Predicting the Results of Green Bay’s Next Four Games

We’re heading into week seven of the NFL season and the Green Bay Packers are a little bit out of sorts. At 3-3 the Packers sit alongside NFC teams such as the 49ers, Buccaneers, and Rams, who have all underachieved to varying degrees. The Packers also sit at second place in the NFC North, a full two games behind the Minnesota Vikings. So what’s in store for this team’s next four games?

I’ll function on a bit of cautious optimism and assume this team hasn’t hit their stride yet. With that being said, can they defeat enough of their upcoming opponents to keep themselves in the postseason race? I’m going to attempt to predict the next few games on their remaining schedule, but keep a few things in mind. First, this is supposed to be a lighthearted exercise, not hard hitting analysis. Second, no one knows what record it will take to get into the postseason, and obviously even if the Packers end up 3-7 they could still make it into the playoffs. Last, injuries happen; they’ll happen to the Packers and they’ll surely happen to a few of their opponents, so obviously that will shape the way these predictions are viewed going forward.

Packers @ Commanders: Win

Expect the Packers to do their best to bounce back on the road after an ugly home loss to the New York Jets. The Commanders aren’t a good football team this year, and they’ll be without their preferred starter at quarterback. There is a case to be made that Taylor Heinicke should have been Washington’s preferred starter, but in all likelihood the Packers have good chances of winning this game either way. I don’t have much to say about this other than this is a must win game for Green Bay if they want to keep some semblance of the locker room and team identity.

Packers @ Bills: Loss

Oh boy. The Buffalo Bills are quite possibly the best team in the NFL this season. Josh Allen has been electric and he can put the ball anywhere he wants on the field, including tucked into his arm as he runs for big gains. These Bills look unstoppable and even against a slightly banged up Bills defense the Packers likely won’t be able to do enough to keep up with Buffalo’s offense. Of course Green Bay could get risky and creative with their gameplan going into a matchup where their opponent will be heavily favored, and we may just see an upset. Ultimately, I wouldn’t have bet on the Packers to win this game going into the season, so I certainly won’t now.

Packers @ Lions: Loss

The Packers will enter the last leg of their three-game road trip and take a loss to their division opponent over in Detroit. The Lions have almost always managed to give the Packers a hard time once a year, even if the Packers do still usually end up on top. I don’t think they’ll come out on top in Detroit this year, however. The Lions have a very potent offense, and I think that makes all the difference here. Though Jared Goff hasn’t been incredible, their receiving core is headlined by Amon-Ra St. Brown, and is very talented all the way through to the bottom. Add in an above average offensive line and two very dynamic running backs, and the Lions may just put up 30 points. The Packers could be clicking on offense by this point, so a shootout is a possibility, but I haven’t seen enough out of them to believe they can overcome a road game against a sneaky-good team.

Cowboys @ Packers: Win

The Dallas Cowboys have been a very good football team this year, but traveling to Green Bay in the middle of November may just be too tough to overcome. Obviously this will be Mike McCarthy’s return to Green Bay after being fired during the 2018 season, but the Packers will be ready. Despite their slow start, I think this is right around when this team will start to hit its stride. Dallas is very talented defensively but they have an aggressive playstyle that the Packers offense will be able to exploit by this point in the season. Offensively anything can happen for the Cowboys, but their offensive line and running game has struggled through five games this season. It’s possible that they’ll rely on Dak Prescott more than they’d like to in order to move the chains, and Green Bay’s pass rush and secondary may be able to cause a few turnovers at home against a pass heavy team.

Looking Past The Next Four Games:

I’m predicting the Packers enter week 11 at 5-5 and somewhere on the cusp of the playoff picture. They’ll have a few more tough road trips in Philadelphia and Miami, but they should be able to take care of business in most of their remaining home games. I think we’re looking at a 10-7 wildcard team that may be hot at the right time entering January, assuming they’re fairly healthy.

Green Bay has a late bye and quite a few home games in the colder months of the season, which always looks nice for them. It’s true that they’re not too far out from the number of losses that should inspire panic from the fans, but I wouldn’t push the panic button on them just yet.

Zack is a college student and cheesehead from California. When he’s not in class or writing, you can find him talking about the Packers on Twitter at @Zack_Upchurch.

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