He expects Green Bay to drop two games to divisional teams on the road to end the 2024 regular season
In a recent interview with ESPN Milwaukee, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the expectation is that the Green Bay Packers will finish with a 12-5 record in the 2024 regular season, based on who remains on their schedule. For context, a 12-5 record would have been good enough for the top Wild Card spot in the NFC in both 2021 and 2023 and would have been tied for the top spot in 2022, the three seasons that we’ve seen a 17-game format with expanded playoffs in the NFL.
8 games left in the season, @AdamSchefter thinks the #Packers should go 6-2. @JenGabeChewy | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/9NnogFgsE4
— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) November 13, 2024
According to Tankathon, the Packers’ remaining strength of schedule is the 12th-hardest in the league, but it’s also the easiest remaining out of the four NFC North teams. The toughest schedule to end the 2024 season? That goes to the Chicago Bears, who still have to play the Packers twice, the Detroit Lions twice, the Minnesota Vikings twice, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. The difference between their remaining opponent’s winning percentage (70.8 percent) and the second-ranked team (Cleveland, 59.2 percent) is roughly the difference between the second-ranked team and the 24th-ranked team (Washington, 47.7 percent). Oof.
So while the Packers don’t exactly have a cakewalk in front of them, it sure isn’t the Bears’ schedule, either. Schefter didn’t give a whole lot of analysis to ESPN Milwaukee, aside from stating the Packers “should win that game” on projected wins or stating “tough game” on projected losses, but here’s how Schefter bucketed Green Bay’s remaining games:
Predicted Wins
- Week 11: @ Chicago
- Week 12: vs San Francisco
- Week 13: vs Miami
- Week 15: @ Seattle
- Week 16: vs. New Orleans
- Week 18: vs. Chicago
Predicted Losses
- Week 14: @ Detroit
- Week 17: @ Minnesota
Ultimately, the worldwide leader’s insider said the Packers “shouldn’t have more than two losses on their schedule” and “there’s no reason for this team to not go 6-2” to end the season. A 12-5 record probably isn’t going to be enough to make up the distance between the NFC North-leading Lions, who currently sit with an 8-1 record, but surviving the regular season after two Jordan Love injuries and still punching in a playoff ticket is probably a deal Green Bay fans would take at this point.