Bring on 2023. The Green Bay Packers embark on a new era at quarterback for the first time in 15 years, with a wide receiver room that’ll look more like a day care center, a defense chock full of first round draft picks and with a Head Coach brought back to earth by an 8-9 campaign after a trio of 13 win regular seasons and playoff runs. It’s gonna be an interesting ride.
The NFL released the ’23 schedule Thursday night, the Packers will start and finish against their oldest rival with plenty of bright lights and holidays in between.
Here’s some week by week thoughts on the new era slate.
Week 1 Sunday, September 10 at 3:25 PM on the Fox Network. At Chicago Bears. The best NFL game every year gets to go first. Jordan Love’s first start as the number one quarterback against the team his last two predecessors owned and against a QB that franchise is banking on for future glory.
Week 2 Sunday, September 17, 12:00 PM, Fox. At Atlanta Falcons. The last time the Packers started a season with two straight road games was in 2016 when they eventually ran a table all the way to the NFC Championship Game, in Atlanta.
Week 3 Sunday, September 24, 12:00 PM, Fox. Vs New Orleans Saints. Love’s home debut as QB1, against a stout defense no less but a team also breaking in a new signal caller in Derek Carr.
Week 4 Thursday, September 28, 7:15 PM Prime. Vs Detroit Lions. A short week before the first of five under the lights. Despite the huge roster turnover, there are still plenty of guys who better remember the sting of last January’s disappointment against these cats.
Week 5 Monday, October 9, 7:15 PM, ESPN. At Las Vegas Raiders. A mini-bye before maximum exposure in the Pack’s maiden voyage to Sin City. Wonder how a certain former Green Bay superstar is feeling about his desire to get dealt to a franchise that keeps spinning it’s non-roulette wheels?
Week 6 BYE Thankfully, this comes at a reasonable time compared to last December’s break for a broken team.
Week 7 Sunday, October 22, 3:25 PM CBS. At Denver Broncos. Two weeks to prepare for who knows what? Nathaniel Hackett couldn’t pull winning play out of Russell Wilson, will Sean Payton be able to?
Week 8 Sunday, October 29, 12:00 PM, Fox. Vs Minnesota Vikings. Soft zone or mano v mano? The Jaire Alexander-Justin Jefferson matchup is worth the increased Packer price of admission.
Week 9 Sunday, November 5, 12:00 PM, Fox. Vs Los Angeles Rams. Bringing good teams or bad doesn’t seem to matter much, the LA Rams haven’t won at Lambeau since Mike McCarthy’s rookie season as Head Coach.
Week 10 Sunday, November 12, 12:00 PM, CBS. At Pittsburgh Steelers. Another team trying to find it’s way after a lengthy, legendary career at quarterback. Won’t forget Big Ben’s 500 yard game against the Pack in the Steel City, or Aaron Rodgers’ Super Bowl surgery against the Steelers.
Week 11 Sunday, November 19, 12:00 PM, Fox. Vs Los Angeles Chargers. Wow, four straight nooners. Green Bay is 10-2 all-time against the Bolts but the last one was a stinker against ’em on a soccer pitch in LA.
Week 12 Thursday, November 23, 11:30 AM, Fox. At Detroit Lions. Happy Thanksgiving everybody. This will be my 9th Turkey Day in the motor city. Sucks for the family but I am fond of the tradition. This will be the 22nd time the Packers cross the pond for the holiday.
Week 13 Sunday, December 3, 7:20 PM, NBC. Vs Kansas City Chiefs. The December drive is prime time for the boys, the first of three under the light games down the stretch. The Super Bowl champs are coming but do you remember how close the deer in the headlights starting debut of Love came to knocking off this team at Arrowhead in 2021?
Week 14 Monday, December 11, 7:15 PM, ABC. At New York Giants. Thankfully, the flight east lands short of the ocean crossing for this game. The G-men sent the Pack into a London fog they never recovered from a year ago.
Week 15 Sunday, December 17, 12:00 PM, Fox. Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s see how life without a legend is going for these pirates. There’s going to be about 74,000 more fans in the stand for this one than the last time the Bucs came to town.
Week 16 Sunday, December 24, 12:00 PM, Fox. At Carolina Panthers. If the wife wasn’t happy over the Turkey trot to Detroit, spending Christmas Eve in North Carolina will really get her rattled. Problem is, my son-in-law is a huge Panther fan and has been talking about going to Charlotte for months. Want to see how the #1, #1 Bryce Young is faring by now. Ho, ho, ho!
Week 17, Sunday, December 31, 7:20 PM, NBC. At Minnesota Vikings. Make it the holiday trifecta, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. The Packers have ’em all covered. I’ve got no problem ringing in the new year in Minneapolis because that’s not only where my son and his new bride live, it’s also where my daughter and that Panther-loving son-in-law live too. Should be a fun way to bring in 2024.
Week 18 Date-Time-Network to be determined. Vs Chicago Bears. The season comes full circle against the arch-enemy. Keep in mind, the league not only has to figure where this game is going to fit, flex scheduling takes place into December so there could be some juggling to come.
I haven’t forgotten the slimmed down Pre-Season. The Packers still have to set the dates but they know the opponents and the locations. It’ll start with a trip to Cincinnati against the Bengals, followed by the New England Patriots who’ll play at Lambeau after spending that week in town for joint practices that’ll spice up training camp. The Packers will finish by hosting the Seattle Seahawks.
Finally, don’t ask for a win-loss prediction. It’s even a more futile exercise five months out than mock drafts. The games are now lined up, just want to see how the Packers knock ’em down in a brand new era.
