Packers return home to play the Redskins

After a bye week and two road games, the Packers will play their first home game in almost a month when they take on Washington this Sunday.  

• It will be the third matchup between the two teams in the last five years (including the postseason), but the first in Green Bay since 2013.
• The Packers have won four straight home games against the Redskins, outscoring Washington, 122-43, in those contests.
• It is the first time Washington has played at Lambeau in December.
• Green Bay is 2-1 against the NFC East this season. With a win, the Packers would tie 2010 and 2007 (3-1, .750) for their best record in a single regular season against the NFC East (min. two games) since the divisions were realigned in 2002.
• Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur coached quarterbacks for Washington from 2010-13.
• It will be the fifth game Green Bay has played at noon CT this season, having won the previous four contests.
• QB Aaron Rodgers has a career passer rating of 111.2 in regular-season home games in Dec.-Jan., ranking No. 1 in NFL history (min. 200 pass att.) according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
• This is the first of the Packers' final two home games of the regular season. Next week they will take on the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field to start a run of three straight divisional games to finish the regular season for the third time since the NFC North was formed in 2002 (2006, 2016).

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

KEEPING IT GOING

• Green Bay has won nine of its first 12 games, marking the eighth time the Packers have won at least nine of their first 12 games of the regular season since 1970 (12-0 in 2011, 10-2 in 2007 and 9-3 in 2014, 2002, 2001, 1997 and 1996). 
• With a win, LaFleur (9-3) would pass Mike Holmgren and Mike Sherman (9-7) for the most NFL wins by a Packer head coach in their first season.
• Green Bay is one of seven NFL teams with at least nine wins this season, with four of those teams residing in the NFC.
• The Packers are 7-2 this season in Sunday games, a .778 winning percentage that is tied for No. 5 in the NFL in 2019.
• Green Bay is 6-2 against NFC teams this season with a .750 winning percentage that ranks No. 4 among NFC teams. The Packers' six wins against NFC teams are tied for the fourth most in the NFL this season.
• The Packers have started 3-0 in the NFC North for the first time since 2012 and for just the fourth time (2011 and 2002) since the division was formed in 2002.
• Green Bay joins Dallas (4-0), Kansas City (4-0), New England (4-0), and Seattle (3-0) as the only teams to be undefeated in division games this season.

WITH THE CALL

• FOX Sports, now in its 26th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
• Play-by-play man Kenny Albert joins analyst Ronde Barber and sideline reporter Lindsay Czarniak.
• 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 21st 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).
• DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 711.

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

Packers vs. Redskins:

• All-time, regular season: 18-15-1
• All-time, postseason: 2-1
• All-time, in Green Bay: 7-2-1
• Streaks: The Packers have won four straight matchups at Lambeau Field.
• Last meeting, regular season: Sept. 23, 2018, FedExField, Washington won, 31-17

COACHES CAPSULES

• Matt LaFleur: 9-3, .750; 1st NFL season
• Bill Callahan: 18-43, .295; 3rd NFL season
• Head to Head: 0-0
• vs. Opponent: Callahan 0-1 vs. Packers

MATT LAFLEUR…In his first season as the Packers' 15th head coach.

• In his 11th season in the NFL, having 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).
• 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.
• Coached rookie QB Robert Griffin III with the Redskins in 2012, who became the first QB in team history to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

BILL CALLAHAN…Was named Redskins' interim head coach in Week 6 of the 2019 NFL season.

• In his 21st season in the NFL, where he has served as offensive coordinator on two occasions (Oakland Raiders, 1998-2001; Dallas Cowboys, 2012-14), offensive line coach (Philadelphia Eagles, 1998; N.Y. Jets, 2008-11) and two seasons as head coach of the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) prior to his time in Washington.
• Was named by the team as assistant head coach following a 2016 season where the Redskins set single-season franchise records in yards per game (403.4) and yards per play (6.40), while also racking up three 500-yard games.
• Led the Oakland Raiders to an 11-5 regular-season record as a first-year head coach in 2002 en route to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII. 
• Spent four seasons as the head coach for the University of Nebraska (2004-07), where the Cornhuskers made two bowl appearances and advanced to the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game. 

THE PACKERS-REDSKINS SERIES

• The Packers first met the Redskins (then Boston Braves) in 1932, five days after Franklin D. Roosevelt won his first presidential election.
• The clubs met memorably in the 1936 NFL championship game. That year, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, upset with his fans' lack of support, was moving his team to Washington and didn't want to host the championship in Boston. The NFL moved the game to New York's Polo Grounds, where Green Bay claimed its fourth world championship, 21-6.
• The teams played in what was then the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history on Oct. 17, 1983, at Lambeau Field, a contest that featured 11 TDs and six FGs in the 48-47 Green Bay win.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

Packers president & CEO Mark Murphy played eight seasons (1977-84) with the Redskins, serving as co-captain from 1980-84, playing on the Super Bowl XVII championship team and earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 1983...Green Bay executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball spent the 2001 season as director of football administration for Washington...Packers head coach Matt LaFleur (2010-13) and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti (2000-10; 2014-18) spent time on the Washington coaching staff…Packers DL Preston Smith was drafted by Washington and played four seasons with the Redskins (2015-18)…Packers WR Ryan Grant was drafted by Washington and played four seasons with the Redskins (2014-17)...Packers chief of staff Darryl Franklin spent seven seasons in the Redskins' player personnel department (2012-18)…Redskins tight ends coach Brian Angelichio spent three seasons with the Packers in the same role (2016-18)…Angelichio was the tight ends coach for Cleveland when Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was the head coach (2014-15)…Redskins DE Chris Odom played in seven games for Green Bay in 2017...Packers with connections to the Washington, D.C. area include: S Adrian Amos (Baltimore), LB Oren Burks (Lorton, Va.), T/G Alex Light (Salem, Va., University of Richmond), T Yosh Nijman (Virginia Tech) and S Darnell Savage (Salsbury, Md., University of Maryland)...Redskins interim head coach Bill Callahan coached the Wisconsin Badgers' offensive line from 1990-94...Callahan and Redskins senior offensive assistant Matt Cavanaugh worked with Pettine (2009-11) and outside linebackers coach Mike Smith while with the N.Y. Jets (2010-11)...Pettine and Cavanaugh also coached together at the University of Pittsburgh in 1993…Callahan was the head coach of Oakland when Packers wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted played for the team (2002-03)...Additionally, Redskins running backs coach Randy Jordan and director of football operations Paul Kelly were assistants on the Oakland staff in 2003…Pettine and Cavanaugh also worked together on the Baltimore staff for three seasons (2002-04)…Redskins special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor held the same position in Tampa Bay when the team drafted Packers FB Danny Vitale in 2016…Kaczor was the assistant special teams coordinator in Jacksonville when Packers TE Marcedes Lewis was on the team (2008-11)…Redskins offensive quality control Chris O'Hara was the offensive coaching associate in Jacksonville when Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and were on the staff (2015-16) and Lewis played for the team (2014-16)…Pettine, special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga and defensive backs assistant coach Ryan Downard coached alongside Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell in Cleveland for one year (2015). Additionally, O'Connell was a quarterback with the N.Y. Jets when Pettine and Smith were on the coaching staff…Redskins assistant offensive line coach Phil Rauscher was an offensive assistant in Denver when Packers G/T Billy Turner (2016-18) and T Jared Veldheer (2018) were on the team...Additionally, Lewis played alongside Rauscher at UCLA for two seasons (2004-05)...Washington RB Adrian Peterson was teammates with Veldheer and Packers CB Tramon Williams for part of the 2017 season with the Arizona Cardinals...Green Bay TE Jimmy Graham played alongside Redskins WR Paul Richardson Jr. in Seattle for three seasons (2015-17)...Packers LB Za'Darius Smith and Redskins OL Tony Bergstrom played together in 2017 in Baltimore…Packers LB B.J. Goodson, Redskins S Landon Collins and OL Ereck Flowers played three seasons together with the N.Y. Giants (2016-18)…Redskins quarterback Case Keenum spent time with the Rams when Packers running back Ben Sirmans (2014) was on the coaching staff…Lewis and Redskins DE Carroll Phillips played together in Jacksonville in 2017…Former college teammates include: Packers LT David Bakhtiari and Richardson Jr. (Colorado); Packers WR Geronimo Allison and Redskins LB Carroll Phillips (Illinois); Packers CB Josh Jackson and Redskins G Brandon Scherff (Iowa); Packers CB Jaire Alexander, Redskins T Geron Christian Sr. and LB Josh Harvey-Clemons (Louisville); Packers G Elgton Jenkins, LS Hunter Bradley and Redskins LB Montez Sweat (Mississippi State); Packers S Adrian Amos and Redskins S Troy Apke (Penn State); Packers DL Kenny Clark and Redskins CB Fabian Moreau (UCLA).

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