Home will be sweet for Packers late in year

GREEN BAY – This might be the most unusual Green Bay Packers schedule yet.

The 2020 lineup the NFL released Thursday gives the Packers one home game in September, one in October, three in November, two in December and one in January.

That means four of their first six games will be on the road and Gold Package season ticket holders, who hail primarily from southern Wisconsin, will have two night games. Gold Package holders hate night games.

This assumes, of course, the season is played as scheduled. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic could change it in myriad ways which can’t be foreseen. So, assuming the football season unfolds as planned ...

The first weekend in October will be the most challenging of the year in Green Bay. Notre Dame is scheduled to host the Wisconsin Badgers on Oct. 3 at Lambeau Field, and the Packers are scheduled to host the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 5 on “Monday Night Football.” That will be a fast turnaround for the Packers and local hotels.

Because it’s a Gold Package game, hotel rooms will be at a premium.

On the plus side, the home schedule once again skirts Wisconsin gun deer hunting season, which is Nov. 21-29. The only home game is the night of the 29th against the Bears, which is the second Gold Package game.

And four of the last six games will be at Lambeau Field. Frozen Tundra will be a thing this year.

The Packers have winning records against every team on their 2020 schedule and will have when the season is done, regardless of how they fare in their second year under coach Matt LaFleur.

That said, it’s not a pushover lineup. The Packers face the San Francisco 49ers, who beat Green Bay twice last year, including in the NFC championship.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

First of 119 games, Oct. 22, 1961. Packers lead series 62-54-3.

Last year: Packers won 21-16 and 23-10.

This year: Sept. 13, noon, U.S. Bank Stadium, Fox; and Nov. 1, noon, Lambeau Field, Fox.

Notable games: The Packers welcomed the Vikings to the NFL with a 33-7 drubbing in 1961 and the teams and their fans have hated one another since.

Of course, there is no forgetting 2009, when Brett Favre played quarterback for the Vikings, throwing for seven touchdowns and no interceptions against the Packers and defeating them twice; or Oct. 15, 2017, when Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr broke Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone, ending the Packers’ playoff

hopes after a 4-1 start.

DETROIT LIONS

First of 181 games, Nov. 2, 1930, when the Lions were the Portsmouth Spartans.

Packers lead series 102-72-7.

Last year: Packers won 23-22 and 23-20.

This year: Sept. 20, noon, Lambeau Field, Fox; Dec. 13, noon, Ford Field, Fox.

Notable game: Aaron Rodgers’ 61yard Hail Mary pass to Richard Rodgers on Dec. 3, 2015. It was the last play of the game, giving the Packers a 27-23 victory, and it was the longest Hail Mary in NFL history, a landmark play in the careers of both guys named Rodgers.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

First of 25 games on Nov. 17, 1968. Packers lead series 16-9-0.

Last time they played: Saints won 26-17 in October 2017 at Lambeau Field.

This year: Sept. 27, 7:20 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Superdome, “Sunday Night Football,” NBC.

Notable games: Before Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, there was Don Majkowski, who, when he was on, was as good as any quarterback. One of those games was Sept. 17,1989, at Lambeau Field. The Packers trailed 24-7 at the half and Majkowski, who threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, led a second-half comeback for a 35-34 victory.

ATLANTA FALCONS

First of 34 games on Oct. 23, 1966. Packers lead series 18-16-0.

Last time they played: Packers won 34-20 at Lambeau Field. Before that, the Falcons won three consecutive games in Atlanta.

This year: Oct. 5, 7:15 p.m., Lambeau Field, “Monday Night Football,” ESPN.

Notable game: The Packers and Falcons have split four playoff games since 1995, the most recent being the NFC championship on Jan. 22, 2017, in Atlanta, where the Packers lost 44-21.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

First of 55 games on Oct. 23, 1977. Packers lead series 33-21-1.

Last time they played: Packers won 26-20 in overtime in December 2017 at Lambeau Field.

This year: Oct. 18, 3:25 p.m., Raymond James Stadium, Fox.

Notable game: Dec. 1, 1985, wasn’t the Ice Bowl, but in some ways it was worse. A raging blizzard that dumped 10.5 inches of snow on Green Bay made that game miserable, and Lambeau Field was less than half full because fans couldn’t get to the field. Lynn Dickey threw for 299 yards, and Eddie Lee Ivery and Gerry Ellis each ran for more than 100 yards in the 21-0 Packers victory.

HOUSTON TEXANS

First of four games was played Nov. 21, 2004.

Packers lead series 3-1-0.

Last time they played: Packers won 21-13 in December 2017 at Lambeau Field.

This year: Oct. 25, noon, NRG Stadium, Fox.

Notable game: Aaron Rodgers tied Matt Flynn’s record six touchdown passes on Oct. 14, 2012, in a 42-24 Packers victory.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

First of 69 games on Nov. 26, 1950. Packers lead series 36-32-1.

Last time they played: 49ers beat the Packers 37-20 in the NFC championship in San Francisco, after beating Green Bay 37-8 earlier in the year.

This year: Nov. 5, 7:20 p.m., Levi’s Stadium, Fox, Thursday night game.

Notable games: The Packers and 49ers met in playoff games five times from 1996 to 2003, with Green Bay winning four of them. A playoff win on Jan. 3, 1999, was the only time Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young defeated the Packers. Colin Kaepernick, on the other hand, beat the Packers three times in four games.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

First of

1995.

Packers lead series 4-2-0.

Last time they played: Packers won 27-23 in September 2016 in Jacksonville.

This year: Nov. 15, noon, Lambeau Field, Fox.

Notable games: A game that hasn’t been played. The Jaguars have played seven international series games, while the Packers are the only NFL team yet to play a regular-season game in another country.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

First of 45 games was Nov. 5, 1950, when they were the Baltimore Colts. Colts lead series 23-21-1.

Last time they played: Colts won 31-26 in November 2016 at Lambeau Field.

This year: Nov. 22, noon, Lucas Oil Stadium, Fox.

Notable games: Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback Paul Hornung was especially hard on the Colts. On Oct. 8, 1961, Hornung scored a team-record 33 points in a 45-7 Packers victory, and on Dec. 12, 1965, he scored a team-record five touchdowns in a 42-27 win.

CHICAGO BEARS

six games was Sept. 24,

First of 200 games, Nov. 27, 1921. Packers lead series 99-95-6.

Last year: Packers won 10-3 and 2113.

This year: Nov. 29, 7:20 p.m., Lambeau

Field, “Sunday Night Football,” NBC; Jan. 3, noon, Soldier Field, Fox.

Notable games: There are a lot, but the 2018 season opener, when Aaron Rodgers led a 24-point second-half comeback for a 24-23 Packers victory, ranks among the best. The Packers defeated the Bears 10-3 on Sept. 5, 2019. It was an ugly game by all accounts, but provided new coach Matt LaFleur a victory in his first game after replacing Mike McCarthy. For what it’s worth, Vince Lombardi’s first game was a 9-6 win over the Bears.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

First of 44 games on Oct. 29, 1933. Packers lead series 27-17-0.

Last time they played: Eagles won 34-27 in September 2019 at Lambeau Field. It was one of only three regularseason losses for the 13-3 Packers.

This year: Dec. 6, 3:25 p.m., Lambeau Field, CBS.

Notable games: The Packers lost the NFC championship game to the Eagles on the day after Christmas in 1960. Vince Lombardi vowed it would be the last time the Packers lost a championship game under his watch. It was.

In the NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 11, 2004, the Packers were leading 17-14 with 1:12 left. The Eagles had fourth-and-26 with no timeouts. The Eagles got the first down, tied the game and won in overtime. Fourth-and-26 haunts Packers fans to this day.

CAROLINA PANTHERS

First of 16 games on Jan. 1, 1997. Packers lead series 10-6-0.

Last time they played: The Packers won 24-16 in November 2019 at Lambeau Field.

This year: Dec. 19 or 20. Time to be determined, Lambeau Field, network to be determined.

Notable game: Their first meeting, in the 1997 NFC Championship Game, which the Packers won 30-13. The Panthers’ head coach was none other than Dom Capers, the Packers defensive coordinator when Green Bay won the Super Bowl 14 years later.

TENNESSEE TITANS

First of 12 games was Nov. 19, 1972, as the Houston Oilers.

Titans lead series 7-5-0.

Last time they played: Titans won 47-25 in November 2016 in Nashville.

This year: Dec. 27, 7:20 p.m., “Sunday Night Football,” NBC

Notable games: Aug. 28, 2003, was one for the books. The exhibition game was delayed at 2:05 in the second quarter for more than two hours because of torrential rain and lightning. Officials halted the game at 8:28 p.m. and allowed it to resume at 11:01 p.m. It was the fifth preseason game of the year, conditions were miserable and for some reason the NFL insisted on finishing a game no one cared about.