Matt LaFleur: 'Interesting' that NFL scheduled Packers a Week 5 bye after Week 2 TNF game

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t sound particularly pleased with the way the NFL scheduled the team’s bye during the 2025 regular season.

In recent interviews with both Larry McCarren of Packers.com and Chris Simms of NBC Sports, LaFleur mentioned the peculiar decision to give the Packers a bye week in Week 5 after scheduling a Week 2 game on Thursday night.

The Packers have the earliest possible bye week and will also play the league’s first “Thursday Night Football” game in Week 2.

“It is interesting having the short week in Week 2 after we play Washington followed up by a Week 5 bye, but we’ll adjust to it,” LaFleur told McCarren.

“It’s interesting, you have a real quick turnaround in Week 2 getting a Thursday night game against a really talented Washington Commanders team, and then we have an early bye, which is kind of weird after that Thursday night game, but it is what it is,” LaFleur told Simms.

Not only is the Packers’ bye week early, but having the short week in Week 2 creates a disjointed start to Green Bay’s season and an odd mix of early rest for LaFleur’s team.

Teams playing on “Thursday Night Football” often talk about having a “mini-bye” the next week considering the rest and prep advantage. The guess here is LaFleur doesn’t love the Week 5 bye week mostly because his team will get a “mini-bye” right away to start the season.

The Packers are scheduled to host the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 7 and then welcome the Washington Commanders to Lambeau Field for “TNF” on Thursday, Sept. 11 — a two-game stretch against NFC playoff opponents from 2024 in a five-day period. The Packers won’t play again until Sept. 21, providing a 10-game layoff between Week 2 and Week 3.

With a Week 5 bye, the Packers will play four games to start the season (with a mini-bye mixed in) and then have a grueling 13-game stretch to end the season, including four of six away from home to end the year.

When asked by McCarren what else he cares about the schedule, LaFleur pointed to short, irregular weeks. Not only do the Packers play twice on Thursday and at least once on Saturday, the Packers actually lead the NFL in short weeks before road games with three and have four games with a rest/prep disadvantage.

“Bottom line, you have to adjust, you have to be ready to play, wherever they tell you to play, when they tell you to play, and just be ready to play your best,” LaFleur said.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Matt LaFleur: ‘Interesting’ that NFL scheduled Packers a Week 5 bye after Week 2 TNF game