PACKERS LOOK TO END SKID IN SEATTLE
-In the midst of its first three-game losing streak since 2006, Green Bay looks to get back on the winning track Sunday afternoon at Qwest Field against the Seattle Seahawks.
-Last weekend, Green Bay fell at home to the Atlanta Falcons, 27-24, and subsequently fell to second place in the NFC North.
-Winners of nine of their last 12 road games, the Packers head into one of the league's toughest venues.
-Sunday will be viewed as a must-win for both clubs. Both were division champions a season ago and are off to slow starts this season.
-Sunday also has the potential to be the last time the Packers face former head coach Mike Holmgren. Holmgren, 2-4 against the Packers since arriving in Seattle in 1999, spent seven seasons in Green Bay (1992-98). He guided the Packers to two Super Bowl appearances, including a victory in Super Bowl XXXI, and six consecutive postseason appearances. Holmgren announced last January that this season would be his last in Seattle.
-Green Bay and Seattle got together last season for one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NFL history. Played in near white-out conditions thanks to a heavy snowstorm, the Packers defeated the Seahawks 42-20 at Lambeau Field in the NFC Divisional round.
-The teams previously met in another memorable playoff game in the 2003 NFC Wild Card round. It remains the only postseason game in league history to be ended by a sudden-death defensive score.
-Including the two postseason victories, the Packers have won four of the last five meetings between the clubs. The loss came in 2006 at Qwest Field - the franchise's lone appearance at the stadium.
-Coming off a 44-6 defeat to the New York Giants, Seattle comes into the game 1-3 and in third place in the NFC West.
THE ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK
-Just two weeks ago, Green Bay was hoping to avoid consecutive losses for the first time in 23 games. Now, it faces the prospect of a fourth consecutive loss today at Qwest Field.
-The team's last losing streak was when it lost three consecutive games in 2006 (Weeks 11-13).
-So how did McCarthy and the Packers respond then? They reeled off four straight victories to end the season. Carrying over into 2007, the team won eight consecutive games before its next loss.
-The Packers haven't lost four consecutive games since 2005 when they dropped the first four games of the season. They finished 4-12.
-The Packers also lost four straight games in '04 en route to a 1-4 start. The team won nine of its last 11 to finish atop the division with a 10-6 mark.
-Green Bay's last 2-3 start came in 2000, Mike Sherman's first year as head coach. The Packers finished 9-7, with a playoff berth eluding them on the final day of the season.
TOUGH STRETCH BEGINS ON THE ROAD
-Green Bay's next three opponents are playoff teams from a year ago, and the tough stretch begins at one of the NFL's loudest venues: Qwest Field.
-Since the Seahawks began play at Qwest Field in 2002, they own a 37-13 (.740) record at the stadium. It is notoriously known as the stadium which induces the most false-start penalties by visiting teams.
-Since Head Coach Mike McCarthy arrived in 2006, the Packers have been one of the league's toughest road teams. Green Bay has actually played better on the road (12-6) than at home (11-8) under McCarthy.
AGAINST FORMER COACHES
-For the second time in three weeks, the Packers will face a head coach who spent time on the Packers staff.
-Among recent and active coaches with Green Bay ties, none loom as large as Mike Holgmren. A boulevard running parallel with Lambeau Field was renamed Holmgren Way, an honor conferred upon him during his seventh and final year as head coach of the Packers.
-Holmgren Way intersects Lombardi Avenue just one block east of Lambeau Field, a historic junction.
WEARING THE STRIPES
Today's officiating crew includes referee Jeff Triplette (42), umpire Jim Quirk (5), head linesman Steve Stelljes (22), line judge Mike Spanier (90), field judge Boris Cheek (41), side judge Dave Wyant (16) and back judge Steve Freeman (133).
