- The Green Bay Packers travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in the first NFL regular-season game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
- It is the second straight year that Green Bay plays at a new stadium in Week 2 (U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota Vikings).
- It is the third consecutive time Green Bay has faced the team it played in the NFC Championship the next regular season (Chicago and Seattle).
- It is the fourth time Green Bay has played at the Falcons in back-to-back regular seasons (1982-83, 1991-92, 2010-11).
- The Packers have won three of the last four regular-season meetings against Atlanta.
- Nine of the last 10 regular-season matchups between the two have been decided by eight points or less, including six by three or fewer points.
- QB Aaron Rodgers has faced the Atlanta Falcons five times during the regular season, completing 129 of 185 passes (69.7 percent) for 1,626 yards and 13 touchdowns with only one interception for a passer rating of 118.0.
- Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Green Bay is 89-43-1 during the regular season against NFC opponents. The Packers' 89 wins rank No. 1 in the NFL and their .673 winning percentage No. 2 over that span (New England, 35-9, .795).
- Green Bay is 38-28 (.576) in road regular-season games versus NFC teams since 2006, tying the Dallas Cowboys for No. 1 in the NFC and No. 3 in the NFL in both categories.
- The Packers have won their last seven regular-season games, the second-longest current streak in the NFL behind Pittsburgh (eight).
- Green Bay won its final three regular season road games last season.
- The Packers averaged 26.3 points per road game last season, ranking No. 6 in the NFL.
- According to STATS, Green Bay is 20-13 when playing indoors during the regular season since 2006. The Packers' .606 winning percentage is tied for No. 2 in the NFC (Arizona) and No. 5 in the NFL over that time (New England, 9-3, .750 / Indianapolis, 56-27, .675 / New York Jets, 8-4, .667 / Pittsburgh, 7-4, .636).
- Dating back to 2008, Rodgers has recorded a passer rating of 111.2 in indoor games during the regular season by completing 580 of 854 passes (67.9 percent) for 7,247 yards with 59 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He ranks No. 1 in the NFL in passer rating in games played indoors over that span (min. 100 pass attempts).
- Rodgers has recorded a passer rating of 100-plus in 18 of 26 regular-season games played indoors, including a rating of 125-plus in two of three contests last season (125.5 at Atlanta / 126.0 at Detroit).
WITH THE CALL
- NBC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Play-by-play man Al Michaels joins analyst Cris Collinsworth in the booth with Michele Tafoya reporting from the sidelines.
- 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 on radio across the country. Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Jason Taylor (analyst) will call the action, with Scott Graham hosting the 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, 36 of them (67.9 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 11 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with eight of those originally signed by Green Bay.
- Almost a third (32.1 percent) of the players (17 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 22 of the 53 players on the roster (41.5 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 19 being drafted by the Packers.
GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...
BY AGE (as of Sept. 17)
- 21-24: 25 players
- 25-28: 18 players
- 29-32: 6 players
- 33-plus: 4 players
BY EXPERIENCE
- R-1: 11 players
- 2-3: 18 players
- 4-5: 8 players
- 6-9: 9 players
- 10-plus: 7 players
BY DRAFT ROUND
- 1st: 7 players
- 2nd/3rd: 15 players
- 4th/5th: 14 players
- 6th/7th: 6 players
- Undrafted: 11 players
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
- Packers vs. Falcons
- All-time, Regular season: 15-13-0
- All-time, Postseason:2-2
- All-time, in Atlanta:6-10-0
- Streaks: Atlanta has won two straight after Green Bay took four consecutive games from the Falcons from 2011-14
- Last meeting, regular season:Oct. 30, 2016; Falcons won, 33-32, Georgia Dome
COACHES CAPSULES
- Mike McCarthy: 125-69-1, .646 (incl. 10-7 postseason); 12th NFL season
- Dan Quinn: 24-15-0, .615 (incl. 2-1 postseason); 3rd NFL season
- Head to Head:Quinn 2-0
- vs. Opponent:McCarthy 4-4 vs. Falcons; Quinn 2-0 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.
DAN QUINN…Is in his third year as the Falcons' 11th head coach.
- Led Atlanta to the club's second NFC Championship en route to the Falcons' appearance in Super Bowl LI.
- Coached a high-powered Atlanta offense in 2016, finishing second in the NFL in passing touchdowns and total yards per game as well as top-five finishes in rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns.
- Inherited the No. 32 defense from 2014 and improved it to No. 16 in his first season as head coach in 2015.
- Coached Atlanta to a 5-0 start in 2015, the best start for a head coach in franchise history.
- Coordinated a Seattle defense that led the league in yards allowed per game, passing yards allowed per game and points allowed per game for two consecutive seasons (2013-14).
THE PACKERS-FALCONS SERIES
- Green Bay averaged 34.4 points while winning the first five games of the series, with the first coming in 1966 en route to becoming the first Super Bowl champions.
- In 1992, Atlanta won the first game of the series after trading QB Brett Favre to Green Bay in February.
- Favre and the Packers had revenge with a 37-20 win in the 1995 NFC Wild Card, where the defense held the Falcons to just 21 rushing yards.
- Atlanta won both contests in 2016 after losing four consecutive games to Green Bay from 2011-14.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers LB Clay Matthews is the elder cousin of Falcons T Jake Matthews...Green Bay S Morgan Burnett is from College Park, Ga., and attended Georgia Tech for three seasons (2007-09)...Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel started 16 games Green Bay in 2006...Packers director-football operations Eliot Wolf held three scouting internships with Atlanta and filed his first scouting report for the Falcons at age 14...Green Bay secondary-cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. was Atlanta's assistant defensive backs coach in 2007...Falcons defensive assistant/defensive backs coach Charlie Jackson was the Packers defensive quality control coach in 2005...Falcons OLB Jordan Tripp spent part of the 2016 season and 2017 training camp on the Packers' roster...Green Bay LB Chris Odom spent training camp in 2017 with the Falcons...Atlanta assistant special teams coach Eric Sutulovich coached on the staff of Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers in Houston from 2002-05...Capers coached in Miami with Falcons head coach Dan Quinn (2006) and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong (2006-07)...Atlanta assistant head coach/wide receivers/passing game coordinator Raheem Morris was colleagues with Green Bay quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt (2010-11) in Tampa Bay...Van Pelt was the Bills offensive coordinator in 2009 while Falcons G Andy Levitre was a rookie in Buffalo...Packers DT Ricky Jean Francois and Falcons WR Andre Roberts were teammates in Washington in 2015...Green Bay LB Blake Martinez, RB Ty Montgomery and T Kyle Murphy played at Stanford with Falcons TEs Austin Hooper and Levine Toilolo...Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac coached at Notre Dame in 1993 with Armstrong...Green Bay assistant special teams coach Jason Simmons and Falcons QB Matt Schaub were teammates with the Texans in 2007...Atlanta offensive assistant Dave Brock was the WRs coach at Kansas State during Green Bay WR Jordy Nelson's freshman season with the Wildcats...Brock went on to spend three seasons on Boston College's offensive coaching staff with Packers RBs coach Ben Sirmans...Sirmans was a coach for the Eagles during Falcons QB Matt Ryan's senior season...Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio and Atlanta assistant offensive line coach Mike Flood spent the 2011 season together on the Rutgers offensive coaching staff...Angelichio was on the Browns' coaching staff for two seasons when Falcons WR Taylor Gabriel and C Alex Mack played in Cleveland...Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was the head coach at Washington during Packers CB Kevin King's freshman season for the Huskies...Additionally, Falcons QBs coach Bush Hamdan spent two seasons on the Washington coaching staff with King...Sarkisian was on Southern California's offensive coaching staff during Packers LB Clay Matthews' first two seasons with the Trojans before Sarkisian was promoted to assistant head coach for Matthews' junior and senior seasons...Atlanta linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich coached Green Bay DT Kenny Clark (2013-14) at UCLA...Other college teammates include: Falcons DE Takkarist McKinley, Packers QB Brett Hundley and Clark (UCLA)...Hundley also played at UCLA with Falcons FB Derrick Coleman...Falcons LB Jermaine Grace, Packers CB LaDarius Gunter and P Justin Vogel (Miami)...Packers G Justin McCray and Falcons S Kemal Ishmael (Central Florida)...Schaub and Packers LB Ahmad Brooks (Virginia)...Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Falcons OLB Courtney Upshaw (Alabama)...Green Bay T Jason Spriggs and Atlanta RB Tevin Coleman (Indiana)...Falcons WR Justin Hardy and Green Bay CB Josh Hawkins (East Carolina)...Packers T Bryan Bulaga, DT Mike Daniels and Falcons DE Adrian Clayborn (Iowa).
