There was a time when the Green Bay Packers always opened the season at home. From 1986 until 2009, the Packers opened at home 21 out of 24 seasons. The Packers had two very long streaks of hosting games to start the season. From 1986 to 1995, and then 1997 to 2003, the Packers played Week 1 at home.
However, since 2010 it has been more likely for the Packers to open the season away from Lambeau Field. The Packers have opened the season at home just four times in the last 15 years.
The #Packers' 2025 opponents are finalized...
As part of the rotation, they'll travel to third-place finishers in AFC West (Denver) and NFC West (Arizona), and host NFC South's Carolina.https://t.co/My6kSneL7v
— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) January 5, 2025
One thing the last six Packers home openers have in common is they were all games played on national TV. In 2008, the Minnesota game was on Monday Night Football, in both 2009 and 2018, the Packers and Bears played the Sunday Night Football opener.
As the defending Super Bowl in 2011, the Packers hosted the Saints on Thursday Night Football. It was the first time since 2000 that the two previous Super Bowl champions played in Week 1 (Rams vs. Broncos).
And in both 2012 and 2017, the Packers played on FOX in the late doubleheader window playing the 49ers and the Seahawks, respectively.
Year Opponent Result TV
2008 Minnesota W 24-19 ESPN
2009 Chicago W 21-15 NBC
2011 New Orleans W 42-34 NBC
2012 San Francisco L 22-30 FOX
2017 Seattle W 17-9 FOX
2018 Chicago W 24-23 NBC
Will the Packers open at home for the first time under Matt LaFleur? There are some intriguing options for the league to pick from. The Packers home opponents this year are: Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Carolina.
The Eagles can be eliminated since they will start the season in the Thursday Night opener as the defending Super Bowl champions.
An NFC North tilt in one of the national TV windows would make a lot of sense. Having the Packers host one of their division rivals at home to start the year has been a popular pick by the NFL’s schedule makers the past 30 or so years.
Week 1 Home Matchups since 1990
NFC North Team Years
Chicago 1997, 2006, 2009, 2018
Detroit 1998, 2001
Minnesota 1992, 1994, 2003, 2008
If the Lions are not the choice to open the season in Philadelphia, having them play the Packers would be a great TV match-up for Week 1. The Packers have only opened a season once at Ford Field, which was in 2005. The Lions have won three straight times at Lambeau Field, which seems unheard of after they failed to win in Wisconsin from 1992 to 2014.
Today in 1998: LeRoy Butler's 32-yard fumble return TD and two Favre-to-Freeman scoring connections lift Packers to 38-19 opening-day win over Lions.
In the second half, Detroit's Terry Fair ends 3Q with a 101-yard KR TD, while Roell Preston begins 4Q with a 100-yard KR TD. pic.twitter.com/9NqgppM3Lg
— Packers History (@HistoricPackers) September 6, 2023
A couple dark-horse choices for Week 1 games would be either the Ravens or Bengals coming to Lambeau Field. In some years both CBS and FOX have had doubleheader games in the 4:25 PM Eastern time window, and they both do, a game between the Packers and one of the two AFC North powers would be very intriguing. Pitting Jordan Love against either Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow would be must-see-TV.
Taking a closer look at Green Bay Packers 2025 opponents https://t.co/aku6HTnOuh pic.twitter.com/NH8njodaIV
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) May 7, 2025
Taking a Closer Look at the 20025 Opponents- Packerswire.usatoday.com