GREEN BAY RETURNS HOME TO HOST 49ERS IN NFC MATCHUP
- The Packers return home to play at Lambeau Field for the first time in nearly a month when they host the San Francisco 49ers today.
- The Packers' last home contest was on Nov. 7 against Dallas, a 45-7 Green Bay win in a nationally televised Sunday night game.
- Green Bay had its bye the next week before going on the road for back-to-back contests in Minnesota and Atlanta. The Packers split those games, and now sit in second place in the NFC North behind Chicago (8-3).
- The Packers are one of three NFC teams with a 7-4 mark, joining the N.Y. Giants and Tampa Bay. Atlanta leads the conference at 9-2 with the Bears checking in at 8-3 and Philadelphia at 8-4.
- Today's game against San Francisco will be the first of five NFC games in the final six contests for Green Bay, with a matchup at New England in Week 15 the lone interconference game left on the schedule.
- This is the second straight season that Green Bay and San Francisco have met at Lambeau Field. Since the series began back in 1950, the Packers and 49ers have never squared off in Green Bay in the regular season in back-to-back years. They did meet in Milwaukee in consecutive years on several occasions.
- Frequent foes in the 1990s and early part of the decade, the Packers and 49ers have met three times in Head Coach Mike McCarthy's five-year tenure. The rivalry took to new heights when the teams met four straight years (1995-98) in the postseason.
- Including playoffs, the Packers have won seven consecutive games over the 49ers in Green Bay. In the overall series, the Packers have won seven straight, and 12 of the last 13, including a 4-1 mark in postseason action.
THIRD JERSEY REFLECTS TEAM'S RICH HISTORY
- The Packers will be wearing a third jersey today that is a re-creation of the team's uniform from 1929, the year of Green Bay's first world championship when the team finished 12-0-1 under Curly Lambeau.
- The NFL championship was awarded by league standing until 1933, and the Packers edged out the N.Y. Giants (13-1-1, .929) for the title in 1929. Green Bay beat the Giants, 20-6, in New York that season. The Packers outscored their opponents 198-22 and registered eight shutouts in '29.
- That year actually marked the first of three consecutive titles, as the Packers recorded a 34-5-2 cumulative record in official league games from 1929-31. The Packers have won 12 world championships in all.
- The jersey is navy blue with the number on the front inside a gold circle. The circle and number are enlarged a bit from their 1929 size to comply with NFL regulations regarding jersey numbers. An enlarged number is also on the back, with a nameplate above the number, another modification that wasn't present in 1929.
- The helmet is a solid brown color without a logo to best simulate the leather helmets worn during the era, and the pants are a tan color.
- It will be the seventh time in franchise history that the team has worn throwback jerseys and only the second time ever at Lambeau Field. The last time the Packers wore a third jersey was in 2003 at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. In that contest, the team paid tribute to the 1967 team with a re-creation of the uniforms from that season.
TODAY'S CAPTAINS
As per team tradition, the Packers select game captains each week.
Today's captains will be WR James Jones (offense), NT B.J. Raji (defense) and FB Korey Hall (special teams).
WEARING THE STRIPES
Today's officiating crew includes referee Bill Leavy (127), umpire Darrell Jenkins (76), head linesman Mark Baltz (26), line judge Mark Perlman (9), field judge Jim Quirk (63), side judge Barry Anderson (20) and back judge Keith Ferguson (61).
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
80 DONALD DRIVER
- Needs 82 yards from scrimmage to move past Jim Taylor (9,712) for the No. 3 spot in franchise history.
85 GREG JENNINGS
- Starting with Week 6 vs. Miami, has averaged 106.5 receiving yards per game, No. 1 in the NFL over that span.
86 DONALD LEE
- Needs one reception to move into sole possession of the No. 5 spot on the team's all-time tight ends list (currently tied with Rich McGeorge at 175).
12 AARON RODGERS
- Has not thrown an interception in his last 147 passing attempts, the third-longest streak (159 and 157) of his career. Rodgers' streak of 147 ranks third among current ones in the NFL behind New England's Tom Brady (199) and Atlanta's Matt Ryan (165).
GREEN BAY PACKERS
- Green Bay ranks No. 1 in the NFL in scoring defense at 15.1 points per game. The Packers have given up 7.5 points per game in their last four contests.
- The Packers are No. 1 in the NFL with 87 points off of takeaways this season, and have scored points off of a takeaway in 15 straight games at Lambeau Field. That ranks No. 1 in the NFL among home streaks.
- Green Bay has a plus-8 turnover ratio in its last four games.
- The Packers have won eight of their last nine games at home, and their 23-8 mark (.742) in the last 31 regular-season games at Lambeau Field ranks No. 1 among NFC teams at home over that span.
- Since Week 10 last season, the Packers are 14-5 (.737), which ties them with San Diego and the N.Y. Jets for the best regular-season record in the NFL over that span.
