After last night’s 20-13 Packers loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the 2015 NFL regular season came to a conclusion. The final game determined the 2015 playoff brackets, but also next season’s opponents for each NFL team.
The Green Bay Packers will face off against the NFC East and AFC South as well as their own division next season, playing against arguably the three weakest divisions in the NFL this season. By finishing second in the conference, the Packers will also face off against the NFC South’s #2 finisher in the Atlanta Falcons and the NFC West’s #2 team in the Seattle Seahawks.
Here are the Packers’ opponents for 2016 with home and away games denoted. The NFL schedule will come out after the Super Bowl.
HOME: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks
AWAY: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
If you ask me, the Packers have a very favorable schedule next season, one that depends heavily on the improvements of their opponents. The combined records of these teams this season (divisional opponents’ records included twice) was 117-139 (.457 winning percentage), and only the Vikings, Redskins, Texans, and Seahawks made the playoffs. Green Bay, by calculation, will have one of the easiest strengths of schedule. The game of the season will of course be when the Packers host the Seahawks.
Photo taken by Jim Biever, Packers.com.