Matt LaFleur doesn’t know what a Week 1 home game feels like as a head coach, and he won’t get his first taste in 2023. The Green Bay Packers are opening on the road — in Chicago this season — for the fifth-straight year since LaFleur was hired in 2019.
The 2023 season mirrors the opening of 2019, LaFleur’s first season when the Packers began the year with a win over the Bears at Soldier Field.
The Packers have opened seasons on the road against the Bears (2019), Minnesota Vikings (2020), New Orleans Saints (2021) and Vikings (2022) since hiring LaFleur. Green Bay is 2-2 in Week 1 games under LaFleur but have lost two straight by double-digits.
It’s clear LaFleur would prefer to have a season-opening home game.
“That’s something I thought was going to change,” LaFleur told Larry McCarren of Packers.com. “There’s nothing like having an opening day game at your home stadium with your crowd behind you, but, again, the schedule makers said that’s not the case, and we’ll be prepared to play against a Chicago Bears team that certainly looks, on paper, much improved. It’ll be a great challenge for us.”
The Packers actually go on the road in back-to-back games to start 2023. The home opener doesn’t arrive until the Saints come to Green Bay in Week 3.
The Packers haven’t played at home in Week 1 since coming from behind to beat the Bears in 2018. Per the team, the five-year streak of not playing at Lambeau Field in Week 1 is the longest in team history.
