Packers Morning Buzz: Easy schedule puts Green Bay in driver's seat for top seed

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with ESPN's Bill Barnwell writing that the Packers' easy remaining schedule makes them the favorite to finish with the NFC's best record and earn the conference's only first-round playoff bye.

Barnwell writes:

The other good news for the Packers is that their schedule is projected to get much easier. They've played what FPI believes to be the league's 10th-hardest schedule through three weeks, but they'll play the seventh-easiest slate in all of football the remainder of the season. With just two other teams in the NFC starting 3-0 (the others being the Seahawks and Bears), the Packers are favorites to come away with the top seed in the NFC, which is even more valuable in the 14-team format than it was under the 12-team rule.

You can read Barnwell's entire analysis of the NFL's 3-0 teams here:

A setback for the Packers' passing game:

Pete Dougherty advises the Packers to make sure second-round running back AJ Dillon is ready should he be needed at some point this season:

Tom Silverstein writes about how the ability of the Packers' offense to pick up on Aaron Rodgers' audibles is giving them a big advantage in empty stadiums:

Former Packers safety LeRoy Butler and Silverstein look ahead to Monday night's game against the Falcons:

Silverstein and Jim Owczarski break down the matchup in their Green 19 podcast:

Dougherty answers readers' questions in his weekly Packers chat:

The Packers move up two spots into the No. 2 position in USA TODAY SPORTS' weekly rankings:

Green Bay remains No. 3 behind the Chiefs and Seahawks in the SI.com rankings. As Jenny Vrentas writes:

So, Aaron Rodgers had a point about the Packers flying under the radar. Shame on us for not assigning the proper weight to the motivational furor unleashed when his team drafted his would-be replacement. Will Jordan Love have the same effect Jimmy Garoppolo did on Tom Brady, inciting the Patriots’ second dynasty years? Time will tell, but what’s certain is that after Sunday night, the Packers are no under-the-radar team.

You can see the full rankings here:

The 2020 Packers are much like the 2011 version, both on offense and defense, writes ESPN's Rob Demovsky:

Here's just how good Rodgers was against the Saints:

Saints coach Sean Payton can't believe how bad his defense looked against Rodgers' bootleg plays:

Who are the Packers' "unsung heroes" this season? Rob Reischel identifies three in his latest piece for Forbes:

Have you noticed the reduction in holding penalties this season?

No, the Packers won't be part of a Monday night doubleheader. Here's the scheduling gymnastics expected to be used to reschedule the Titans-Steelers game:

An excellent look at the failed Mitch Trubisky experience:

And finally:

Contact Stu Courtney at (920) 431-8377 or scourtney@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stucourt