GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Eleven weeks ago, an eternity in an NFL season, the Green Bay Packers slayed one of their demons from 2024. They beat the Detroit Lions to open the regular season -- an important victory, not only because it was the season opener but also because it came against an NFC North team they could not beat last season.
After a year in which they won one measly division game -- needing a blocked field goal on the final play to top the Chicago Bears -- they matched their 2024 NFC North win total in Week 1.
Had they not scored that season-opening 27-13 win over the reigning division champion Lions, they would have had to wait more than two-and-half months to see if they could finally win another division game. A quirk of the Packers' 2025 schedule is having one NFC North game before Week 12.
It makes the Packers' next three weeks -- back-to-back-to-back division games beginning with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field (1 p.m. ET, Fox) -- a potential season-defining stretch that could make or break their chances of winning the NFC North and having at least one home playoff game.
"It's been a weird schedule for us, playing Week 1 [in] a division game and now I don't even know what week it is," quarterback Jordan Love said.
It's Week 12.
"Yeah, so it's been a long time," Love said. "It's felt weird, and obviously we'll have a couple back to back right now. It's definitely a stretch that we'll have to take advantage of."
The Packers (6-3-1) were the only team in the NFL to play one division game in the first 11 weeks. Twenty-six teams have played at least three, including the San Francisco 49ers, who have played five and have one NFC West game remaining (the regular-season finale, when every team plays a division game).
In the NFC North, the Bears lead at 7-3, followed by the Packers, Lions (6-4) and Vikings (4-6). Chicago and Detroit are 1-2 in division games, while Minnesota is 2-1.
According to ESPN Analytics, the Packers have a 44% chance to win the division, the highest of any NFC North team. However, according to ESPN BET, the Packers have the second-shortest odds to win the division (at +140) while the Lions have the shortest (+135).
"It's super important," safety Xavier McKinney said of the upcoming three-game stretch. "Last year we went 1-5. That's not where we want to be as a team in this division. And so I think this year we want to provide a new outlook on what type of team that we are, and we don't want to repeat that same stuff we did last year. So I think this is an important game. I think all division games are important, so we've taken it very seriously.
"We know that we have a tough stretch. These last however many games that we have, the majority of them are division games. So we know that we've got to be focused and locked in."
The NFC North fiasco of last season lingered over the Packers throughout the offseason. The coaches and scouting staff spent hours upon hours reviewing each loss. Days before this season began, general manager Brian Gutekunst, in an interview with ESPN, said he didn't necessarily look at it as a problem with division games but rather as an issue of key stretches against the best teams in the league.
"Our growth area has to be when we're at our best when the best is required," Gutekunst said at the time. "I think we competed at a high level in a couple of those games, but you've got to be able to close them out and finish them. I think that's part of where our team -- which has been young over the last couple of years, but they've got a lot of experience -- [must take] the next step."
Inconsistency has marked the first 10 games of the season. After starting out with impressive wins over the Lions and Commanders, the Packers have scuffled along, often playing up or down to the competition. Last season, they went a combined 0-6 (including playoffs) against the top-tier teams, losing twice each to the Eagles, Lions and Vikings, but going 11-0 against the rest of their opponents.
This season, they've lost to the two-win Browns and tied the four-win Cowboys. They also lost to the Panthers, who were .500 at the time. Just last week, they trailed in the fourth quarter to the two-win Giants before pulling out a 27-20 win. But they have wins over a pair of teams with winning records in the Lions and Steelers.
The Packers enter Sunday's game with myriad injuries. They listed 17 players -- 32% of their roster -- on the injury report after the first practice of the week, and that doesn't included perhaps their two best offensive players in tight end Tucker Kraft (out for the season with a torn right ACL) and receiver Jayden Reed (who is still hoping to return this season from a broken collarbone and foot).
Running back Josh Jacobs' knee injury from last week's game has left his status in doubt. Jacobs could be critical in this stretch, considering in seven NFC North games since he joined the Packers last season he has averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns.
"You talk about this three-game stretch," coach Matt LaFleur said. "But really all that matters is this one game for us right now. I mean, we just gotta focus on what's right in front of us, and that's to try to put together the best plan to go out and play a team that I think is an extremely tough football team and, shoot, they put it on us twice last year, so our guys will be motivated."