit: The Packers lead the all-time series 1008-78-7. Detroit coach Dan Campbell seemed to have Matt LaFleur’s number until the Packers swept last year’s games. Green Bay had lost three in a row at home before winning 27-13 in Week 1 last year.

Minnesota: Green Bay leads the all-time series 67-61-3. The Packers had lost two in a row at Lambeau until rolling 23-6 last year.

Atlanta: The Packers lead the all-time series 19-17. They’ve won four in a row at home – the last two by 14-point margins – with the last loss coming in 2008.

Carolina: The Packers lead the all-time series 12-7, though Carolina won at Lambeau Field 16-13 last year. Tucker Kraft tore his ACL in that game. In Carolina’s last four trips to Lambeau, it scored 16, 16, 16 and 17 points.

Buffalo: The Bills lead the all-time series 9-5. Green Bay’s winning percentage of .357 against the Bills is tied for its lowest against any current NFL team. Buffalo won the last game, 27-17 at home in 2022. In the last game at Lambeau Field, the Packers won 22-0 in 2018.

Miami: The Dolphins lead the all-time series 10-7, though Green Bay has won four in a row. The Packers have won four of the last five at home, including 30-17 on Thanksgiving night in 2024.

Dallas: The Packers lead the series 22-17-1. They, of course, tied 40-40 at Dallas last season. Green Bay is 5-1 in the last six at home, including 31-28 in overtime in 2022.

Houston: The Packers lead the all-time series 5-1. They’ve won four in a row, including 24-22 in 2024 on Brandon McManus’ walk-off field goal. Houston’s only win was 24-21 in 2008, when it was 3 degrees at kickoff.

Packers Road Games

Here’s a quick-hitting look at Green Bay’s road opponents.

Chicago: The Packers lead the series 109-98-6. At Soldier Field, they had won six in a row and 14 of their last 15 before last year’s crushing losses. Green Bay’s two losses in three weeks at Chicago were as many as the previous 16 seasons combined.  

Detroit: The Packers lead the series 108-78-7. That includes two wins in three starts by Jordan Love – 31-24 last year and 29-22 in 2023. In his three games at Ford Field, Love has thrown eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Minnesota: The Packers lead the series 67-61-3. They have lost four of the last five games in Minneapolis. That includes last year’s 16-3 loss, when the Packers rested almost all of their key players, and a 33-10 win 2023, when the quarterback matchup was Jordan Love vs. Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens.

New Orleans: The Packers lead the series 19-10, including wins at Lambeau Field in 2023 and 2024. Over the last 30 years, Green Bay is 1-4 in road games. That includes 38-3 in the 2021 opener, which was played in Jacksonville.

Tampa Bay: The Packers lead the series 34-24-1, though Matt LaFleur is only 1-3. Green Bay has won two of the last three in Tampa, including 14-12 in 2022 when it was Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady.

New England: Including Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers lead the series 7-6. They won the most recent matchup, 27-23 in overtime at Lambeau Field in 2022. Green Bay has lost two in a row on the road, with its last win coming in 2002.

New York Jets: The Jets lead the all-time series 9-5. Green Bay’s .357 winning percentage against the Jets and Bills are their worst against any current franchise; their minus-85 point differential is their worst against any foe. New York won the last matchup 27-10 in London. Green Bay won the last two road matchups, 44-38 in 2018 and 9-0 in 2010.

Los Angeles Rams: The Packers lead the all-time series 51-47-2. LaFleur is 5-0 against Rams coach Sean McVay, including 32-18 in the 2020 playoffs. Green Bay won at Los Angeles in 2024, 24-19, and has won four of the last five road games.

Strength of Schedule

There are two ways to compute strength of schedule. The old-school way is adding up the wins and losses from the previous season. By that line of thinking, the Packers will face one of the most difficult schedules in the league this season. The new-school way paints a different (but skewed) picture.

Strength of Quarterbacks

Jordan Love will go up against the likes of the Bears’ Caleb Williams, the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Dolphins’ Malik Willis.

Here is a look at every quarterback matchup, with Green Bay having the advantage in most.

Strength of Excitement

Which games will be the biggest of the season? And which will be met with a shrug of the shoulders? Here’s our 17-to-1 countdown.

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