1994 GREEN BAY PACKERS At 3-3, Packers haven’t dropped far off pace

Editor’s note: This story was published Oct. 11, 1994.

Green Bay, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers head into the only bye week on their schedule with a .500 record, which is worse than what they had hoped for after six games, but they also can take comfort in the fact that only two teams are more than one game ahead of them in the

National Football Conference.

Six weeks into the season, there isn’t an undefeated team in the NFC. There are only two teams with one loss. The Packers (3-3) are only one game out of first place in the NFC Central Division.

“It’s an unusual season to say the least,” coach Mike Holmgren said Monday. “There are a lot of teams kind of in the same boat that we are, 3-3.

“I think the new rules, the salary cap and free agency, have changed certain teams quickly. They’ve always strived for parity with the draft, but this is a new experience for everybody.”

It also has brought the Packers to what could be the crossroads of their season. After their bye Sunday, the Packers play at Minnesota in a nationally televised Thursday night game, at Chicago in a nationally televised Monday night game and then they meet their third consecutive NFC Central Division foe, Detroit, on Nov. 6 at County Stadium.

The Packers enter this stretch of their schedule after playing one of their best halves of the season Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. Trailing by 17-3 at halftime, the Packers rebounded to score a 24-17 victory.

“If we could catch fire and really build on what happened in the second half, that would be very, very good for us, obviously,” Holmgren said. “Our execution was better. We made some big plays. We took advantage of field position.”