The winds of change are a-blowin’ in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It’s almost a certainty that Packers legend Aaron Rodgers is going to be moved to the New York Jets and a new era will be ushered in. How will Jordan Love respond to the spotlight? Will he be the next great Packers quarterback after Favre and Rodgers? Only time will tell.
And time is all we have at this point. The NFL Draft is looming and the official 2023 schedule is not going to be released for another month or so. However, we do know who the Packers will host and where they will travel in 2023.
Every year, fans circle games on the calender as easy wins. Yes, even bad teams do this in an attempt to feel a little optimism. Let’s take a look at a trio of the easiest games in the Packers future.
The Easiest Games on the Packers 2023 Schedule
Las Vegas Raiders
The hype train for the Raiders prior to the 2022 season was insane. They were just coming off of a playoff appearance and traded for Packers receiver, Davante Adams. That hype train was quickly derailed as the Raiders finished the year a paltry 6-11.
They let Derek Carr walk, tagged Josh Jacobs, and signed Jacobi Meyers and Jimmy Garoppolo.
This is not an intimidating team whatsoever. In a 2023 schedule with a lot of good teams, facing off against the Raiders will feel like a reprieve.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams sold off everything in order to win the Super Bowl and have legitimately fallen off the face of the Earth since. Imagine how terrible it would be in Los Angeles if they had lost Super Bowl LVI!
Last year, it was obvious that Matthew Stafford’s arm was shot. That offense just could never get anything going. On defense, the retirement rumors continue to swirl around Aaron Donald. Losing Donald would be a death knell because of the impact that he has. Plus, the Rams traded away star corner Jalen Ramsey.
They are rebuilding and with now badly they handcuffed themselves by selling out to win it all, it’s going to take a while. Could they be trying to win the Connor Williams sweepstakes in 2023? Who knows but betting on them to finish last in the NFC West may be easy money with the best expert for betting on mightytips.com.
Carolina Panthers
Thanks to a monster trade, the Panthers are set to pick first overall in this year’s draft. Regardless of which stud quarterback they elect to choose, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Rarely do we see a rookie quarterback come in and completely change a team in the first year. Burrow didn’t do it, Herbert didn’t do it, so C.J. Stroud/Bryce Young/Anthony Richardson won’t do it.
In that trade, they lost D.J. Moore, the only real receiver in their lineup. In free agency, the Panthers were pretty quiet. Their only “big” signings were a pair of former Bengals, Hayden Hurst and Vonn Bell. They did add a pair of decent receivers in D.J. Chark and Adam Theilen and running back Miles Sanders. However, even in a weak NFC South, 2023 is not going to be the year of the Panthers. Now, if they follow the recent trend of second-year jumps, watch out for them in 2024.
Packers 2023 Schedule Outlook
Overall, it looks like a pretty tough schedule fo the Pack. They have to run through the AFC West and NFC South, two very, very different difficulties. All in all, they have six games against five teams coming off of playoff appearances. The NFC North looks like it’ll be a little tougher this year. The Vikings are still good, the Bears are finally starting to build around Justin Fields, and the Lions (?) look to be on the up-swing after just narrowly missing the playoffs last year.
Realistically, the Packers have a shot at playoffs this year if Love is as good as the Packers seem to hope he is. The second-year jump for the receivers should provide a nice bump in productivity on offense and a defense led by DeVondre Campbell is always going to be fun.
Main Image: Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
