Getty Aaron Jones #33 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after scoring on an three-yard run against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter of their game at AT&T Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Arlington, Texas.
The Green Bay Packers are reportedly set to host the Chicago Bears for a post-Thanksgiving showdown in primetime, according to reports ahead of Thursday night’s official schedule release for the 2020 NFL season.
According to Danny Parkins of 670 The Score, the Packers will welcome the Bears to Lambeau Field for Sunday Night Football during Week 12 of the upcoming season, just three days after Thanksgiving. Parkins also reported the Bears will host the Packers for the final game of the regular season at Soldier Field in Chicago.
NFL SCHEDULE LEAKS #Bears
Week 1: at Lions
Week 5: Brady and Bucs at home
Week 7: MNF at Rams
Week 10: MNF v Vikings
SNF after Thanksgiving at GB
Week 17: home v Green Bay
Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reported the Week 12 showdown between the Packers and Bears while also adding a few more leaked matchups to the list: Week 2 against the Detroit Lions and a pair of home games against the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 13) and Carolina Panthers (Week 15).
Silverstein later added road games against the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener and Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints later in the afternoon.
While none of the leaks have been confirmed — and likely won’t be until NFL teams begin releasing their schedules at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday — the Packers do know which opponents await them in the upcoming season aside from their annual NFC North bouts. Each team’s 2020 opponents were finalized and announced in late December.
Here’s a closer look at which teams the Packers will face in 2020 along with a live tracker for Green Bay’s other schedule-related leaks leading up to the official release.
Conflicting Reports About How 2020 NFL Season Will Begin
Schedule leaks for multiple teams have already begun to conflict as reporters and media outlets race to be the first to scoop the official matchups, but some reliable sources have started to conflict with one another in significant ways.
On Wednesday afternoon, NFL radio host John Clayton reported on 93.7 The Fan the first four weeks of the 2020 season would feature NFC vs. AFC matchups, which sent some off looking to put scheduling pieces together in a predicted order that would make sense. For the Packers, such an alignment would mean games against the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
.@JohnClaytonNFL tells @937theFan that the NFL schedule will be NFC vs AFC for the 1st 4 weeks of the season. Steelers play the NFC East. So 1st 4 games would be Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, and Giants.
Other leaks and reports, however, have refuted his claim about how the 2020 season will begin. Multiple sources have reported Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints will be going head-to-head with Tom Brady and his new Tampa Bay Buccanneers to open the season, pitting NFC South opponents against one another similar to how the NFC North — Packers vs. Bears — opened the NFL’s 100th season in 2019.
Again, anything can still happen with none of the leaks yet confirmed, but the pieces are starting to come together for how the Packers will follow up their 13-3 campaign last season.
Packers’ 2020 Opponents & Schedule
Week 1: at Minnesota — Noon CT, Sept. 13
Week 2: vs. Detriot — Noon CT, Sept. 20
Week 3: at New Orleans — 7:20 p.m. CT, Sept. 27 (Sunday Night Football)
Week 4: vs. Atlanta — 7:15 p.m. CT, Oct. 5 (Monday Night Football)
Week 5: BYE WEEK
Week 6: at Tampa Bay — 3:25 p.m. CT, Oct. 18
Week 7: at Houston — Noon CT, Oct. 25
Week 8: vs. Minnesota — Noon CT, Nov. 1
Week 9: at San Francisco — 7:20 p.m. CT, Nov. 5 (Thursday Night Football)
Week 10: vs. Jacksonville — Noon CT, Nov. 15
Week 11: at Indianapolis — Noon CT, Nov. 22
Week 12: vs. Chicago — 7:20 p.m. CT, Nov. 29 (Sunday Night Football)
Week 13: vs. Philadelphia — 3:25 p.m. CT, Dec. 6
Week 14: at Detroit
Week 15: vs. Carolina — TBD (either Dec. 19 or 20)
Week 16: vs. Tennessee — 7:20 p.m. CT, Dec. 27 (Sunday Night Football)
Week 17: at Chicago — 12 p.m. CT, Jan. 3
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