The Green Bay Packers (6-8) will head south to take on the Miami Dolphins (8-6) this Sunday.
- It is the second straight year and the fourth time in franchise history that the Packers will play on Christmas. It will be the first time Green Bay will play on the road on the holiday.
- The Packers have won four of the last five matchups with the Dolphins, including the last time they played (31-12 in 2018 in Green Bay).
- Seven of the last 11 matchups between the Packers and Dolphins have been decided by single digits.
- Green Bay has scored 20-plus points against Miami in each of the last seven games.
- The Packers last played at Miami in 2014, a 27-24 victory.
- This will be only the second December game for Green Bay at Miami (Dec. 19, 1971).
- Green Bay is 9-5 in the state of Florida in the months of December/January (1-1 at Jacksonville / 0-1 at Miami / 8-3 at Tampa Bay).
- Miami leads the regular-season series, 10-5, and won the first eight games between the two franchises, but Green Bay has won five of the last seven contests.
- The Dolphins won the first six games in Miami against the Packers while Green Bay has won the last two (2006, 2014). Five of the eight games the Packers have played at the Dolphins have been decided by single digits, including three by three points.
- QB Aaron Rodgers has started three games against the Dolphins, leading the Packers to two victories, including his only game at Miami (2014). After posting an 84.5 passer rating with a TD and INT in his first game against Miami in 2010, Rodgers has gone on to record ratings of 99.7 and 112.1 in the next two games (2014, 2018), combining for five passing TDs and zero INTs.
- RB Aaron Jones posted 145 yards and two TDs on 15 rushes (9.7 avg.) in his only game against Miami in 2018.
- LB Preston Smith has faced the Dolphins once (2015), posting a sack, a QB hit, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
- The Packers have won 14 consecutive games in December, tying the second-longest such streak in NFL history. The only team with a longer streak of December wins was the Chargers, who won 18 straight in the calendar's final month in 2006-2009 (Elias Sports Bureau).
- Green Bay has 788 victories, the most in the regular-season in the history of the NFL.
- Green Bay returns home for the final two regular season games against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.
- Green Bay will end the regular season with back-to-back NFC North games for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
- It is the first time ever that Green Bay will play two regular-season home games in January.
WITH THE CALL
FOX will broadcast the game to a national audience. Play-by-play man Joe Davis joins analyst Daryl Johnston in the booth with Pam Oliver reporting from the sidelines.
- Westwood One Sports will broadcast the game on radio to a national audience, with JP Shadrick (play-by-play) and Derek Rackley (analyst) calling the action and Jon Stashower hosting the pregame and halftime shows.
- All Packers games can be heard on the Packers Radio Network, which is made up of 49 stations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and South Dakota. This year, the Packers transitioned to a new flagship station in Milwaukee, iHeartRadio Milwaukee's 97.3 The Game WRNW. For a full listing of radio affiliates, go to packers.com/video/radio-network. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 28th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 24th season of broadcasts together. They surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the 2018 season opener against Chicago.
- The Packers' radio broadcast is also available on a mobile device through the Packers app or packers.com for anyone that lives in the state of Wisconsin. If you live outside the state, you can stream the game broadcast from a desktop computer through packers.com. It is also available via subscription on Sirius Satellite Radio or NFL Plus (nfl.com/plus).
- You can also find the Packers radio broadcast on SiriusXM channels 82 or 226, and on the SXM App under the "NFL Play-by-Play" tab.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Packers at Dolphins:
- Regular season, all-time: 5-10
- All-time, postseason: 0-0
- All-time, at Miami: 2-6
- Streaks: Green Bay has won five of the last seven matchups and two straight in Miami.
- Last meeting, regular season: Nov. 11, 2018, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 31-12
COACHES CAPSULES
- Matt LaFleur: 47-21-0, .691; (2-3 postseason); 4th NFL season
- Mike McDaniel: 8-6-0, .571; (0-0 postseason); 1st NFL season
- Head to Head: LaFleur 0-0 vs. McDaniel
- vs. Opponent: LaFleur 0-0 vs. Dolphins; McDaniel 0-0 vs. Packers
MATT LaFLEUR…In his fourth season as the Packers' 15th head coach.
- In his 14th season in the NFL, having previously served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (L.A. Rams, 2017; Tennessee, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington, 2010-13; Atlanta, 2015-16), and an offensive assistant for two seasons (Houston, 2008-09).
- With a 13-4 record in 2021, led the Packers to a third straight NFC North crown while also earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the second consecutive season.
- Became the first coach in NFL history to post 13-plus wins in three straight seasons and his 39 wins from 2019-21 passed George Seifert (38) for the most wins by a head coach in his first three seasons in the league (Elias Sports Bureau). His 39 wins are also tied for the second most by a coach over any three-season span in NFL history, trailing only Mike Ditka's 40 wins with the Chicago Bears 1985-87.
- Guided the Packers to a 22-2 record (.917) in the regular season at Lambeau Field in 2019-21, the top mark in the NFL over that span and the best home winning percentage by a Packers head coach in his first three seasons. His 22 wins at home were also the most in NFL history by a coach in his first three seasons.
- In 2019, became the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven).
MIKE McDANIEL…In his first season as the Dolphins' 14th head coach.
- Most recently spent five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, serving as the team's run game specialist in 2017, run game coordinator in 2018 and offensive coordinator in 2021.
- In his first season as offensive coordinator, helped the 49ers finish No. 7 in the NFL in total offense (375.7 ypg) and rushing offense (127.4 ypg) as San Francisco advanced to the NFC title game.
- Prior to San Francisco, McDaniel's time in the NFL included two seasons as an offensive assistant (2015-16) with the Atlanta Falcons, one season as wide recievers coach (2014) with the Cleveland Browns, four seasons as an offensive assistant (2011-12) and wide receivers coach (2013) with Washington, three seasons as an offensive assistant (2006-08) with the Houston Texans (2006-08) and one season (2005) as a coaching intern with the Denver Broncos.
THE PACKERS-DOLPHINS SERIES
- Green Bay and Miami have played 15 times, with the first meeting taking place in the Orange Bowl, on Dec. 19, 1971.
- The Dolphins won the first eight games against the Packers, but Green Bay has won five of the last seven.
- Eight of the 15 games have been played in Miami, with the Dolphins winning the first six matchups and the Packers taking the last two.
- Seven of the last 11 games between the two have been decided by single digits.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel coached together with the Houston Texans (2008), the Washington Redskins (2011-13) and the Atlanta Falcons (2015-16)…LaFleur also coached with Dolphins tight ends coach Jon Embree and offensive line coach Matt Applebaum in Washington (2010), with Dolphins assistant quarterbacks coach Chandler Henley in Tennessee (2018) and with Dolphins outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie with the L.A. Rams (2017) and Tennessee (2018)…Dolphins special teams assistant Ricardo Allen and offensive assistant Mike Person played for the Falcons when LaFleur was on the staff there and Dolphins offensive assistant Aldrick Robinson played for Washington and Atlanta when LaFleur coached with those teams…Other coaches on Green Bay's staff to coach with McDaniel are offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich in San Francisco (2017-18) and safeties coach Ryan Downard in Cleveland (2014)…Packers assistant offensive line coach Ryan Mahaffey was with the Dolphins as a fullback/tight end during the 2012 preseason...Packers director of player engagement Grey Ruegamer was drafted by the Dolphins in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft and spent one season with Miami...Packers college scout Brandian Ross appeared in one game for the Dolphins in 2014...Packers players with connections to Florida include: LB De'Vondre Campbell (Fort Myers), DL Jonathan Ford (Fort Lauderdale, University of Miami), LB Jonathan Garvin (Lake Worth, University of Miami), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (Miramar), P Pat O'Donnell (Lake Worth, University of Miami), DL T.J. Slaton (Plantation, University of Florida) and WR Christian Watson (Tampa)…Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie spent 18 years (1994-2011) in the Packers' personnel department...Dolphins FB Alec Ingold was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Wisconsin as a senior at Bay Port High School (Green Bay, Wis.) and played at the University of Wisconsin (2015-18)…Dolphins OL Michael Deiter (2015-18) and Dolphins LB Andrew Van Ginkel (2017-18) also played at the University of Wisconsin…Dolphins quarterbacks/passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell played quarterback at the University of Wisconsin (1992-95) and was on Green Bay's coaching staff for six seasons (2000-05)…Dolphins associate head coach/running backs coach Eric Studesville was born in Madison, Wis., and played defensive back at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1985-88…Dolphins senior defensive analyst Ryan Slowik worked as a personnel intern with the Packers in 2003, played safety at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh from 2002-03 and coached at the school in 2004…Slowik's father, Bob, coached on Green Bay's staff for five seasons (2000-04)…Embree was a teammate of Packers defensive back/passing game coordinator Jerry Gray's with the L.A. Rams in 1987-88…Embree was the position coach for Packers TE Marcedes Lewis at UCLA from 2004-05…Stenavich coached on San Francisco's staff when Dolphins RBs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. played for the 49ers…Former NFL teammates include: Packers WR Randall Cobb and Dolphins OL Connor Williams and WR Cedrick Wilson (Dallas); Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill and Packers DL Jarran Reed (Kansas City); Packers LB De'Vondre Campbell and Dolphins LB Duke Riley (Atlanta); Riley and Packers CB Rasul Douglas (Philadelphia); Packers S Adrian Amos, P Pat O'Donnell and Dolphins DT John Jenkins (Chicago)…Former college teammates include: Packers RB AJ Dillon and Dolphins TE Hunter Long (Boston College); Packers LB Quay Walker, DL Devonte Wyatt and Dolphins LB Channing Tindall (Georgia); Packers DL Jonathan Ford and Dolphins LB Jaelan Phillips (Miami); Packers G/T Royce Newman and Dolphins T Greg Little (Ole Miss); Packers LB Justin Hollins, Dolphins S Jevon Holland and S Verone McKinley lll (Oregon); Packers S Adrian Amos and Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki (Penn State).