The Green Bay Packers' 96th NFL regular-season schedule – highlighted by five prime-time contests (subject to flexible scheduling) – was released this evening by the National Football League.
The Packers kick off their season on the road for the fourth consecutive year, the longest streak in team history, opening with two road games for the first time since 1924. Green Bay will travel to Jacksonville, playing on the road against an AFC team in Week 1 for the first time since facing the New England Patriots in 1985.
Green Bay will face division opponents in the next two games, beginning with a trip to Minnesota to face the Vikings in a prime-time game in Week 2. Green Bay returns to Lambeau Field for the home opener against the Detroit Lions. It is the first time since 1979 that the Packers have not played a game in Green Bay until Week 3.
For the second time in four years, the Packers will have their bye in Week 4. Green Bay returns to action with three consecutive home games against NFC teams over a 12-day span. In Week 5, the Packers play on Sunday night against the New York Giants. It will be the Giants' first regular-season game at Lambeau Field since 2010. The following week, Green Bay will play the Dallas Cowboys for the fourth consecutive season (including playoffs) and for the second straight year at home. The Packers have won five straight games against the Cowboys during the regular and postseason. Green Bay finishes the homestand playing the Chicago Bears on a Thursday night for the second consecutive season (11th straight year in primetime).
Four of the Packers' next five games will be on the road, including three road games in a row for the first time since 2012. After a trip to play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, Green Bay will face the Indianapolis Colts at home for the first time since 2008. The Packers make just their third regular-season visit to Tennessee to play the Titans in Week 10. Green Bay will play two primetime road games in a row, first traveling to play against the Washington Redskins on a Sunday night and then going to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Green Bay will play its first game at home in almost a month when it faces the Houston Texans for just the second time ever at home. Week 14 brings a familiar matchup as the Packers welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Lambeau Field for the second consecutive year. Including the postseason, Green Bay and Seattle will meet for the fifth time in five years.
For the first time since 2006, the Packers will finish the regular season with three straight games against NFC North opponents. In Week 15, Green Bay will travel to Chicago to play the Bears. The Packers have won four consecutive games against the Bears in December, three of which were played in Chicago. Green Bay returns home to play the Vikings in Week 16 on Christmas Eve, playing on a Saturday for the first time since 1997. The Packers will finish the regular season in Detroit for the first time since 1993.
Green Bay's schedule includes five games against 2015 playoff teams. Three of those contests (Minnesota, Houston, Seattle) will be at Lambeau Field, while two (Minnesota, Washington) will come on the road.
The dates and times for Green Bay's preseason games have also been finalized.
Take a look at some of the players the Packers will face during the 2016 NFL season. Photos by AP.
For ticket information, please visit www.packers.com/tickets and www.eventusa.com. For a secure method to buy and sell tickets, the Packers encourage fans to use NFL Ticket Exchange, http://pckrs.com/2016tickets. Please remember season ticket holders are unable to post tickets on NFL Ticket Exchange until mid-July.
PRESEASON
Sun., Aug. 7, vs. Indianapolis Colts (NFL/Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio), 7 p.m., ESPN
Fri. Aug. 12, vs. Cleveland Browns (Gold Pkg., Midwest Shrine Game), 7 p.m., Packers TV Network
Thu., Aug. 18, vs. Oakland Raiders (Bishop's Charities Game), 7 p.m., Packers TV Network
Fri. Aug. 26, at San Francisco 49ers, 9 p.m., Packers TV Network
Thu. Sept. 1, at Kansas City Chiefs, 7 p.m., Packers TV Network
REGULAR SEASON
Sun., Sept. 11, at Jacksonville Jaguars, 12 p.m., FOX
Sun., Sept. 18, at Minnesota Vikings, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Sun., Sept. 25, vs. DETROIT LIONS, 12 p.m., FOX
Sun., Oct. 2, BYE
Sun., Oct. 9, vs. NEW YORK GIANTS (Gold Pkg.), *7:30 p.m., NBC
Sun., Oct. 16, vs. DALLAS COWBOYS, *3:25 p.m., FOX
Thu., Oct. 20, vs. CHICAGO BEARS, 7:25 p.m., CBS/NFLN/Twitter
Sun., Oct. 30, at Atlanta Falcons, *12 p.m., FOX
Sun., Nov. 6, vs. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, *3:25 P.M., CBS
Sun., Nov. 13, at Tennessee Titans, *12 p.m., FOX
Sun., Nov. 20, at Washington Redskins, *7:30 p.m., NBC
Mon., Nov. 28, at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Sun., Dec. 4, vs. HOUSTON TEXANS, *12 p.m., CBS
Sun., Dec. 11, vs. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, *3:25 p.m., FOX
Sun., Dec. 18, at Chicago Bears, *12 p.m., FOX
Sat., Dec. 24, vs. MINNESOTA VIKINGS, 12 p.m., FOX
Sun, Jan. 1, at Detroit Lions, *12 p.m., FOX
All times Central
*"Flexible scheduling" will be used in Weeks 10-15 and 17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-9, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-15, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights. A flexible-scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 1. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot.
SCHEDULE NOTES …
at Jacksonville, Sept. 11, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – Sixth-ever meeting between the two teams and first since 2012, a 24-15 Green Bay victory…Previous five games were decided by 10 points or less…First time the Packers will open the season against Jacksonville…Third game at Jacksonville and first since 2008…Last time Green Bay opened the season in Florida was in 1998, at Tampa Bay, a 34-3 Packers' victory.
at Minnesota, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBC) – Green Bay has won five of the last six at Minnesota…Of the past 27 regular-season meetings between the teams, 19 of those games have been decided by seven points or less…If the Packers win, it will mark four consecutive victories on the road against the Vikings, which would be the longest road winning streak for the Packers in the series since winning five straight from 1980-85…Green Bay has won two of the last three games at Minnesota by 13-plus points, including a 30-13 victory last season.
vs. Detroit, Sept. 25, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – First time Green Bay has played against Detroit at home in September since 2003…Packers have won three consecutive games against Lions at home in September…Including a 1994 playoff victory, the Packers are 24-1 against the Lions in the state of Wisconsin since 1992…Green Bay has a 16-4 overall mark (.800) and a 9-1 home record (.900) against Detroit under McCarthy.
vs. New York Giants, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBC) – Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was a Green Bay assistant coach from 2006-13…Packers have won five of the last six regular-season home games against the Giants…Giants last played at Lambeau Field during the regular season in 2010, a 45-17 Green Bay victory…Will be just the second time the Packers and Giants have played each other on a Sunday night and the first primetime game vs. the Giants at Lambeau Field.
vs. Dallas, Oct. 16, 3:25 p.m. CT (FOX) – Including the playoffs, will be the fourth straight season the Packers and Cowboys have met…Green Bay is 11-4 against Dallas at home during the regular and postseason, including wins in six of the last seven matchups…Including the postseason, Green Bay has outscored Dallas 116-42 in the last four games played at Lambeau Field.
vs. Chicago, Oct. 20, 7:25 p.m. CT (CBS/NFLN) – The division rivals square off in a prime-time contest for the 11th consecutive season…The Packers have won six of the last eight meetings against the Bears at Lambeau Field…It is the second consecutive year they will host the Bears for a Thursday night game after meeting on Thanksgiving last season.
at Atlanta, Oct. 30, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – The Packers have won four consecutive games against Falcons, including the postseason…Last played at Atlanta during the regular season in 2011, winning 25-14…Past two games against the Falcons have been decided by a combined seven points.
vs. Indianapolis, Nov. 6, 3:25 p.m. CT (CBS) – Five of the last seven matchups between the two teams have been decided by seven or fewer points…Colts' first trip to Lambeau Field since 2008…Packers have won three consecutive home games against Indianapolis…Colts last won at Lambeau Field in 1988…Will be the fifth time in the last six matchups that the Packers will host the Colts in the month of November.
at Tennessee, Nov. 13, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – Packers are looking for their first victory at the Titans since they moved to Tennessee in 1997…It will be only the third time Green Bay has played at Tennessee during the regular season…Previous two regular-season matchups at the Titans were decided by six and three points…Packers suffered a loss in overtime in the last regular-season game played at Tennessee in 2008.
at Washington, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBC) – A rematch of last January's Wild Card playoff game in Washington, a 35-18 Packers victory…It will be the first time the Packers have played at the Redskins in back-to-back seasons…Including the postseason, Green Bay has won six of the last seven games against Washington.
at Philadelphia, Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN) – Marks the 24th consecutive season (1993-2016) that Green Bay is appearing on Monday Night Football…It is the fourth meeting between the two teams on MNF…Eagles head coach Doug Pederson played quarterback from the Packers from 1996-98 and 2001-04…The Packers won the last matchup against the Eagles, 53-20, at Lambeau Field in 2014…Green Bay won each of its last two games at Philadelphia, 21-16 in the 2010 Wild Card playoffs and 27-20 during the 2010 regular season.
vs. Houston, Dec. 4, 12 p.m. CT (CBS) – Will be the fourth overall meeting between the two franchises…Green Bay holds a 2-1 advantage in the series…Two of the three matchups were decided by three points…Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the first head coach of the Houston Texans.
vs. Seattle, Dec. 11, 3:25 p.m. CT (FOX) – Green Bay is 9-3 against the Seahawks at home during the regular and postseason, including six straight wins…Including the postseason, it will be the fifth time the two teams have played since 2012…Seattle is playing at Green Bay for just the third time in December (1990, 2009).
at Chicago, Dec. 18, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – Including a 2010 playoff victory at Chicago, Green Bay has won 19 of the last 23 meetings between the rivals at Soldier Field…The Packers have won at Chicago in the regular season each of the last five years…It will be the 10th time since 2000 that the Packers have played at Chicago in December/January during the regular season…Green Bay is 6-3 in those contests.
vs. Minnesota, Dec. 24, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – The Packers are playing on Christmas Eve for the first time since 2004, when they won 34-31 at Minnesota…Including playoffs, Green Bay has a 8-2-1 mark (.773) against the Vikings at Lambeau Field under McCarthy…The Packers last played on a Saturday during the regular season in 1997…Green Bay is 16-12 in regular-season Saturday games since 1925 and has won its last four…It will be the third time the Packers and Vikings have played on a Saturday during the regular season (1973, 1991).
at Detroit, Jan. 1, 12 p.m. CT (FOX) – Green Bay has won seven of 10 games at Ford Field under McCarthy…It will be only the third time the Packers have played at the Lions during the regular season in the month of January (1983, 1994)…The Packers are 7-3 at Detroit under McCarthy.
