Go Pack, Go!

Green Bay, Wisc. 8/5/2009 dwm photo

The Green Bay Packers are 6 - 3 with eight games to play.

My forecast expected the Pack would have seven but given the starting quarterback missed three games, I'm just happy they have six wins.

Just two of the first nine were against rivals in the NFC North, meaning half the remaining games will be against the Lions, Vikings, and Bears. Oh my.

It seems losing to Washington took the wind out of Chicago. After the last second loss, the Bears were listless in losses to the Cardinals and Patriots.

Last time the Packers played at home was against the Detroit Lions. It wasn't as close as the score made it look. They had a week to relax, recover, and re-group. If the Pack is going for the goals it set in August, it starts Sunday in Chicago.

You have to like Green Bay going home after Chicago with two games in four days starting with San Francisco on the 24th and the Dolphins on Thanksgiving night. If the tryptophan doesn't cause a food coma, I expect to see the Packers arrive at Ford Field the next Thursday with a chip on their shoulders as they get revenge for the loss to Detroit in Lambeau Field.

The advantage you get with a Thursday game is a "mini bye" with 10 days off before the next game. It's the third straight prime-time game for Green Bay, this one in Seattle the following Sunday night.  Eight days after that, they host the Saints on Christmas Eve eve.

That leaves two games - on the road against the Vikings and the finale hosting the Bears on the first weekend of 2025.

A win over the Bears November 17 gives the Pack seven wins. Splitting the two-game home stand gets them to eight, and beating the Lions in their den lifts the total to nine.

I think the Packers lose to the Seahawks, then take care of New Orleans. The Pack finish strong with a win under glass in the Twin Cities and put the Bears into hibernation for their eleventh.

The revised forecast has them finishing with 11 wins instead of 13, and the last time we won it, it happened as a Wild Card. 14 years later, the stage is set for it happen again. Go Pack, Go!