Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images Based on last season’s records, Green Bay will have the toughest strength of schedule in the NFC in 2024. The NFL schedule release begins at 8 PM Eastern later today. If teams can finally keep leaks from spilling out to the media, that’s when you’ll know when the Green Bay Packers will be playing who in 2024. Most likely, though, the schedule will trickle out bit by bit in the hours leading up to “the event.” What we already know, though, is who the Packers will be playing and where — though the times and dates have still yet to be released. Obviously, Green Bay is going to play their division rivals, the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, twice this year. They’ll also play the NFC West and AFC South due to the team’s placement in the schedule rotation. The remaining three games on the Packers’ schedule are based on their division placement, as they’ll suit up against the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC — the two other second-seed squads in their conference that weren’t already on the schedule — and the Miami Dolphins in the AFC — another second-seed squad that wasn’t already on Green Bay’s 2024 schedule. Without taking into account of rest, the Packers’ strength of schedule — based on 2023 performance — ranks as the fourth-hardest in the league, according to NFL.com. Only three teams in the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, play a collection of teams that had a better record than the teams that went 152-137 in 2023, collectively, on Green Bay’s slate. This is interesting, as you’d think that the Detroit Lions, who actually won the NFC North last year, would have the harder path due to them having to play first-seed teams outside of the rotational divisions. That’s just not how it played out this year, though, as the Lions’ opponents combined for a 147-142 record last year, good for the 11th-hardest mark in the league. For perspective, the Minnesota Vikings are tied for the 16th-hardest schedule (145-144) and the Chicago Bears are tied for 29th (135-154) in 2024. So while 2024 does provide the young Packers with another season where their second- and third-year players are afforded an opportunity to take another step in the right direction, it should be a tougher path to actually makimg the playoffs. Back in 2023, Jordan Love only had to beat three playoff teams during the regular season to get Green Bay in postseason position: the Lions, Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Meanwhile, there are currently six playoff teams on the Packers’ 2024 schedule: the Lions, Rams, Eagles, Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans. https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2024 ... f-schedule
