Packers host Panthers on Saturday

The Packers welcome the Carolina Panthers to town for a prime-time matchup.

• Five of the last six matchups between the teams have been decided by eight points or less, including a 24-16 victory by Green Bay last season at Lambeau Field.
• The Packers are 10-6 against Carolina (including playoffs), with wins in seven of the last 11 meetings.
• Green Bay has a 5-2 mark at home vs. Carolina, scoring 30-plus points in five of those games.

Saturdays

• This is just the third Saturday game for Green Bay in the last 23 seasons (1998-2020).
• The Packers have won five of the last six regular-season games they played on Saturdays.
• Green Bay is 17-13 in Saturday games during the regular season. The Packers' .567 winning percentage is tied for No. 6 among NFL teams that have played more than five regular-season Saturday games (stathead.com).
• The Packers have scored over 30 points in four of the last five games they have played on a Saturday.
• QB Aaron Rodgers has played in one regular-season game on a Saturday (2016), completing 28 of 38 passes (73.7 pct.) for 347 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 136.6. It was the highest passer rating (min. 10 pass att.), most passing yards and most passing TDs for a Packer QB in a Saturday game (Sportradar).

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

STACKING WINS

• Green Bay won the NFC North for the second consecutive season, the 25th division title in team history.
• The Packers have won 11 NFC North titles (Chicago and Minnesota have each won four).
• Head Coach Matt LaFleur is just the 10th head coach to register 10-plus wins and a division title in both of his first two seasons as a head coach since the league went to a divisional format in 1967 (Elias Sports Bureau).
• It is the second straight season that Green Bay has gotten off to a 10-3 start, just the third time since the merger that Green Bay has won at least 10 of its first 13 games in back-to-back seasons (1996-97, 2001-02).
• Green Bay and New Orleans (10-3, 10-3) are the only teams in the NFL to win at least 10 of their first 13 games in both 2019 and 2020.
• The Packers have won 15 of their last 18 regular-season games.
• With a win over Philadelphia in Week 13, Green Bay became the first team in NFL history to reach 800 wins (including playoffs).

WITH THE CALL

The game will air nationally on the NFL Network and also on WLUK-TV in Green Bay and WITI-TV in Milwaukee. Play-by-play man Mike Tirico joins analyst Kurt Warner with Melissa Stark 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 four states. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play), two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) and three-time Packers Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro John Kuhn (sideline) will call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 25th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 22nd season of broadcasts together. They surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the 2018 season opener against Chicago.
• The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed), WTMJ.com via desktop computer and on numerous devices through NFL Game Pass.
• Westwood One Sports will air the game on radio across the country. John Sadak (play-by-play) and Shaun O'Hara (analyst) will call the action with Scott Graham hosting the pregame and halftime shows.

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

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

Packers vs. Panthers:

• Regular season, all-time: 9-6-0
• All-time, Postseason: 1-0
• All-time, at home: 4-2-0 (4-2-0 at Lambeau Field)
• Streaks: The Packers have won six of the last 10 regular-season meetings
• Last meeting, regular season: Nov. 10, 2019, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 24-16

COACHES CAPSULES

• Matt LaFleur: 23-6-0, .793; (1-1 postseason); 2nd NFL season
• Matt Rhule: 4-9, .308 (0-0 postseason); 1st NFL season
• Head to Head: LaFleur 0-0 vs. Rhule
• vs. Opponent: LaFleur 1-0 vs. Panthers; Rhule 0-0 vs. Packers 

MATT LaFLEUR…In his second season as the Packers' 15th head coach.

• In his 12th season in the NFL, having previously served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (Los Angeles Rams, 2017; Tennessee Titans, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington Redskins, 2010-13; Atlanta Falcons, 2015-16), and an offensive assistant for two seasons (Houston Texans, 2008-09).
• In his first season leading the Packers in 2019, because the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven wins).
• Became only the fifth coach in NFL history to win 13-plus regular-season games in his first season as a head coach (Jim Caldwell, George Seifert, Jim Harbaugh, Steve Mariucci).
• Guided the Titans' offense in 2018 to a No. 7 league ranking in rushing (126.4 ypg) as Tennessee registered 11 games with 100-plus rushing yards, tied for No. 2 in the NFL.
• Helped the Rams lead the league in scoring with an average of 29.9 points per game in 2017, more than doubling their average from 2016 (14.0 ppg).
• Tutored QB Matt Ryan, who led the league in passer rating (117.1) in 2016 on his way to being named NFL Most Valuable Player by The Associated Press, and QB Robert Griffin III, who became the first QB in Washington franchise history to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012.

Matt Rhule…In his first season as the Panthers' fifth head coach.

• Joined Carolina after three seasons (2017-19) as the head coach at Baylor, where he guided the team from an 1-11 finish in 2017 to a 7-6 record and a bowl berth in 2018 before finishing with a 11-3 record and an appearance in the Big 12 title game and Sugar Bowl in 2019.
• Baylor's turnaround marked the first Power 5 program to go from 11 losses (2017) to 11 wins (2019) in a two-season span.
• Served as head coach for four seasons (2013-16) at Temple, guiding the Owls to back-to-back 10-win seasons (2015-16) for the first time in program history.
• In his 23rd year of coaching at the NFL and collegiate level, having held positions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

THE PACKERS-PANTHERS SERIES

• The first-ever meeting between the two teams came in the 1996 NFC Championship, when the Packers beat a Panthers team, coached by former Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers, 30-13, at Lambeau Field.
• This week's game marks the 16th regular-season contest between the franchises, with Green Bay holding a 9-6 series advantage.
• The Packers have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams at Lambeau Field.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

Panthers DB Natrell Jamerson played four seasons (2014-17) at the University of Wisconsin and spent the 2019 offseason and training camp on the Packers' roster…Panthers LS J.J. Jansen originally signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008 before being traded to the Panthers prior to the 2009 season...Panthers' tight ends coach Brian Angelichio held the same role for the Packers from 2016-18…Panthers defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach Jason Simmons held multiple coaching roles for the Packers from 2011-19…Packers CB Jaire Alexander attended Rocky River High School in Charlotte…Packers DL Anthony Rush attended Cary High School in Cary, N.C. ...Packers LB Preston Smith and Panthers RB Mike Davis played together at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga. …Davis and Packers S Will Redmond played together for the 49ers in 2016…Packers T Rick Wagner and TE Robert Tonyan both spent time with Panthers LB Tahir Whitehead on the Lions' roster in 2017…Packers head coach Matt LaFleur served as the Rams' offensive coordinator in 2017 when Panthers WR Pharoh Cooper and Packers WR Tavon Austin were on the roster together…LaFleur coached at Notre Dame when Panthers DE Austin Larkin was on the roster in 2014 and for the Houston Texans when Panthers assistant defensive line coach Frank Okam was on the team's roster during the 2008-09 seasons…Panther head coach Matt Rhule coached Packers S Henry Black (2015-19) and Panthers DT Bravvion Roy (2016-19) when he held the same role at Baylor…Packers G/T Billy Turner (2016-18) and Panthers C Matt Paradis (2014-18) and G Michael Schofield (2016) all played together on the Broncos offensive line…Packers CB Chandon Sullivan and Panthers CB Rasul Douglas both spent time with the Eagles during the 2018 season…Packers strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at North Carolina when Panthers CB Tre Boston was on the roster in 2013…Packers TE Marcedes Lewis (2006-17), offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (2015-18) and assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus (2015) all crossed paths with Panthers G Chris Reed (2015-18) while in Jacksonville…Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow served as UCLA's defensive coordinator in 2002 when Lewis was on the roster…Snow was the defensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan in 2010 when Packers assistant defensive backs coach Ryan Downard was on the team…Packers offensive line coach Adam Stenavich signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2006 before being released during final roster reductions…Stenavich also served on the coaching staff at Michigan when Schofield was on the roster from 2011-13…Packers defensive backs coach Jerry Gray (2010) and Butkus (2010-11) both coached for the Seahawks when Panthers T Russell Okung (2010-11) and Packers coaching assistant Ruvell Martin (2010) played for the team…Gray and Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater were both with the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-17...Panthers defensive running game coordinator Al Holcomb served as the Browns' defensive run game coordinator/linebackers coach in 2019 when Packers LB Christian Kirksey and Panthers S Juston Burris Packers were both on the roster…Panthers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson served as Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling's wide receivers coach at North Carolina State during the 2013-14 seasons…Packers wide receivers coach Jason Vrable served on the Jets coaching staff from 2017-18 when Panthers WR Robby Anderson, S Juston Burris, RB Trenton Cannon and LB Julian Stanford spent time on the roster…Packers assistant special teams coach Maurice Drayton played collegiately at The Citadel (1995-98), where he also held various coaching roles (1999-2000, 2001-05, 2014-15). Drayton also coached for the Charleston Swamp Foxes of the Arena Football 2 (AF2) League (2000-02), Goose Creek (S.C.) High School (2007), South Carolina State (2008-09) and Coastal Carolina (2010-11)…Packers director of college scouting Matt Malaspina served as a scout for the Panthers during the 1999 season…Former college teammates include: Packers G Simon Stepaniak and Panthers TE Ian Thomas (Indiana); Packers S Darnell Savage and Panthers LB Jermaine Carter Jr. (Maryland); Packers LB Kamal Martin and Panthers RB Rodney Smith (Minnesota); Valdes-Scantling and Burris (North Carolina State); Packers WR Equanimeous St. Brown and Panthers CB Troy Pride Jr. (Notre Dame); Packers T Yosh Nijman and Panthers K Joey Slye (Virginia Tech); Packers CB Kevin King and Panthers LB Shaq Thompson (Washington).