Packers face the Bears in primetime

• The Green Bay Packers will host the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Thursday Night Football at 7:25 p.m. CDT
• The Packers are hosting the Chicago Bears on a Thursday night for the third consecutive season.
• The division rivals square off in a prime-time contest for the 12th consecutive season.
• The Packers have won seven of the last nine meetings against the Bears at Lambeau Field, including a 26-10 victory last season in Week 7.
• Green Bay has outscored Chicago, 240-120, in the last nine games, scoring 20-plus points in seven of those contests.
• Thursday will mark game No. 195 in the NFL's oldest rivalry. The series is tied at 94-94-6, which includes two playoff games (1-1).
• This Thursday's game will come nearly 60 years after Lambeau Field (originally called Green Bay City Stadium) hosted its first regular season game, a matchup between the Packers and Bears on Sept. 29, 1957.
• Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Packers are 16-7 against the Bears during the regular and postseason, including wins in 12 of the last 14 games.
• In all but one of the 16 wins under McCarthy, Green Bay has scored at least 20 points.
• In the first 15 seasons of the NFC North (2002-16), the Packers (nine) and Bears (three) accounted for 12 division titles.
• The Packers have won their first two home games for the fifth consecutive season.
• Including the postseason, Green Bay has won six consecutive games at Lambeau Field.
• Green Bay has won at least two of its first three games for the third consecutive season and for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons.
• The Packers have won eight of their last nine regular-season games.
• LB Clay Matthews (74.0) is a sack away from passing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (74.5, 2000-08) for the most in franchise history (since 1982).
• Green Bay will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys in Week 5. Including the playoffs, it will be the fifth straight season the Packers and Cowboys have met.

**This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here (PDF)**

WITH THE CALL

• Thursday night's game will be televised to a national audience on CBS and NFL Network, as well as streamed on Amazon, with play-by-play man Jim Nantz and analyst Tony Romo handling the call from the broadcast booth and Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely reporting from the sidelines.
• In Wisconsin, CBS affiliates around the state, including WFRV (Ch. 5) in Green Bay and WDJT (Ch. 58) in Milwaukee, will carry the Thursday night contest.
• Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in five states. 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 23rd season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 19th season of broadcasts together.
• Westwood One Sports will air the game across the country. Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Tony Boselli (analyst) will call the action and Scott Graham will host pregame and halftime shows.
• The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER

• The Packers currently have an 53-man roster that is composed of 25 offensive players, 25 defensive players and three specialists.
• Of the 53 players on Green Bay's roster, 35 of them (66.0 percent) were draft picks of the Packers. Dating back to 2007, Green Bay has at least one member of each draft class still on the roster.
• Green Bay has 12 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with nine of those originally signed by Green Bay.
• Over a third (34.0 percent) of the players (18 of 53) on Green Bay's roster entered the league as a sixth-round or seventh-round pick or as an undrafted player.
• The Packers have six players on the roster that played in the NFL prior to the 2009 season. Four of those five players were draft picks of the Packers (QB Aaron Rodgers, K Mason Crosby, WR Jordy Nelson and LB Clay Matthews) and three have made at least one Pro Bowl.
• Of the 53 players on the roster, 44 began their pro careers with the Packers (83.0 percent).
• Only 21 of the 53 players on the roster (39.6 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 18 being drafted by the Packers.

GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...

BY AGE (as of Sept. 28)

• 21-24: 25 players
• 25-28: 18 players
• 29-32: 6 players
• 33-plus: 4 players

BY EXPERIENCE

• R-1: 12 players
• 2-3: 17 players
• 4-5: 8 players
• 6-9: 9 players
• 10-plus: 7 players

BY DRAFT ROUND

• 1st: 7 players
• 2nd/3rd: 14 players
• 4th/5th: 14 players
• 6th/7th: 6 players
• Undrafted: 12 players

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

• Packers vs. Bears
• All-time, Regular season: 93-93-6
• All-time, Postseason:1-1
• All-time, in Green Bay:45-42-4
• Streaks: The Packers have won 14 of 17 matchups since 2008 and six of the last seven since Week 17 of the 2013 season.
• Last meeting, regular season:Dec. 18, 2016; Packers won, 30-27, Soldier Field

COACHES CAPSULES

• Mike McCarthy: 126-70-1, .642 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 11th NFL season
• John Fox: 137-121-0, .531 (incl. 8-7 postseason); 15th NFL season
• Head to Head:McCarthy 5-2
• vs. Opponent:McCarthy 16-7 vs. Bears; Fox 3-7 vs. Packers

MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 12th year as the Packers' 14th head coach.

• Led the Packers to their eighth consecutive playoff appearance last season, tied for the third-longest streak in NFL history. Has also led the team to nine playoff appearances in the last 10 years (2007, 2009-16).
• Ranks second in franchise history in total victories, trailing only Curly Lambeau.
• Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight straight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat over that time; Packers finished first overall in scoring in 2014.
• Reached the 100-win plateau faster than any active NFL head coach, needing just 155 games.
• Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

JOHN FOX…Is in his third year as the Bears' 15th head coach.

• Led the Broncos to four division titles, joining Chuck Knox (L.A. Rams) as the only coaches in NFL history to lead their respective team to four division titles in their first four years with the franchise.
• Between Carolina and Denver, made seven trips to the postseason, captured six division titles and made three conference championship appearances and two Super Bowl appearances.
• One of six coaches in NFL history to lead two different teams to Super Bowl appearances (Carolina in 2003 and Denver in 2013).
• Ranks third among active NFL head coaches with 137 career wins.

THE PACKERS-BEARS SERIES

• One of the most storied rivalries in professional sports, no two teams have met on the gridiron more than the Packers and Bears as Thursday marks the 195th matchup.
• Starting in 1923, the clubs met for 59 straight years until both games in 1982 were canceled as part of a strike-shortened season.
• Have only met in the postseason twice, with the last meeting coming following the 2010 season. With a berth in Super Bowl XLV on the line, the Packers emerged victorious, 21-14, at Soldier Field.
• The last time Green Bay led the overall series? On the heels of its three straight NFL championships, 1932, when the Packers led 11-10-4.
• Green Bay is 15-4 against Chicago with Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback.
• Chicago and Green Bay have met four previous times on Thursday night, with the series even at 2-2.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Green Bay offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett played running back in Chicago from 1998-99...Chicago G Josh Sitton was originally drafted by Green Bay in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft and played for the Packers from 2008-15...Packers TE Martellus Bennett played for the Bears from 2013-15…Packers president & chief executive officer Mark Murphy was the athletic director at Northwestern from 2003-07...Green Bay special teams coordinator Ron Zook was the head coach at Illinois from 2005-11...Packers T Bryan Bulaga played at Marian Central Catholic High in Woodstock, Ill. ...Chicago secondary coach Ed Donatell was the defensive coordinator for the Packers from 2000-03...Packers DE Dean Lowry is from Rockford, Ill., and attended Northwestern...Green Bay defensive quality control coach Tim McGarigle attended St. Patrick High School in Chicago and was named the Catholic Metropolitan Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2001…McGarigle played at Northwestern and went on to coach at his alma mater before moving on to Illinois…Green Bay WR Geronimo Allison played at Illinois...Bears tight ends coach Frank Smith is from Milwaukee...Smith was an offensive line coach with the Saints during Packers G Jahri Evans' time in New Orleans…Chicago WRs coach Zach Azzanni held the same title at the University of Wisconsin in 2012…Green Bay defensive front assistant Jerry Montgomery played for the Chicago Rush...Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac coached with Bears head coach John Fox (2002-08) in Carolina...Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and Bears special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers coached in San Francisco in 2005...Chicago QBs coach Dave Ragone played quarterback for the Houston Texans from 2003-05 when Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the head coach...Capers coached with Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with the Baltimore Stars (USFL) in 1984, New Orleans (1986-91) and Houston (2002-05)...Bears linebackers coach Glenn Pires was colleagues with Capers in Miami (2006-07)...Fox was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994 when Packers associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss played linebacker...Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio spent 2014 in Cleveland with Chicago offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains...Donatell was the defensive backs coach in Denver while Packers strength and conditioning assistant Chris Gizzi was on the team in 1998...During the time that Bears general manager Ryan Pace was with the Saints from 2001-14, Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball, McCarthy, Moss and Zook were all on staff...Angelichio and Bears offensive assistant Ben McDaniels coached in Tampa Bay from 2012-13...Fox was an assistant under Zook when Zook was Kansas' defensive coordinator in 1983...Fangio coached Packers LB Ahmad Brooks and DT Quinton Dial when Fangio was the 49ers' defensive coordinator…Additionally, Bears assistant DBs coach Roy Anderson, RBs coach Curtis Modkins and assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton III were on the 49ers staff during that time…Swinton III got his NFL coaching career started with the St. Louis Rams while Packers TE Lance Kendricks was a rookie…Kendricks and Bears RB Benny Cunningham spent four years together with the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams…Packers RBs coach Ben Sirmans was Cunningham's first position coach in the NFL in St. Louis…Evans, Bears DL Akiem Hicks and LB John Jenkins played together with the Saints…McGarigle and Chicago assistant OL coach Ben Wilkerson were teammates with the UFL's Florida Tuskers in 2009…Anderson was on the defensive coaching staff with the Colts while Packers DT Ricky Jean Francois was in Indianapolis…Additionally, Jean Francois and Chicago LB Jerrell Freeman were teammates with the Colts from 2013-14…Bennett, Bears WR Victor Cruz, CB Prince Amukamara and WR Rueben Randle teamed together with the Giants in 2012…Amukamara and Packers CB Davon House were in the Jaguars' defensive backfield in 2016…Bears QB Mike Glennon played in Tampa Bay while Angelicho held the same title with the Buccaneers…Former college teammates include: Packers LBs Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and Bears QB Mark Sanchez (Southern California)...Chicago LB Danny Trevathan and Green Bay WR Randall Cobb (Kentucky)…Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Bears DB Eddie Jackson (Alabama)…Green Bay P Justin Vogel and Chicago S Deon Bush (Miami)…Bears DE Roy Robertson-Harris and Packers RB Aaron Jones (UTEP).

**This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here (PDF)**