- The Green Bay Packers will travel to Cleveland to play against the Browns. It is the start of a run of three road games in the next four weeks, the first time since 2009 that Green Bay will finish the regular season with three of the final four games taking place on the road.
- The Packers have won four of the last five against Cleveland.
- It is Green Bay's first regular-season trip to Cleveland since 2009, a 31-3 Packers win in Week 7.
- Green Bay has scored 30-plus points in four of the last five games against Cleveland.
- The Packers are 6-4 at the Browns, including wins in three of the last four.
- The Packers have scored 31 points in both of the last two matchups against the Browns, while only allowing a total of 16 points.
- This is the just the third time the two teams have met in the month of December. On Dec. 7, 1969, the Browns beat Green Bay in Cleveland, 20-7 while the Packers won at home, 30-7, on Dec. 23, 2001.
- Next week, Green Bay will travel to Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers. Either the Packers (2014, 2016) or Panthers (2015) have made it to the NFC Championship each of the last three seasons.
WITH THE CALL
- FOX Sports, now in its 24th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
- Play-by-play man Thom Brennaman joins analyst Chris Spielman and sideline reporter Jennifer Hale.
- 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.
- The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
- DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 709.
BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
- The Packers currently have a 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, 32 of them (60.4 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 16 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with 11 of those originally signed by Green Bay.
- Over a third (39.6 percent) of the players (21 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 four players on the roster that played in the NFL prior to the 2009 season. Three of the four players were draft picks of the Packers (K Mason Crosby, WR Jordy Nelson and LB Clay Matthews) and two have made at least one Pro Bowl.
- Of the 53 players on the roster, 43 began their pro careers with the Packers (81.1 percent).
- Only 17 of the 53 players on the roster (32.1 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 15 being drafted by the Packers.
GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...
BY AGE (as of Dec. 10)
- 21-24: 26 players
- 25-28: 20 players
- 29-32: 3 players
- 33-plus: 4 players
BY EXPERIENCE
- R-1: 16 players
- 2-3: 16 players
- 4-5: 9 players
- 6-9: 7 players
- 10-plus: 5 players
BY DRAFT ROUND
- 1st: 5 players
- 2nd/3rd: 12 players
- 4th/5th: 15 players
- 6th/7th: 5 players
- Undrafted: 16 players
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
- Packers vs. Browns
- All-time, Regular season: 12-7-0
- All-time, postseason:1-0
- All-time, in Cleveland:6-4
- Streaks: The Packers have won the last two regular-season meetings and four of the last five.
- Last meeting, regular season:Oct. 20, 2013; Lambeau Field, Packers won, 31-13
COACHES CAPSULES
- Mike McCarthy: 130-75-1, .633 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 12th NFL season
- Hue Jackson: 9-35-0, .205; third NFL season
- Head to Head:McCarthy 1-0
- vs. Opponent:McCarthy 2-0 vs. Browns; Jackson 0-1 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.
HUE JACKSON…Is in his second year as the Browns' 16th head coach.
- In his first year as the Browns' head coach, helped the offense finish second in the NFL with a 4.89-yard rushing average, the team's best average in 50 years.
- As offensive coordinator, he coached Bengals QB Andy Dalton to a passer rating of 106.3 in 2015, good for No. 1 in the AFC and No. 2 in the NFL.
- Guided the Raiders offense to top-10 rankings in consecutive seasons as offensive coordinator in 2010 and head coach in 2011. In 2011, helped the club achieve its best record since 2002.
- Was the final head coach hired by Raiders Hall of Fame owner Al Davis before his death in 2011.
THE PACKERS-BROWNS SERIES
- Since Cleveland moved to the AFC in the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Packers have a 7-3 regular-season record against the Browns, which includes an average margin of victory of 16.1 points.
- Cleveland won the first three contests of the series, outscoring Green Bay 92 to 17, including a 27-point shutout of the Packers in the first-ever matchup between the two teams.
- In the 1965 season, the Browns and Packers met in the NFL Championship at Lambeau Field, where Green Bay won its ninth NFL title in the final year before the Super Bowl era, in Jim Brown's final professional game.
- The Packers have scored at least 10 points in all but four contests against the Browns and haven't scored less than 24 since 1992.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers LB Jake Ryan is from Cleveland...Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers was born in Cambridge, Ohio, attended high school in Buffalo, Ohio, and coached defensive backs at Ohio State from 1982-83...Green Bay special teams coordinator Ron Zook grew up in Loudonville, Ohio, and coached defensive backs at Ohio State from 1988-90...Green Bay defensive line coach Mike Trgovac was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and went to high school in Austintown, Ohio...Green Bay C Corey Linsley, a native of Boardman, Ohio, played at Ohio State...Packers QB Joe Callahan spent some of the 2016 regular season with the Browns...Green Bay TEs coach Brian Angelichio held the same position with the Browns from 2014-15... Packers LB Clay Matthews' father, Clay Matthews Jr., was a linebacker for the Browns for 16 seasons (1978-93)...Both Browns LB Joe Schobert and G Kevin Zeitler grew up in Waukesha, Wis., and played at Wisconsin...Cleveland DB Darius Hillary tied a Wisconsin record by playing in 54 career games for the Badgers…Cleveland OL JC Tretter spent the first four seasons (2013-16) of his career in Green Bay…Packers head coach Mike McCarthy coached with Browns senior offensive assistant/wide receivers coach Al Saunders in Kansas City from 1993-98...Saunders also coached with Capers at California from 1978-79...Packers secondary-cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. coached with Browns head coach Hue Jackson in Atlanta in 2007...Jackson was a colleague of Trgovac for one season (2001) in Washington…Jackson was an assistant at Arizona State while Packers assistant special teams coach Jason Simmons played for the Sun Devils...Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills while Packers QBs coach Alex Van Pelt played for the Bills…Williams was the Saints DC and LBs coach Blake Williams was an offensive assistant while Packers G Jahri Evans played in New Orleans, and all three were members of the Saints' Super Bowl XLIV-winning squad…Gregg Williams, along with DL coach Clyde Simmons, coached the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams while Packers TE Lance Kendricks was on the roster…Kendricks teamed with Browns WR Kenny Britt and DB Mike Jordan in St. Louis and Los Angeles…Before beginning his coaching career, Clyde Simmons and Packers OC Edgar Bennett were teammates on the Bears in 2000…During Bennett's two seasons in Chicago, Cleveland OL coach Bob Wylie coached Chicago's offensive line…Packers LB Ahmad Brooks, DT Quinton Dial and Browns OL Marcus Martin played together with the 49ers for three seasons…Green Bay offensive perimeter coach David Raih was a coaching intern at UCLA while Cleveland DBs coach DeWayne Walker was the Bruins' defensive coordinator…Walker was later the DBs coach in Jacksonville during Cleveland CB Davon House's time with the Jaguars…Cleveland strength and conditioning assistant Evan Marcus held the same title in New Orleans while McCarthy, associate HC/LBs Winston Moss and Zook coached and secondary - safeties coach Darren Perry played for the Saints…Marcus was then the head strength and conditioning coach at Virginia while Brooks played for the Cavaliers…Packers LB Chris Odom and Browns DL Myles Garrett were high school teammates at James Martin High School in Arlington, Texas…Packers LB Blake Martinez played at Stanford while Browns defensive quality control coach Eric Sanders held the same title for the Cardinal…Former college teammates include: Browns WR Sammie Coates, OL Shon Coleman, WR Ricardo Louis and Packers DT Montravius Adams (Auburn), Packers RB Jamaal Williams and Browns DB Kai Nacua (Brigham Young), Green Bay WR Trevor Davis, TE Richard Rodgers and Cleveland WR Bryce Treggs (California), Packers G Justin McCray and Browns LS Charley Hughlett (Central Florida), Browns DB Derron Smith and Packers WR Davante Adams (Fresno State), Green Bay DT Mike Daniels and Cleveland LB Christian Kirksey (Iowa), Packers P Justin Vogel, Browns TE David Njoku and RB Duke Johnson (Miami), Packers LB Jake Ryan and Browns S Jabrill Peppers (Michigan), and Packers CB Kevin King and Browns DT Danny Shelton (Washington).
