The Green Bay Packers finished with a 13-3 record under first-year head coach Matt LaFleur and came up one game short of the Super Bowl in 2019. However, Green Bay had a return to form in winning the NFC North and qualifying for the playoffs after missing the previous two seasons.
Running back Aaron Jones had a career year in leading the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns and surpassing the 1,000 rushing yards mark for the first time in his career with 1,084. Aaron Rodgers turned in a solid year with 26 touchdowns and just four picks.
The emergence of the “Super Smith Bros.” in Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith revitalized a Green Bay defense that has been missing star-power for quite some time. General manager Brian Gutekunst added to his defensive outing by signing former Chicago Bears safety Adrian Amos, drafting safety Darnell Savage in 2019, and signing former Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey before the 2020 season.
Any Given Sunday for Green Bay
Green Bay currently ranks 15th in strength of schedule with opponents coming in at .504 ahead of the 2020 season. They’ll also play first-place teams in their rotation — which sees them once again playing the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara.
2020 proves to be a challenging year with games against the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not to mention darkhorse teams such as the Tennesee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, and, of course, their divisional opponents.
With their polarizing NFL Draft behind them, Green Bay will look to get to work and show that 2019 wasn’t a fluke and they are still one of the powerhouses in the NFC in 2020.
As part of a yearly tradition here at Last Word on Pro Football, we’ll take a look at all 16 games for Green Bay ranking them from 16-1 in terms of most winnable to most challenging. So, without further ado, here are the eight most challenging games.
Green Bay Packers Most Difficult Games in 2020
1. Week 9: at San Francisco 49ers
In a surprise to no one, San Francisco is the hardest test the Green Bay Packers will face in 2020. Both meetings in 2019 resulted in the same: A blowout victory in which Raheem Mostert and San Francisco’s defensive line did anything they wanted to. Both games were essentially over by halftime and Green Bay got thrown around like rag dolls. They’ll once again travel to Santa Clara looking to avenge last season’s losses and close the gap. San Francisco is the team to beat, and simply put, if Green Bay is going to reach the Super Bowl, they’ll have to exorcise some mighty demons to get there.
2. Week 3: at New Orleans Saints
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is one of the most hostile places for teams to visit — fans or not, withstanding — and one of the rare places Rodgers is winless. Aging Drew Brees is proving that age is just a number when it comes to the NFL. New Orleans continues to be a powerhouse in the NFC and it’s going to be one of those games where the winner will have major playoff implications. If Green Bay can slow down Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara, then they’ll have a shot. But the last time they played here, they got blown out 44-23 in 2014. New Orleans has been a house of horrors for Green Bay and expects more of it when they meet in 2020.
3. Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The football gods will grace us with Rodgers-Tom Brady III — with even more potential to face off in the playoffs down the road. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Jameis Winston were formidable on offense with the likes of Mike Evans and emerging star Chris Godwin. Now add in Brady’s disciplined play, and the Bucs have the potential to have a very scary offense. Throw in the fact that their defense won’t have to be out for 70 percent of the game, and this has the makings of a contender in Tampa Bay. The battle of the Bays will be lead by two future Hall of Famers giving it their all.
4. Week 17: at Chicago Bears
Road games are tough. Road divisional games with a team that boasts a top-five defense? Even tougher. Chicago held Green Bay to just 10 points in last season’s opener. If not for Rodgers’ magic, then Chicago should’ve come away with a win on that night. Green Bay’s line struggled mightily in that game and became a theme when faced with constant pressure. If Chicago continuously gets home this time, then the outcome could be vastly different. Especially, since this is the final game of the season, expect this one to have major NFC North implications.
5. Week 14: at Detroit Lions
As mentioned before, Green Bay had not won in the city of Detroit for three seasons until last year’s win that secured the number two seed. Looking back on that game — against a number of backups due to injury — Green Bay had to complete a double-digit comeback to secure that win. Detroit is a tough, gritty team that should’ve won more games last season if they hadn’t led the league in letting fourth-quarter leads evaporate. Detroit plays Green Bay extremely well at home, and in 2020, that’ll be one of the tougher games they’ll face on the road.
6. Week 16: vs Tennesee Titans
If Green Bay can prove this season that they’ve shored up their run defense, then you won’t be too worried about the Tennesee Titans late in the season. But should their defense still lack gap integrity, then Tennesee running back Derrick Henry should have a field day in the cold. Power running continues to be a major risk for Green Bay and this game will prove if they’ve learned anything from 2019 — which saw explosive running backs destroy them. This should be an entertaining game from both teams who came up just short of reaching the Super Bowl last season.
7. Week 2: vs Detroit Lions
Until last season, the Detroit Lions have had their way with Green Bay the past few seasons. In fact, in both 2017 and 2018, Detroit swept Green Bay proving to be a formidable divisional opponent. With a healthy Matthew Stafford and Marvin Jones Jr., they’ve matched up well with Green Bay at Lambeau Field. Including last year’s Monday Night Football that came down to a Mason Crosby field goal-winner as time expired to squeak by Detroit.
8. Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
Playing in Minnesota has been a tale of two stories for the Green Bay Packers in recent memory. Either they’ve been highly contested games that have gone for or against, or they come up just short in a losing effort. Green Bay finally notched its first victory at U.S. Bank Stadium since its opening a few seasons ago. This is a rivalry that has been building for some time now and Minnesota at home can be one tough place to play. If Rodgers and company are going to exert their NFC North dominance as they did a season ago, then that’ll be another crucial division game down the stretch.
Be sure to check out the easiest games on the Green Bay Packers 2020 schedule.
