Your Packers Bye-Week Cheering Guide

With the NFC playoff picture starting to come together, here is who you should root for during the Packers’ bye week.

Packers defensive ends Rashan Gary (52) and Arron Mosby team up to sack the Lions' Jared Goff last week. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are on their bye week. With rain in the forecast on Sunday (at least in Green Bay), you’ll be stuck with the remote control in your hands rather than a rake.

Who should you cheer for this weekend?

New England Patriots (2-7) at Chicago Bears (4-4)

Cheer for: The Patriots. Duh.

Why?: The Bears are 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. With back-to-back losses, the Bears have shown some big-picture issues, such as Tyrique Stevenson’s premature celebration at Washington and D.J. Moore walking off the field in the middle of a play at Arizona. Another loss would continue the Bears’ downward trajectory and perhaps improve the Packers’ chances next week.

Did you know?: Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has a 105.1 passer rating at home and 67.2 on the road. In his last home start (Week 6 vs. Jacksonville), he threw four touchdown passes with six incompletions.

Minnesota Vikings (6-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7)

Cheer for: The Jaguars, of course.

Why?: Green Bay and Minnesota are leading the charge for second place in the NFC North, which could mean the difference between the No. 5 seed (and a matchup against the worst division winner) and the No. 7 seed (and a matchup against the second-best division winner followed by a potential divisional-round matchup at the Lions). The Jaguars will play without quarterback Trevor Lawrence, though, so a Vikings loss seems unlikely.

Did you know?: With 103 receiving yards, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson would pass Torry Holt (6,784) for the most yards by a player in his first five NFL seasons.

Atlanta Falcons (6-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-7)

Cheer for: The Saints.

Why?: Atlanta has taken a sizable lead in the NFC West and is No. 3 in the NFC. If the goal for Green Bay is the No. 5 seed, the wild-card matchup would be at No. 4. However, with the 49ers and Rams lurking behind the Cardinals in the West, you could argue that Green Bay would be better off going to Atlanta. The Falcons are 3-3 at home and don’t have much of a pass rush.

Did you know?: Falcons QB Kirk Cousins can become the first player since Aaron Rodgers in 2011 with three-plus touchdown passes and a 140-plus passer rating in three consecutive games.

San Francisco 49ers (4-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)

Cheer for: The Buccaneers.

Why?: The 49ers, because they’re the 49ers and have beaten the Packers in every big game for more than a decade, are a frightening team. With the return of Christian McCaffrey, they perhaps are poised to get hot and capture the up-for-grabs NFC West. In a perfect world, the 49ers would at best be a wild card so the Packers wouldn’t have to go to San Francisco for the opening round of the playoffs.

Did you know?: McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing yards, scrimmage yards and scrimmage touchdowns last year. Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes.

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) at Washington Commanders (7-2)

Cheer for: The Commanders.

Why?: At this point, it appears Washington and Philadelphia are going to earn playoff berths from the NFC East. If the season were to end today, the Packers would play at the East-leading Commanders in the playoffs. Green Bay probably would prefer that matchup (against rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels) than going to Philadelphia to face the Eagles (a battle-tested team who beat Green Bay in Week 1).

Did you know?: Daniels is 7-2. With a win, he’d join the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger (10) and the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (nine) for the only rookie quarterbacks to win at least eight of their first 10 starts.

New York Jets (3-6) at Arizona Cardinals (5-4)

Cheer for: The Cardinals.

Why?: Arizona winning the NFC West – and potentially hosting the Packers in the wild-card round – would be better than 49ers or Rams.

Did you know?: If the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers throws a touchdown pass to Davante Adams, it would be their 78th scoring connection – tied with Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown for fourth-most all-time.

Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) at Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

Cheer for: The Cowboys.

Why?: As noted before, if the Packers have to face the NFC East champions to open the playoffs, they’d probably rather face the rookie Daniels than the veteran Jalen Hurts. Dak Prescott’s injury makes a Dallas victory highly unlikely, though.

Did you know?: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has four consecutive games with a 115-plus passer rating and last week became the first player in NFL history with a touchdown pass, touchdown run and 115-plus rating in three consecutive games.

Detroit Lions (7-1) at Houston Texans (6-3)

Cheer for: The Texans, obviously.

Why?: This story has been based on the premise that Detroit is going to win the NFC North and Green Bay will be relegated to a wild card. A loss here would obviously improve Green Bay’s NFC North chances.

Did you know?: Lions QB Jared Goff can become the first player in NFL history with a completion rate of 80-plus percent percentage in four consecutive games and the first player all-time with five such games in a season. Detroit is No. 1 in scoring and Houston has won six in a row at home, with 20-or-fewer points allowed in each game.

Miami Dolphins (2-6) at Los Angeles Rams (4-4)

Cheer for: The Dolphins.

Why?: Chances are, the entire NFC will be pulling for the Dolphins. With the returns of receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, and the Rams’ offensive line rounding into form, Los Angeles looks a lot more formidable than the team that lost to Green Bay last month. The Rams will be a tough out for any team in the playoffs.

Did you know?: Rams running back Kyren Williams has scored 25 touchdowns in his last 20 games and has scored at least one touchdown in eight consecutive home games.

More Green Bay Packers News 

I've got the #Packers finishing 12-5 (and here's how I got there). What's your prediction? https://t.co/hZZd2e5r1W

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 8, 2024

Predicting every game on rest of Packers’ schedule | How good are Packers after the bye? | Packers midseason awards | Wild half-season at QB for Packers | Updating the NFC playoff picture | Where’s the pass rush? | Edgerrin Cooper among midseason All-Rookie picks | Winners and losers for Packers at NFL trade deadline | On SI NFL power rankings | Packers trade Preston Smith | Packers at the NFL trade deadline | Consensus NFL power rankings | Dontayvion Wicks’ historically bad numbers