2017 NFL win/loss projections for all 32 teams
By John Buhler
Green Bay Packers
After running the table like superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers said his team would, his Green Bay Packers ran into an absolute buzz saw in the Atlanta Falcons in the 2016 NFC Championship Game. He pleaded to his front office to get him some help so that the Packers could reload in 2017. General manager Ted Thompson sort of listened.
While the Packers did sign Martellus Bennett in free agency, the Packers lost guys like Micah Hyde, Julius Peppers, Jared Cook and T.J. Lang to other clubs. But that’s okay, because this is the Packers we’re talking about and they should dominate in the weak NFC North this fall.
Rodgers and his Packers have to be in the conversation of about five or six teams that can seriously win Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis this February. The offense should be what carries this team, as the defense tries to sort itself out. Green Bay will be in the mix to be the best team in the NFC this upcoming regular season. The Packers will only lose a handful of games.
However, it could be a slow start for Green Bay, a franchise that usually plays its best ball at the end of the season. Their first two games are against the Seattle Seahawks at home and the Falcons on the road to open up Mercedes-Benz Stadium. If Green Bay wins both games, that would be incredible. Winning just one would be fantastic.
Dropping both isn’t the end of the world. With the way their schedule breaks, the Packers may only lose one regular season game after their Week 8 bye. Drawing Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay in succession isn’t ideal, but this could be a year that Green Bay hoists Lombardi Trophy No. 5.
Projected Record: 13-3, NFC North Champion (No. 1 seed)