GREEN BAY โ The Jordan Love era in Green Bay won't be starting in Green Bay in 2023.
The Packers will play their first two games of the upcoming season on the road, according to their 2023 schedule, released by the NFL on Thursday, May 11. It's the fifth consecutive season and ninth in the last 11 in which the Packers will be away from Lambeau Field on Kickoff Weekend, though the first since 2016 in which their second game was also on the road.
Green Bay opens 2023 with games in Chicago (Sept. 10) and Atlanta (Sept. 17) before the home opener Sept. 24 vs. New Orleans, followed by the quick turnaround of a Sept. 28 Thursday night game vs. Detroit at Lambeau Field. That first Lions game is the first of two Thursday meetings with the team that eliminated them from playoff contention in 2022, with the other coming in Detroit in the Lions' traditional 11:30 a.m. Thanksgiving slot, marking the first meeting between the division rivals on the holiday since 2013.
For the 10th consecutive season, the Packers will play the league maximum five prime-time contests. Green Bay will play on Monday Night Football Oct. 9 at Las Vegas before a relatively early Week 6 bye.
The first "Border Battle" of the season with Minnesota is Oct. 29 at Lambeau Field.
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If Green Bay is still in contention after Thanksgiving, the Packers will spend a lot of time in the national spotlight. Their first scheduled appearance on NBC's Sunday Night Football isn't until Dec. 3 at Lambeau against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, followed immediately by a Dec. 11 Monday night game in the Meadowlands vs. the New York Giants.
The second and final Border Battle will come right before the ball drops to end 2023: a New Year's Eve clash at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis at 7:20 p.m. on NBC before the Packers finish with whom they started, Chicago, in a Lambeau Field finale at some point on the first weekend of January.
The NFL's schedule-makers may be hedging their bets on Love's first season as the starter under center in Green Bay, as prime-time games can be changed, or 'flexed' out of the Sunday night slot in weeks 11-17. For the first time, Monday night games in weeks 12-17 can also be changed to avoid noncompetitive matchups or promote surprise teams that weren't originally in the spotlight.
