Green Bay Packers ceiling and floor 2023

Entering the post-Aaron Rodgers era, Green Bay faces many questions. After staying relatively quiet in free agency again, the Packers will go as far as inexperienced starting quarterback Jordan Love will take them. 

Minus several veterans from last season, the Packers are young, making the possibility of improving upon last year's 8-9 finish impossible to predict. Here's our best guess at the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Packers in 2023. 

Ceiling: 9-8

Love impressed in limited action last season, completing 66.7 percent of his passes and averaging 14 yards per completion. It's possible Love will hit the ground running and the Packers quickly become the talk of the NFC North. Love and Green Bay have a golden opportunity to start hot, embarking on a favorable early schedule. (Full schedule analysis here).

Ahead of their bye in Week 6, the Packers will face only one team that finished with a winning record in 2022, the Detroit Lions (Week 4), who swept Green Bay a season ago. Aside from the matchup with the Lions, the Packers will play at Chicago (Week 1) and at Atlanta (Week 2) and host New Orleans (Week 3). In Week 5, they'll play at the Raiders. Those opponents went a combined 23-45 last season, so with some breaks, the Packers could head into the second half at 4-1 or better. 

The Packers have a more challenging stretch of games in the second half, so starting strong will be crucial for Love and the Packers. 

Floor: 6-11

Now the undisputed starter,  Love — who's only 24 — doesn't have anything close to the veteran savvy of Rodgers, so growing pains for the young QB should be expected. Love has proven talent in the backfield in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. However, he won't have veteran tight end Robert Tonyan (now with Chicago) to lean on, nor a wideout with more than 50 career NFL catches. 

With a lot on Love's shoulders, it wouldn't be surprising if the Packers lose winnable games out of the gates, which could send their season into a tailspin early. 

Six of Green Bay's final nine opponents had winning records in 2022, with five earning playoff berths. The Packers might be the favorites at home against Tampa Bay (Week 15). But they'll also face stiff tests on the road against the Detroit Lions (Thanksgiving/Week 12) and Minnesota Vikings (Week 17), as well as a game at home against reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs (Week 13). 

Green Bay closes at home against the Bears, who it has defeated in seven straight games at Lambeau Field. However, that matchup will mean little if the Packers stumble navigating through the most challenging stretch of their schedule.