Dave Sinykin

The NFL schedule release is made out to be more of an event than it truly is, considering we already know all of the opponents; we just don’t know the order. Still, it’s fun to see the small ramifications that manifest as a result of the lineup. Today, we are going to consider every ramification of the schedule and tier, and rank all 17 games by toughness. All games are tiered, then ranked within their tiers.

Quirky. That’s how I’d describe the Pack’s 2026 schedule. Five weeknight games? That has to be some kind of record. Six primetime games and none of them are divisional games? Who would imagine we wouldn’t see the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears under the lights? We get a Christmas Day game instead. Oh, and five of those primetime games are at home. Quirky.

Everything about NFL draft season feels different when your team doesn’t have a first-round pick. The nervousness, the anticipation — all of that is out the window. Of course, it’s a small price to pay when you remember the reason for the team’s idle Thursday night wears No. 1 for the Packers and is an absolute wrecking ball.