When the NFL schedule of the 2019 season was released in a show by the NFL network, everyone (like every year) already knew all games every team would play. It was the same with the Packers’ schedule and the reactions of the fans were mixed. This is why:

The Green Bay Packers will play five of their first seven games at home.

Their (second) TNF game in this opening period of the season will be a home game, followed by another home game – so at least they don’t have to travel during the short time of reocevery between Sunday and Thursday.

This schedule means the Packers have to start strong. They have no time to get going, because in the second half of the season, they’ll have to travel a lot – and they will face some tough oponnents on the road. In week 8, the Kansas City Chiefs with a huge home-field advantage wait for the Pack, and after their bye week (week 11), they’ll have to cover many miles in back-to-back road games against the 49ers and Giants.

To close the season, the Packers play three divison rivals in a row: The Bears at home and the Vikings and Lions on the road, and – as Michael Cohen of The Athletic wrote – the first time in franchise history that they’ll finish the season in two domes.

The full schedule can be visited on the Packers website.

To sum up, the Packers have to start strong to get a good fundament for the rest of the season. They can’t afford to start insecure. Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers have to find their rhythm from the get-go. Obvious communication problems like last season with McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers are simply not allowed.

Not only do they have to start strong, but they’ll also have to finish strong. By playing all of their division rivals in the last three games, the division will most likely be hard-fought until the very last weeks of the year – something that can also be positive, if you look at the last two seasons of the Pack

Max Sachs is an international Packers fan from Germany. As a part of the Packers Germany, he tries to convince everyone around him to cheer for the greatest franchise on earth - or to start with, for American football in general. You can find him on Twitter @KaesekopfDE (the german translation for cheesehead).