GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers get to play their first two games at home. The only catch is that both opponents, Detroit and Washington, were playoff teams last season. 

It will be the first time since Matt LaFleur took over as Packers head coach that their season opener was at Lambeau Field. You have to go back to 2018 for the last Packers season opener at home. That was the dramatic comeback victory over the Chicago Bears on a Sunday night.

If the Packers start 2-0, fantastic. A loss in either or both of those first two games wouldn’t be fatal, but it would lead to quick conclusions by the fan base.

September is challenging. It finishes with a Sunday night game at Dallas. It’s a very early bye week in October. The only home game that month is against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

There will be a lot of interest in the game at Pittsburgh on Oct. 26, especially if Aaron Rodgers joins the Steelers. It is curious to me that the NFL put that game in prime time. Maybe they know something we don’t.

Having the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on a Monday night in November at Lambeau is a tremendous advantage. Playing at Detroit on Thanksgiving is a nod to history, but also recognizes a current division rivalry.

Facing the Bears twice in three weeks in December will be interesting. New Chicago coach Ben Johnson talks a good game. We’ll see where both teams are in the standings by then.

I’m not smart enough to take a first look at a schedule and predict a record. I just know that this Packers season, like all of them, will be fascinating.