Ranking 5 Packers Games That Should Be Played in 2017
The recent announcements of the NFL’s regular season schedule and Tom Brady being named the cover star for Madden 18 got me thinking about matchups.
What if I could insert, flip, and move around the Packers schedule this season to my liking? What if I could log onto my bank account and see millions deposited overnight? What if I could fly myself to work instead of drive? These are all nonsensical questions, but you already clicked on the link, so here we are.
Let’s examine some matchups that will happen in the future, but would be even better if they happen in 2017.
Packers at Patriots
Scheduled: 2018
Green Bay’s contest at Lambeau against Tom Brady in 2014 may be one of the best games in recent memory. Both teams were at the height of their powers, and the final result came down to the final few minutes.
The Packers will travel to Foxborough next season, but Brady’s Madden 18 cover appearance may foreshadow his tenure with New England is coming to an end. The best matchups in football happen between the best quarterbacks, and there’s no one playing the position better than Rodgers and Brady. It’s a shame they can’t play every year.
Packers at Cowboys
Scheduled: 2019
While the old Cowboys Stadium used to be a house of horrors for the Packers in the 1990’s, the new AT&T Stadium has been home to three of the best games in recent memory: Super Bowl XLV, Matt Flynn’s furious second-half comeback in 2013, and the thrilling NFC Divisional round victory last season.
Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys will be traveling to Lambeau Field for the second straight year in the regular season, but the real fun has happened in Texas.
Packers at Seahawks
Scheduled: Possibly 2019
It’s been some time since the Packers traveled to Seattle, and that's okay. Between the Fail Mary game, a beatdown to begin the 2014 season on national television, and the 2014 NFC Championship Game, CenturyLink Field hasn’t been quite kind to Green Bay. There’s no better way to break that streak than with a good win.
The ultimate payback? If these two teams were to play once again on Monday Night Football, except this time the Packers sack Russell Wilson eight times and win on yet another Aaron Rodgers hail mary. Keep Lance Easley far away from the state of Washington.
Packers at Chiefs
Scheduled: 2019
Arrowhead Stadium is one of the loudest venues in sports, and the Chiefs fanbase may be the only other fanbase who could stand toe-to-toe with Packers fans in tailgating prowess. These teams have a lot of common ground, as Kansas City’s general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid both spent time with the Packers organization.
Also, the Chiefs selecting Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the NFL Draft this year starts to wind down the clock on current quarterback Alex Smith. Smith was selected first overall by the 49ers in 2004, and as a result Aaron Rodgers fell to Green Bay at 24. The two have played three times, with Rodgers and the Packers having won two and lost one.
Jaguars at Packers
Scheduled: 2020
The Jaguars seem to have been on the edge of being a competitive team for the last few seasons. Now with a new regime led by former Giants coach Tom Coughlin in the front office and head coach Doug Marrone, it’d be exciting to watch these two teams face off again in 2017.
Why play them again? This offseason, Jacksonville has made moves in free agency and the draft many fans in Green Bay were begging to see happen. The Jaguars drafted bruising running back Leonard Fournette, picked up corner A.J. Bouye from the Texans in free agency, and traded for tight end Julius Thomas, who put up big numbers with Peyton Manning in Denver.
