The Green Bay Packers will take on the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at Lambeau Field.
- Green Bay is 10-4 at home against Atlanta during the regular season.
- The Packers have won three of the last five regular-season meetings against the Falcons.
- Nine of the last 11 regular-season matchups between the two have been decided by eight points or less, including six by three or fewer points.
- Including the postseason, it is the sixth time the Packers and Falcons have played in six years, with Atlanta winning three of the five previous matchups and each team winning their home games.
- It is the third straight time the Falcons' visit to Lambeau Field has been in Week 14.
- Dating back to 2002, Green Bay is 11-5 against NFC South teams at home during the regular season, including wins in seven of the last eight contests (pro-football-reference.com).
- The Packers' .688 winning percentage at home against NFC South teams since 2002 is No. 1 in the NFC and No. 5 in the NFL over that span.
- QB Aaron Rodgers has started seven home games against NFC South teams, throwing 22 touchdowns and four interceptions with a passer rating of 119.5. Rodgers has recorded a passer rating of plus-109.0 in six of the seven contests, including each of the last five (Sportradar).
- The Packers have won each of the past five home games against NFC South teams with Rodgers as the starter.
- It is the first time since Weeks 1-2 that the Packers will play back-to-back games at Lambeau Field.
- In Week 15, Green Bay goes back on the road to face division foe Chicago. The Packers won the first meeting this season, 24-23, in Week 1. Five of the last six games between the two at Soldier Field have been decided by single digits.
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THE FINAL STRETCH
- Since 2006, the Packers are 39-18 in the regular season in December/January, a .684 winning percentage that ranks No. 1 in the NFC and No. 3 in the NFL over that span (Sportradar).
- Dating back to 2006, Green Bay is 24-6 at home in regular-season games in December/January, ranking No. 2 in the NFL with a winning percentage of .800, according to Sportradar.
- With Rodgers as the starter, the Packers are 24-11 in the month of December, including 16-2 at home (according to Sportradar). Rodgers had a streak of 16 straight wins at home in December (2008-16), the second longest in the Super Bowl era behind only Patriots QB Tom Brady (19 games from 2002-12).
- As a starter, Rodgers has thrown 72 touchdowns and just 19 interceptions with a passer rating of 101.3 in the month of December. His 101.3 rating is No. 2 in the NFL among active players (min. 300 pass att.), trailing only Seattle QB Russell Wilson (103.3), according to Sportradar.
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 25th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
- Play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt joins analyst Charles Davis and sideline reporter Pam Oliver.
- 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) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 24th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 20th season of broadcasts together. In Week 1, they surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers.
- The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
- Sports USA Radio will air the game on radio across the country. Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play) and Hank Bauer (analyst) will call the action.
- DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 711.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Packers vs. Falcons:
- Regular season, all-time: 15-14
- All-time, Postseason: 2-2
- All-time, in Green Bay: 7-4
- Streaks: Atlanta has won three straight after Green Bay won four consecutive matchups from 2011-14.
- Last meeting, regular season: Sept. 17, 2017, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Falcons won, 34-23
COACHES CAPSULES
Joe Philbin: 24-28, .462; 5th NFL season
Dan Quinn: 36-29, .554 (incl. 3-2 postseason); 4th NFL season
Head to Head: 0-0
vs. Opponent: Philbin 1-0 vs. Falcons; Quinn 3-0 vs. Packers
JOE PHILBIN…Is the Packers' interim head coach.
- Is in his second stint with the Packers, having coached on Green Bay's staff from 2003-11, including five seasons (2007-11) as offensive coordinator.
- Helped the Packers offense rank in the top 10 in the league in total yards and total points each year from 2007-11.
- In 2011, led a Green Bay offense that set single-season franchise records for total points (560), touchdowns (70), total yards (6,482) and net passing yards (4,924).
- As head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2012-15, helped Miami increase its win total in 2012 and 2013, one of only four teams in the NFL to improve its record in both of those seasons.
- Prior to joining the NFL ranks, coached on the collegiate level for 19 seasons.
DAN QUINN…Is in his fourth year as the Falcons' 16th head coach.
- Guided the Falcons to a 10-6 record in 2017, marking the third time that the club has posted back-to-back seasons of 10-plus wins.
- Led Atlanta to the franchise's second NFC Championship in 2016 en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LI.
- Coached a high-powered offense in 2016 with the Falcons, finishing second in the NFL in passing touchdowns and total yards per game.
- 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 won the next two games against the Falcons, including a 37-20 win in the 1995 NFC Wild Card, where Green Bay held Atlanta to only 21 rushing yards.
- The Falcons won both contests in 2016 and the matchup in 2017 after losing four consecutive games to the Packers from 2011-14.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers LB Clay Matthews is the elder cousin of Falcons T Jake Matthews...Green Bay defense – pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was Atlanta's assistant defensive backs coach in 2007...Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel started 16 games for Green Bay in 2006...Atlanta defensive assistant/ defensive backs coach Charlie Jackson was the Packers' defensive quality control coach in 2005...Falcons K Giorgio Tavecchio spent the 2013 offseason on the Packers' roster...Green Bay DL Montravius Adams is from Vienna, Ga. ...Packers secondary coach Jason Simmons and Atlanta QB Matt Schaub were teammates with the Texans in 2007...Green Bay TE Jimmy Graham played with Falcons DE Bruce Irvin in Seattle in 2015...Packers TE Marcedes Lewis played alongside Atlanta T Zane Beadles in Jacksonville from 2014-15...Green Bay CB/S Tramon Williams played in the Arizona secondary with Falcons CB Justin Bethel in 2017...Williams and Packers S Ibraheim Campbell played in Cleveland with Atlanta C Alex Mack in 2015...Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio also coached for the Browns during that time...Falcons tight ends coach Wade Harman coached alongside Packers offense – pass game coordinator Jim Hostler (2008-13) and Pettine (2008) in Baltimore...Atlanta wide receivers coach Dave Brock spent three seasons on Boston College's offensive coaching staff with Packers running backs coach Ben Sirmans...Sirmans was a coach for the Golden Eagles during Falcons QB Matt Ryan's senior season...Angelichio, Green Bay quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti Jr. and Atlanta assistant offensive line coach Mike Flood spent the 2011 season together on the Rutgers offensive coaching staff...Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was the head coach at Washington during Packers CB Kevin King's freshman season with the Huskies...Sarkisian was also on Southern California's offensive coaching staff during Packers LB Clay Matthews' first two seasons with the Trojans before being promoted to assistant head coach for Matthews' junior and senior seasons...Atlanta linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich coached Green Bay DL Kenny Clark (2013-14) at UCLA...Jackson coached at Colorado in 2012 during Packers T David Bakhtiari's senior season with the Buffaloes...Falcons defensive backs coach Doug Mallory coached at Indiana University during Packers T Jason Spriggs' time playing for the Hoosiers...Former college teammates include: Packers LB Blake Martinez, Falcons TE Austin Hooper and S Jordan Richards (Stanford), Clark and Falcons DE Takkarist McKinley (UCLA), Packers G Justin McCray and Falcons S Kemal Ishmael (Central Florida), Spriggs and Atlanta RB Tevin Coleman (Indiana), Packers LB Antonio Morrison and Falcons CB Brian Poole (Florida), Graham and Falcons P Matt Bosher (Miami), Lewisand Falcons TE Logan Paulsen (UCLA).
This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here:
