As the winter draws in, it really feels like the 2024 NFL season is heating up. Several teams who had good starts are showing that their early season good form was no fluke. We’d put the Eagles and Lions in that category. Some teams with shaky starts have thrown off the early season rust, and we’d mention the Bills and Ravens in that bracket. And there are a handful of teams who have question marks still hanging over them. In that category, we’d stick the Texans, 49ers, and, yes, the Packers.
Looking ahead at the remainder of the season, the Packers are still favored with sportsbooks to make the Playoffs (odds of -300 at the time of writing). Yet, regardless of whether you are looking at NFL futures, college football odds, or in-game markets, you’ll know that things can change quickly in football. The Packers have work to do, and that means winning games.
Of course, every game at this point in the season becomes important, and a victory over a good team will count as much as a win over a poor team when tabulating who’s going to the Playoffs in January. That said, we think we can pick out three of the Packers’ games that could be pivotal to determining their Playoff hopes and, importantly, their momentum.
San Francisco 49ers, November 24, @Lambeau Field
A few days before Thanksgiving, the Packers will welcome the 49ers to Lambeau Field. This feels like a real bellwether for the Packers. The 49ers started the season as second-favorites for Super Bowl LIX, but they were a little bit slow coming out of the blocks. Things have started to turn for them – to an extent – and a win over the Packers on their home turf would underline that. Matt LaFleur will have other ideas, of course. He’ll have one eye on the Packers’ next game – just four days later on Thanksgiving versus the Dolphins – but he’ll also be aware that a win over the 49ers can really fortify his team’s position as Playoff contenders.
Detroit Lions, December 5, @Ford Field
Do the Packers absolutely have to win against the Lions? No, but it would be a huge momentum-builder if they can get a scalp over the team many now consider as the most likely to challenge the Chiefs as the NFL’s best. It won’t be easy, that’s for sure. The Packers were wasteful in the last meeting between the two teams (the Lions won 24-14), so being more efficient scoring-wise when they have the ball will be top of LeFleur’s demands from his team. Stopping the in-form Jared Goff will also be top of the list for the Packers’ defense. A defeat here won’t be terminal, but a win would really put the Packers on the right path.
Minnesota Vikings, December 29. @US Bank Stadium
We toyed with the idea of putting the Packers’ final game of the season (against the Bears) on this list, but we opted instead for the penultimate tie against the team vying with the Packers for a Wild Card spot. The Vikings have been an interesting team to watch this season, surprising everyone when going 5-0 to start the campaign. That run included a narrow victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field in September. The Packers will be hoping to get a small modicum of revenge in Minneapolis, setting the team up for that final matchup against the Bears.