Packers 2020 Schedule Rumors: Bears games in week 12 & week 17, Lions in week 2

The schedule for the 2020 NFL season — should it begin on time and take place in its entirety — will be released on Thursday evening. The league will hold a three-hour schedule release show on NFL Network starting at 7:00 PM Central time, in which all 32 teams’ slates of games will be revealed, both for the regular season and the preseason.

The Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, are not forcing their fans to wait that long. The team revealed this morning that it will reveal its schedule at 6:30 PM, a half-hour before the special airs. But as the wait until 6:30 ticks by, fans are starting to get some leaks and reports of a few of the games on the schedule.

The first strong leak involving the Packers comes from Bears reporter Danny Parkins, a radio reporter on 670 The Score in Chicago. Parkins’ information reveals the possible dates of the Packers’ two games against the Chicago Bears, both of which come late in the season:

That’s right — if Parkins’ information is true, the Packers will host the Bears on Sunday Night of week 12. The game in Chicago is then reportedly taking place in week 17. Packers fans will vividly remember the last time they closed the regular season at Soldier Field; that was the 2013 thriller, when Aaron Rodgers found Randall Cobb for a 40-yard touchdown with less than a minute left in the game to clinch the NFC North division title.

One other item to take away from this report is that it contradicts Wednesday’s leak from John Clayton that the first four weeks of the season will be AFC vs. NFC games. The Bears hosting the Lions in week one would invalidate that idea; furthermore, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky also indicated that the 4-week cross-conference plan is not true.

The Packers-Bears rivalry is always a strong draw for viewership and that game has been a frequent prime-time matchup, particularly when played at Lambeau. In 2019, the Bears got a night game against the Packers at home, while the game in Green Bay was an early kickoff for the first time in years. At least for next season — if it happens — the Packers appear headed back to hosting the Bears at night once again.

UPDATE: Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Packers will host an NFC North team at Lambeau Field — likely the Detroit Lions — in week two. Silverstein also reports that the Packers will host the Eagles in week 13 and the Panthers in week 15.

UPDATE: The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan reports that Green Bay will play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football in week 3. Meanwhile, Marques Eversoll of WDUZ in Green Bay has the Packers hosting the Falcons in week 4 (on October 5, a Monday), the Vikings in week 8, and the Jaguars in week 10.

Here’s a look at what we have learned so far about the Packers’ schedule from these leaks:

Editor’s note: this article initially indicated in error that the week 12 game was on Thanksgiving night, rather than Sunday night. This error has been corrected.