Kickoff For Packers-Giants NFC Championship Set For 5:42 PM CST
-The Green Bay Packers and New York Giants meet for the second time this season with a trip to Super Bowl XLII on the line.
-The Packers come into the 75th NFC title game on the heels of one of the most memorable playoff games in Lambeau Field history. Before 72,168 fans, the largest crowd ever to see a game at Lambeau Field, the Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 to earn the franchise's 14th berth in the NFC Championship Game.
-The Giants, whom the Packers defeated in Week 2, 35-13, earned a spot in the NFC title game by defeating No. 1 seed Dallas, 21-17.
-No franchise has won more NFC Championships (including NFL Championship Games, 1933-69) than the Packers, who have emerged victorious 10 times in 13 appearances.
-Sunday marks the 269th consecutive sellout at Lambeau Field (253 regular season, 16 playoffs), the league's longest-tenured stadium.
-The Packers have won four consecutive postseason games against the Giants. Another victory will tie the NFL record of consecutive postseason victories over one opponent at five, set by the Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Bal/Ind. Colts).
-Two of the most venerable franchises in professional football history, the teams have combined for 18 championships. Green Bay (12 titles) ranks No. 1 among all NFL franchises, while the Giants (6) rank third.
-With both teams finishing 8-8 in 2006, it took four tiebreakers and percentage points to give the Giants - and not the Packers - the NFC's second Wild Card berth last winter.
-Head Coach Mike McCarthy becomes the first Packers coach since Vince Lombardi to lead his team to a championship game in his second season. In 1960, Green Bay lost to Philadelphia in the NFL Championship.
-Green Bay has chosen Bart Starr to serve as honorary captain. Starr won five world titles and two Super Bowl MVPs in his storied career with the Packers (1956-71).
-Both clubs enter the game on a roll. Green Bay has won 18 of its last 21 games, including 10 of its last 11 at home. The Giants have won nine consecutive contests on the road.
The Packers In The Playoffs
-Green Bay made the postseason for the 11th time in 15 seasons.
-Winners of the NFC?North, the Packers collected their 18th division title in club history. This marks their 24th postseason appearance and first NFC Championship Game since '97. They last hosted the NFC title game in '96.
-Its 25-14 (.641) W-L record in the playoffs is the second-best winning percentage in National Football League history.
-Also second-best in NFL postseason history is the Packers' 15-2 (.882) record at home. Only the New England Patriots (10-1, .909) own a better home record (min. 10 games).
-In NFC Championship Game history, home teams are 50-24 (.676).
-Brett Favre will start his 22nd playoff game Sunday, his 275th consecutive start overall. He owns a 12-9 (.571) career W-L record in the postseason, including a 2-1 mark in NFC title games.
-Running back Ryan Grant, a New York native and star of the Divisional Playoffs for the Packers, squares off against his former club. Grant was traded from the Giants to the Packers on Sept. 1.
Coldest Recorded Home Games In Packers History
-Two previous NFC Championship Games - including the 'Ice Bowl' in 1967 - headline the list of the coldest recorded home games in Packers history.
-Kickoff temperature was 13 below zero at the 'Ice Bowl', still the coldest game in NFL history. Wind chill was measured at minus-46.
uFavre owns a remarkable 43-5 record at home (39-5 Lambeau Field, 4-0 Milwaukee) including playoffs in cold weather (temperatures at 34º or below).
-At look at the coldest recorded home games in Packers history:
-13 (-46 wind chill)
Dec. 31, 1967
Dallas Cowboys (GB)
W, 21-17
*postseason game
0 (-22 wind chill)
Dec. 26, 1993
Los Angeles Raiders (GB)
W, 28-0
2 (-35 wind chill)
Dec. 22, 1990
Detroit Lions (GB)
L, 24-17
3 (-17 wind chill)
Jan. 12, 1997
Carolina Panthers (GB)
W, 30-13
*postseason game
6 (-19 wind chill)
Nov. 28, 1976
Chicago Bears (GB)
L, 16-10
8 (-15 wind chill)
Dec. 20, 1992
Los Angeles Rams (GB)
W, 28-13
Wind Chill: A measure of the cooling effect of wind. Wind increases the rate at which a body loses heat, so the air on a windy day feels cooler than the temperature indicated by a
thermometer. This heat loss can be calculated for various combinations of wind speed and air temperature and then converted to a wind chill equivalent temperature.
Wearing The Stripes
Today's officiating crew includes referee Terry McAuley (77), umpire Roy Ellison (81), head linesman Jim Mello (48), line judge Jeff Bergman (32), field judge Scott Steenson (88), side judge Rick Patterson (15) and back judge Perry Paganelli (46). Alternates include Bill Leavy (127) and Tom?Stephan (68).
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What To Watch For Today
-Sunday marks the 40th postseason game in franchise history and the 16th game in postseason history at venerable Lambeau Field.
-Aim to earn the 11th NFC Championship and fifth Super Bowl berth in club history. The Packers last appeared in Super Bowl XXXII.
4 BRETT FAVRE
-Will make his 275th consecutive start (including playoffs) at quarterback. His 253 consecutive regular-season starts is the second-longest recorded streak in NFL history. Only Minnesota's Jim Marshall (270, 1961-79) has been documented to have started more games in consecutive fashion.
-Has thrown a touchdown pass in 17 consecutive playoffs games, an NFL record. His last postseason game without a TD pass was the 1994 Divisional Playoffs, a 35-9 loss at Dallas (Jan. 8, 1995).
-Needs at least two touchdowns to tie No. 1 Joe Montana on the NFL's all-time list with 14 career mutli-TD postseason games. Favre enters with 13 such postseason games.
-Has 40 career game-winning comebacks (fourth quarter deficit or tie), including three in the postseason.
25 RYAN GRANT
uWith 78 rushing yards, will surpass Duane Thomas (Dallas, 278 yards) for the most rushing yards by a player in his first two career postseason games in league history.
74 AARON KAMPMAN
-With a sack Sunday, will move into a tie with No. 2 Sean Jones and Keith McKenzie with four career postseason sacks. Reggie White is the franchise's all-time leader with eight postseason sacks.
