Thursday night brings an unusual kind of pressure to Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers are staring at a sellout streak that has run for 66 years, and with kickoff only hours away, there are still roughly 700 seats listed on the official market.
The ticket picture has softened fast. The cheapest seats are starting at $227, mostly in the upper levels, while secondary-market get-in prices have slid to around $100. Over the past two days, sales have crawled along so slowly that analysts say ordinary fan demand does not look strong enough to wipe out the remaining inventory on its own.
That puts the Packers in a spot they almost never face. To keep the streak alive, the team may have to adjust prices or move blocks of tickets through other channels before the gates open. A 66-year run puts the streak among the longest continuous sellouts in American sports, and it is suddenly in real danger of ending tonight.
The matchup itself hasn’t helped. Atlanta comes in at 0-2 after scoring just 16 points across its first two games, while Green Bay is 1-1 after an overtime win. Many expected stronger interest for the Packers’ home opener, but the numbers have not backed that up.
The slow response has been obvious in the fan conversation, too. Once the Week 3 primetime schedule was announced, NFL fans took to social media to ask Roger Goodell to change it.
Most of the criticism landed on the Falcons, who are set for three straight national windows. The Falcons start that run tonight on Prime Video, then follow with Monday night and Sunday night games in the weeks ahead.
Commenters have labeled the slate one of the weakest early-season stretches in recent memory, and several said they had no intention of watching. But the schedule is locked in. Flex rules won’t allow a last-minute change for Week 3, and Thursday Night Football cannot be moved until much later in the season.
So the game stays put, even with the sluggish ticket market hanging over it. Local fans will still pack plenty of Lambeau and do what they always do there, but the sight of so many seats still available this late is rare for a franchise that usually doesn’t have to think twice about demand.
The Packers still have a few ways to protect the streak before kickoff. Whether those seats disappear through price cuts, partnerships or another route will be known soon enough. For now, Thursday night is shaping up as a very public test of just how strong the appetite is for a Packers primetime home game.
In Other News...
Packers May Have Found Pass Rush Help At The Perfect Time
Rookie edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton is already making the kind of first impression that can matter for a defense looking for answers. In a recent game against the New York Jets, he finished with six tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits, and his work in pressuring the quarterback showed up beyond the box score. Through two games, he has also climbed to 15th among edge defenders in pass-rush win rate, a notable early mark for a player taken 120th in the draft.
For a Packers front that can always use another reliable source of heat off the edge, that kind of start stands out even more because it has come from a late pick outplaying several rookies selected before him. Early production is one thing, but the bigger question is whether Dennis-Sutton can keep forcing his way into the pass-rush conversation as the competition gets stiffer and the league gets more of a book on him. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Have A Huge NFC North Opening Before Chicago
The Packers win over the Jets gave them a little breathing room, but the bigger picture in the NFC North still looks unsettled as they head into matchups with the Falcons and Buccaneers. Injuries have thinned out key spots around the division, and that has kept the race from taking shape the way it usually does this time of year. Green Bay has dealt with its own health concerns, but the door is still open for a team that can stay upright and take advantage of the chaos.
Chicago looms next, and that game could end up carrying extra weight if the division keeps wobbling. The Bears, Vikings and Lions are all dealing with issues of their own, which makes every week feel a little more consequential than usual for the Packers. Even before the matchup with Chicago arrives, Green Bay has a chance to keep stacking wins and put itself in position to make the most of an NFC North that has yet to settle into place. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Face A Receiver Problem Bigger Than Week 3
Jayden Reeds injury quickly became the kind of scare that lingers well beyond one Sunday, because the Packers are now waiting on what tests in Green Bay will say after he was taken off the field on a stretcher against the Jets. Matt LaFleur said the receiver is back home for evaluation, and while it is still too early to pin down a recovery timeline, the immediate outlook already points to Reed missing Week 3 against the Falcons.
For a Green Bay offense that has leaned on Reeds presence, the bigger concern is how long this absence could last and what it means for a receiver room trying to keep its footing. The Packers can manage one game without him, but the uncertainty around a neck injury has a way of changing the conversation fast, especially when the next step is no longer about one matchup but about how the team will cover for him if the tests lead to a longer pause. [Read more 🡒]