Which games matter to the Packers on their bye weekend?

[Cheesehead]

Coming off a big prime-time road win at Dallas, the Vikings are hosting the Broncos (3-6), whose new QB Brandon Allen will be making just his second NFL start, and first on the road. U.S. Bank Stadium is a tough place to make a road debut, but Allen did win his opener in place of Joe Flacco, against the Browns, and the Broncos are rested coming off their bye week.


Elsewhere in the NFC North, the Lions (3-5-1) are in danger of falling out of contention entirely and will need a home win over the NFC East co-leading Cowboys (5-4) to stay relevant. The biggest issue for Detroit is star QB Matthew Stafford’s back injury, which could force him to his second straight game.


Also, the Bears (4-5) are on the road to face the Rams (5-4) in a Sunday night game pitting two 2018 division champions looking to stay in the hunt. Chicago is going for its second straight win following a four-game losing streak, while defending conference champ LA can’t afford to fall any further behind San Francisco (8-1) and Seattle (8-2) in the NFC West.


Speaking of those two West Coast teams, the Packers will travel to face the 49ers next week after they host the Cardinals (3-6-1). Just a couple of Thursdays ago, Arizona rallied from a big deficit against San Francisco and took the then-unbeaten 49ers to the wire in a close loss. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are on their bye, just like the Packers.