- The Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field in the regular-season opener.
- For the first time since 2012, the Packers open the season at home.
- It is the first time the Packers have hosted Seattle in Week 1 but the second time they have faced the Seahawks in the season opener (at Seattle, 2014).
- It is the third consecutive regular season that the Packers have played the Seahawks at home.
- Including the postseason, it will be the sixth time the two teams have played since 2012.
- Including the postseason, the Packers have won three of the last four home games against Seattle by 20-plus points (22, 38, 28).
- Green Bay is 10-3 against the Seahawks at home during the regular and postseason, including seven straight wins.
- The Packers and Seahawks are the only two teams in the NFC to make the playoffs each of the past five seasons.
- Green Bay is 3-0 at home against Seattle with Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback. Rodgers has recorded a 100-plus passer rating in all three games (103.0, 116.9, 150.8), while totaling six passing touchdowns and zero interceptions.
- Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Green Bay is 88-43-1 during the regular season against NFC opponents. The Packers' 88 wins and .670 winning percentage both rank No. 1 among NFC teams over that span.
- The Packers have won their last five regular-season games against NFC teams.
- This will be the 16th time in the last 17 years that Green Bay has opened the season against an NFC opponent.
- It is the fourth time in six years that the Packers open the season against a team from the NFC West.
- Green Bay has won its past four home openers and seven of its past 10 Kickoff Weekend games dating back to 2007.
- Under McCarthy, the Packers are 7-4 in regular-season openers, including a 4-2 mark at home.
- Nine of the 11 season openers under McCarthy have been decided by eight points or less.
- The Packers' seven wins in the opening week of the regular season are tied for the third most in the NFC and the sixth most in the NFL since 2006.
- Green Bay finished the preseason with a 3-1 record for the third time in the last four years.
WITH THE CALL
- FOX Sports, now in its 24th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
- Play-by-play man Joe Buck joins analyst Troy Aikman and sideline reporter Erin Andrews.
- 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. Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Ross Tucker (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) as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive.
- DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 715.
BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
- The Packers currently have an 53-man roster that is composed of 24 offensive players, 26 defensive players and three specialists.
- Of the 53 players on Green Bay's roster, 37 of them (69.8 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 (34.0 percent) of the players (18 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, 45 began their pro careers with the Packers (84.9 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. 10)
- 21-24: 24 players
- 25-28: 19 players
- 29-32: 6 players
- 33-plus: 4 players
BY EXPERIENCE
- R-1: 11 players
- 2-3: 19 players
- 4-5: 7 players
- 6-9: 9 players
- 10-plus: 7 players
BY DRAFT ROUND
- 1st: 7 players
- 2nd/3rd: 15 players
- 4th/5th: 7 players
- 6th/7th: 7 players
- Undrafted: 11 players
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
- Packers vs. Seahawks
- All-time, Regular season: 10-7-0
- All-time, Postseason:2-1
- Streaks:The Packers have won the last two matchups against the Seahawks
- Last meeting, regular season:Dec. 11, 2016: Packers won, 38-10, Lambeau Field
COACHES CAPSULES
- Mike McCarthy: 124-69-1, .642 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 12th NFL season
- Pete Carroll: 113-79-1, .588 (incl. 10-7 postseason); 12th NFL season
- Head to Head:Carroll 3-2
- vs. Opponent:McCarthy 5-4 vs. Seahawks; Carroll 3-4 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.
PETE CARROLL…Is in his seventh year as the Seahawks' eighth head coach.
- Guided the Seahawks to a win in Super Bowl XLVIII with the youngest Super Bowl-winning roster in NFL history (26 years, 162 days).
- Built a defense that became just the fourth in league annals to lead the league in points and yards allowed in consecutive years (2013-14).
- Seattle has advanced to the divisional round in six of Carroll's seven seasons as coach, winning two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl, while claiming the No. 1 seed in the NFC twice, and third time in franchise history.
- Coached Southern California to back-to-back national titles in 2003 and 2004, maintaining the No. 1 ranking throughout the 2004 season.
THE PACKERS-SEAHAWKS SERIES
- For a span of eight head-to-head meetings from 1996-2008, Mike Holmgren was the head coach for one of the teams.
- Of the three postseason matchups between the teams, only the Packers' 42-20 win in 2007 NFC Divisional Playoff was decided in regulation.
- Since Seattle's shift to the NFC due to realignment in 2002, the two teams have met 12 times (including playoffs). They met in six of seven seasons from 2003-09 and matched up five times between 2012-16.
- Seattle's only victory in Green Bay came on Nov. 1, 1999, when the Seahawks won, 27-7.
- The Packers are 11-0 against Seattle when scoring 25-plus points.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers executive vice president, general manager & director of football operations Ted Thompson spent 2000-04 as Seattle's vice president of football operations...Green Bay associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss played the final three seasons (1995-97) of his career in Seattle and started his coaching career with the Seahawks in 1998... Seahawks DE Michael Bennett is the older brother of Packers TE Martellus Bennett…Seattle executive vice president/general manager John Schneider was with the Packers for 13 years as a personnel intern (1992), scout (1993-96), personnel analyst to the general manager (2002-07) and director of football operations (2008-09)...Schneider worked under Thompson in Seattle in 2000 and attended Abbot Pennings High in De Pere, Wis. ...Schneider and Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball worked together with the Washington Redskins in 2001...Seattle assistant strength and conditioning coach Mondray Gee coached in Green Bay from 2008-09...Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy, special teams coordinator Ron Zook and director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst worked with Schneider in Kansas City (1997-99)...Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell (2000-05) and assistant offensive line coach Pat Ruel (2001-02) coached for Green Bay...Bevell played quarterback at Wisconsin and in 1993 led the Badgers to their first-ever Rose Bowl victory...Seattle RBs coach Chad Morton was the Packers' coaching administrator in 2009 and special teams assistant from 2010-13...McCarthy coached in New Orleans in 2000 when Morton played for the Saints...Seahawks RB Eddie Lacy was the Packers' second-round draft pick in 2013 and started 48 of 51 games played in four seasons in Green Bay, winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year following the 2013 season…Seattle P Jon Ryan was originally signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2006, playing for Green Bay from 2006-07...Seahawks WR Tanner McEvoy (2013-15) and QB Russell Wilson (2011) played at Wisconsin...Green Bay CB Kevin King (2013-16) played at Washington...Martellus Bennett played in Chicago with Seahawks DE David Bass for two seasons while Seattle DL coach Clint Hurtt was on the Bears' defensive coaching staff…Bennett also was a teammate of Seahawks DB Justin Coleman with the Patriots in 2016… Seahawks G/T Luke Joeckel played with Packers CB Davon House with the Jaguars…Packers TE Lance Kendricks played with Seahawks QB Austin Davis with the Rams for three seasons and OL Isaiah Battle for two seasons…Additionally, Packers RBs coach Ben Sirmans held the same title with the Rams while Davis played in St. Louis…In Oakland, Green Bay secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry was colleagues with Seahawks assistant head coach/offensive line Tom Cable and special teams coordinator Brian Schneider from 2007-08...Morton and Perry played in New Orleans together in 2000...From 1984-85, Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers coached with Seahawks quarterbacks coach Carl Smith with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (USFL)...Capers and Seattle senior defensive assistant Travis Jones were colleagues in Miami from 2006-07...Packers LB Clay Matthews (2005-08) and LB Nick Perry (2009) were coached at Southern California by Seattle head coach Pete Carroll...Seahawks quality control/defense coach Tom Donatell was a defensive graduate assistant at UCLA while Packers DT Kenny Clark was a Bruin…Collegiately, Donatell was a linebacker at Iowa, where he teamed with Packers DT Mike Daniels and T Bryan Bulaga as well as when Green Bay offensive perimeter coach David Raih was an offensive graduate assistant for the Hawkeyes...Other collegiate teammates include: Seahawks LB Terence Garvin, Packers LB Jake Ryan and Seahawks LB Frank Clark (Michigan), Seattle WR Paul Richardson and Packers T David Bakhtiari (Colorado), Packers C Corey Linsley and Seahawks TE Nick Vannett (Ohio State) and Packers LB Chris Odom and Seahawks RB J.D. McKissic (Arkansas State).
