The Green Bay Packers played last Thursday, giving us a chance to ponder their performance and what lies ahead. I’m very grateful for the thoughtful questions you submitted this week, as they allowed us to tackle some crucial topics, making this mailbag rich in content.

An intriguing aspect is that all four NFC North teams are among the six with the toughest remaining schedules, as per Tankathon. This is largely because the division is strong and involves a lot of internal clashes. Beyond these divisional matchups, the Detroit Lions have to contend with the Buffalo Bills. Based on current records, one of their easier games is against the San Francisco 49ers, though that could change depending on the 49ers’ health status.

The Vikings face some deceptively tough games with the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. As for the Packers, besides their NFC North rivals, their most challenging games are against the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints. Despite having the most favorable schedule among NFC North teams, it won’t count for much if Green Bay can’t win the head-to-head games. This is actually positive. I’ve maintained that the Packers excel at sustainable aspects of the game while struggling with less consistent ones, which is a promising mix.

Your analysis highlights that the Packers lead the NFL in early down offense, which is the most predictive of future success—late downs are notoriously variable. The offense is indeed impressive, and Matt LaFleur deserves more credit than he typically receives. This is typical of well-coached teams; they tend to improve as the season progresses.

This pattern has been evident with the Packers multiple times since Matt LaFleur’s tenure began, so it’s not unexpected. The Packers possess a clearly skilled roster, and it came down to making key adjustments to fix those self-imposed errors. Achieving that isn’t simple, and the Packers face a significant challenge against the Lions on Thursday, but they’re heading in the right direction. Jordan Love’s interceptions were linked to poor footwork, partly due to injuries.

The pass rush showed promise against the Dolphins, offering reasons for optimism.