Green Bay Packers 2024 schedule: Game by game, final record predictions

A lot of people ate a lot of crow last year when it came to the Green Bay Packers. Jordan Love eventually proved out to be a franchise quarterback. They have found their next guy. While they could have beaten the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, big-game inexperience proved to be to Love's detriment. Regardless, that game showed us Green Bay is ready to go win a Super Bowl now.

Right now, I have the Packers in a group of about three or four teams who are almost playoff locks, along with the Buffalo Bills, the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles. They are not quite there with how I feel about the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers in conference but a lot can change between now and the start of the season. I have the right to effectively pivot off any of my NFL takes.

So what I am going to do today is see how good the 2024 Packers can be, now that we know what their 17-game schedule will look like. Admittedly, I am pretty bullish on this team, although I think this is a critical year for head coach Matt LaFleur to prove he can do it or get off the pot. Green Bay plays a second-place schedule, drawing Miami, New Orleans and Philadelphia for its competitive balance.

Let's see what the Packers could do now that we know who and when they will be playing everybody.

Week 1: at Philadelphia Eagles (São Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 6, 8:15 p.m. ET)

In case you forgot or don't remember, the Packers will be opening the year vs. the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil of all places. It will be more on a Friday than Radiohead, if you can believe that. To me, this is a game that could go either way because it is a true neutral-site affair. For whatever reason, I like Packers' structure more than I do the Eagles. It will be very close, but I think the Pack improves to 1-0.

Prediction: Packers 30, Eagles 27

Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Sept. 15, 1:00 p.m. ET)

It has been almost a decade since the Indianapolis Colts won the AFC South. For a multitude of reasons, it will get to a full decade after this season. I know they had to do it, but I think pivoting off Gardner Minshew II for Anthony Richardson could come back to bite the Colts in the ass. They will duke it out with Jacksonville for second place in the AFC South. Green Bay will run laps around them.

Prediction: Packers 36, Colts 19

Week 3: at Tennessee Titans (Sunday, Sept. 22, 1:00 p.m. ET)

Some teams are playing to win championships, and others are the Tennessee Titans. The logic behind firing Mike Vrabel, I'll never understand. Although I think there is a chance that Will Levis could be the real deal Holyfield playing in Brian Callahan's system, this is a home game for the Packers, one that a championship-caliber team finds a way to win, even if the lesser opponent is playing up a bit.

Prediction: Packers 30, Titans 24

Week 4: vs. Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, Sept. 29, 1:00 p.m. ET)

For some unbeknownst reason, Sam Darnold will still be starting games for the Minnesota Vikings. Up to this point, he will have had one great game under center, a terrible one, and another in betwen. Well, in this Week 4 division rivalry matchup, he will see ghosts and throw a pick worse than his first professional throw for Gang Green back in the day. Skol Nation will be wanting to throw up after this.

Prediction: Packers 38, Vikings 21

Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, Oct. 6, 4:25 p.m. ET)

After getting off to a 4-0 start, the Packers will find a team who could conceivably push them around. Although I think the Rams are a bit of a pull-back candidate, it will be too early in the season for Los Angeles to accept that as reality. While I don't know for sure if the Rams are indeed a playoff team again, this tough road loss at SoFi will reveal a few things that the Packers need to correct quickly.

Prediction: Rams 28, Packers 20

Week 6: vs. Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, Oct. 13, 1:00 p.m. ET)

After losing a tough one to the Rams, the Packers will be on their best behavior and will play one of its most complete games of the season. Unfortunately, so will the other team. I still think the Arizona Cardinals are a year away from being a year away, but I like where the franchise is trending. It would not shock me if they were a playoff team this year, possibly contending for the division title in 2025.

Prediction: Packers 26, Cardinals 24

Week 7: vs. Houston Texans (Sunday, Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m. ET)

This game will be one where Packers fans will start to doubt if Jordan Love is worth all that money somebody is going to pay him next offseason. He will play fine, but he will be outclassed by the next great star quarterback in the league in C.J. Stroud. It would not shock me if Stroud won NFL MVP and the Houston Texans have their best season in franchise history. This will be a statement win for them.

Prediction: Texans 40, Packers 31

Week 8: at Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, Oct. 27, 1:00 p.m. ET)

In pretty much the exact opposite of what happened the previous weekend, Love and the Packers will handle their business and make all of Duval County question what is to come of Trevor Lawrence. This could be a game where the Jacksonville Jaguars begin to truly wonder if Lawrence will ever be as good as he was at times at Clemson. He will be erratic, while Love will play within himself and win.

Prediction: Packers 33, Jaguars 23

Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions (Sunday, Nov. 3, 4:05 p.m. ET)

In one of the best games of the season, we will have an instant classic on our hands between the two best teams in the NFC North. Given that I have Detroit as a playoff lock, of course, they are going to win more games than not in divisional play. However, the Packers will give it everything they've got playing at home right before the bye week. It will be too much for Jared Goff and company to handle.

Prediction: Packers 36, Lions 28

Week 10: Bye (Sunday, Nov. 10)

Green Bay enters its Week 10 bye with a dazzling 7-2 record. How will the back-half of the season go?

Week 11: at Chicago Bears (Sunday, Nov. 17, 1:00 p.m. ET)

This is when it starts to get a bit more challenging for the Packers. The back half of their 2024 season schedule is not as forgiving as the front-half was. By this point in the year, Caleb Williams will already be running away with the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. His Chicago Bears are not good enough to win the division but might sneak in as a Wild Card team. They beat the Packers in Chicago.

Prediction: Bears 27, Packers 23

Week 12: vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, Nov. 24, 4:05 p.m. ET)

It won't be exactly the scene of the crime, but we may see similar things happen when the Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers on the Frozen Tundra right before Thanksgiving. Green Bay will probably outplay San Francisco throughout, but a handful of lucky breaks help get San Francisco the crucial head-to-head tiebreaker the 49ers may need down the line when it comes to playoff seeding.

Prediction: 49ers 31, Packers 28

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins (Thursday, Nov. 28, 8:20 p.m. ET)

Riding a two-game losing streak, the Packers want revenge. Well, well, well... Revenge is a dish best served cold, so they are going to serve it up on a silver platter to a bunch of frozen fish sticks in the Miami Dolphins. Mike McDaniel may hail from Denver originally, but Green Bay will have won this game before the Dolphins even boarded the plane. It will be an awful look for Michael "Squints" Palledorous.

Prediction: Packers 37, Dolphins 17

Week 14: at Detroit Lions (Thursday, Dec. 5, 8:15 p.m. ET)

I told you the Lions would be back on here at some point. After losing to Green Bay at Lambeau right before the Packers' bye, Dan Campbell will be biting knee caps like he is fricking starving for a championship, man. The Lions will have one of those performances where it presents itself that they might be good enough to win a Super Bowl. This could be the game that ultimately gets them there.

Prediction: Lions 35, Packers 21

Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks (Sunday, Dec. 15, 8:20 p.m. ET)

With 10 days off between games, we will start to wonder why this game between Green Bay and the Seattle Seahawks was made for Sunday night. To be fair, I think this game gets flexed out because I don't think the Seahawks will be anything more than middle of the pack in the improving NFC. It will be a nice get-right game for Jordan Love and the rest of the Packers offense. They win around halftime.

Prediction: Packers 34, Seahawks 13

Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints (Monday, Dec. 23, 8:15 p.m. ET)

I have a strong feeling this might be the last game Dennis Allen is an NFL head coach in his life. It is not going to end well for him and the New Orleans Saints this year. It will not be a complete drubbing of New Orleans, but the better team will prevail quite easily. This game will say more about how badly the Saints need to hit the rest button more than it does about the Packers' championship viability.

Prediction: Packers 26, Saints 10

Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, Dec. 29, 1:00 p.m. ET)

By this point in the season, J.J. McCarthy will be starting games for the Minnesota Vikings. I don't know when for sure he will be inserted into the starting lineup, but it may be too little, too late. While he won't exactly wow vs. the Packers, he will show us all why he was worthy of a top-10 pick. Green Bay still wins comfortably, but Jordan Love now has another worthy adversary to face in-division.

Prediction: Packers 27, Vikings 22

Week 18: vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday, Jan. 5, TBA ET)

With an outside shot at a division title in hand, Green Bay will do everything in its power to either give Chicago a worse seed or knock the Bears out of NFC playoff contention entirely. I don't know if this will be the primetime game everyone will be watching in early January, but this is not going to be a 1:00 p.m. ET kick. Green Bay gets the win, putting Chicago's playoff chances out of the Bears' hands.

Prediction: Packers 24, Bears 20

Overall, I have the Packers going 12-5 and finishing as the No. 5 seed in the NFC. Detroit is either a win or two better than them, or has the tiebreaker. Either way, Green Bay will be better than the No. 7 seed in playoffs like last year. I suspect they will win during Wild Card Weekend on the road. If they get the right divisional round matchup, they might face Detroit or San Francisco in the NFC title bout.

It may not be a Super Bowl berth for the Packers just yet, but they will be knocking on the door of one.

Final record prediction: 12-5, Second Place in NFC North, No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs