Six Things on Packers’ Wish List When NFL Schedule Is Revealed

The Green Bay Packers know who they’re playing. They don’t know when they’ll be playing them. They’ll get those answers, finally, on Thursday when the NFL announces the 2026 schedule.

Coach Matt LaFleur will have no say whatsoever. If he did, he might ask Commissioner Roger Goodell to do him six favors.

Micah Parsons’ Comeback

The importance of this one is no mystery. Micah Parsons is expected to miss the start of the regular season because of his torn ACL. Given the importance of division games, the NFL would be doing the Packers an enormous favor by keeping the Bears, Vikings and Lions off the September schedule.

They probably won’t be that fortunate. However, a repeat of the 2024 season would be ideal, when Green Bay’s first division game was at home against Minnesota in Week 4. It would love to avoid a repeat of 2019, 2020 and 2022, when the season started with back-to-back NFC North games.

There is no such thing as a layup in the NFL, but the Dolphins and Jets are in full-blown rebuilds. It’s going to be hard to win without Parsons – the Packers failed miserably in that task last year – but those are two winnable games, regardless of who Green Bay has available to rush the passer. Getting one or both of those teams in September would be a win.

Stay Home, Unless …

The Packers have a favorable schedule with nine home games and eight road games. No doubt they’d love to hang onto all of those Lambeau Field games and not lose one to the league’s growing list of international games.

The Packers lost both of their international games. In 2022, one of their nine scheduled home games was played in London against the Giants. On the last play of a 24-22 loss, Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken thumb as the Packers lost the first of what would be five consecutive games.

In 2024, the Packers got to keep their nine home games. Instead, the league turned a road trip to Philadelphia into a really long road trip to Brazil. On the second-to-last offensive snap of a 34-29 loss, Jordan Love suffered a knee injury. Fortunately for Green Bay, Malik Willis was on the roster and the Colts and Titans were the next opponents.

So, Green Bay’s brief history of overseas misadventures would suggest it would like to not play an international game. Preferably ever. But, perhaps a game in Paris against the Saints – meaning they’d get to skip a trip to the Superdome – would be tolerable.

Play These Games Early

It’s not who you play but when you play them.

There are 10 teams this season with new head coaches. Three are on Green Bay’s schedule: the Atlanta Falcons (Kevin Stefanski), Buffalo Bills (Joe Brady) and Miami Dolphins (Jeff Hafley).

While new coaches mean new schemes and perhaps the element of surprise, it’d probably be good to face those teams before they find a groove and figure out what they’re good at and where they struggle.

No Bye-Week Blues

Between the end of training camp and the start of the regular season, every team gets a bye. Getting an early-season bye, as was the case with the Packers getting a Week 5 siesta last year, is just too soon. It’s not an impossible hurdle – the Eagles in 2024 had a Week 5 bye, too, and won the Super Bowl – but it stands to reason that a late-season bye would be more advantageous than an early-season break.

Sure enough, here are other recent Super Bowl winners’ bye weeks: Week 8 for Seattle in 2025, Week 10 for Kansas City in 2023, Week 8 for Kansas City in 2022, Week 11 for the Rams in 2021, Week 13 for Tampa Bay in 2020, Week 12 for Kansas City in 2019, Week 11 for New England in 2018, Week 10 for Philadelphia in 2017, Week 9 for New England in 2016, Week 7 for Denver in 2015, Week 10 for New England in 2014, Week 12 for Seattle in 2013, Week 8 for Baltimore in 2012, Week 7 for the Giants in 2011 and Week 10 for the Packers in 2010.

It’s Cold, You Know

The Packers’ cold-weather advantage has frozen to death. The Packers under coach Matt LaFleur are 5-4 in home games with a kickoff temperature of 25 degrees or colder.

Still, Packers players have to deal with the cold every day. It should be an advantage. It needs to be an advantage. Getting Miami, Dallas or Houston on the Frozen Tundra would be a plus.

Similarly, the Packers – and their fans – would probably prefer a late-season game at Tampa Bay rather than having to play in a sweatshop in September.

Happy Holidays

What could be better than a football game before the turkey dinner, or a football game after unwrapping gifts.

Winning those games, naturally. Well, Green Bay is 5-0 on major holidays under LaFleur.

The Packers won on Thanksgiving each of the last three years, with victories over Detroit in 2023, Miami in 2024 and Detroit in 2025. On Christmas, they beat the Browns in 2021 and the Dolphins in 2022.

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