Tough stretch after bye

No stretch of four games looks more difficult for the Green Bay Packers in 2020 than the quartet of matchups coming out of the team’s Week 5 bye.

According to a win percentage model created by NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund, the Packers’ four toughest games this season come against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, the Houston Texans in Week 7, the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 and the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9.

Frelund’s model considers all four games to be essentially a coin flip, with the Packers underdogs in three of the games and only slightly favored against the Texans.

Three of the four games will be played away from Lambeau Field, with the Vikings’ visit in Week 8 providing the only home game during the four-game stretch.

Although so much can and will change during the course of the season, the four games do look daunting on paper. The Buccaneers added quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski to a team that won five of its last eight games in 2019. The Texans won the AFC South at 10-6 and advanced to the AFC divisional round. The Vikings finished 10-6 and won a playoff game in New Orleans. The 49ers won the NFC title and beat the Packers decisively twice in 2019, both times in San Francisco.

Here’s the Packers schedule by quarter:

First quarter: at Vikings, vs. Lions, at Saints, vs. Falcons

Second quarter: at Buccaneers, at Texans, vs. Vikings, at 49ers

Third quarter: vs. Jaguars, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Eagles

Fourth quarter: at Lions, vs. Panthers, vs. Titans, at Bears

All four quarters present challenges, but the second quarter looks like the most difficult. During no other four-game stretch do the Packers play more than 2 road games or more than 2 playoff teams from last season.

ADAM WESLEY/USA TODAY NETWORK Packers defensive end Dean Lowry scores a touchdown against the Buccaneers in Green Bay’s 26-20 OT victory Dec. 3, 2017. The Packers face a much different Tampa Bay team this season.