The Green Bay Packers stay on the road in Week 9, traveling to the other side of the country to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
- This marks the second consecutive time the Packers and Patriots will face off on a Sunday night in New England (2010).
- The Packers and Patriots have split the last two matchups (2010, 2014), with both teams winning at home and the games being decided by a combined nine points.
- The all-time regular-season series is tied at 5-5, while the Packers won the only postseason matchup, a 35-21 victory in Super Bowl XXXI.
- This week will be a matchup of two head coaches who have the best (Bill Belichick, .681) and third-best (Mike McCarthy, .628) regular-season winning percentages among active NFL head coaches (min. 50 games).
- Sunday will be the second matchup between Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Patriots QB Tom Brady as starters. Rodgers led the Packers to a 26-21 win in the first meeting at Lambeau Field in 2014. Rodgers completed 24 of 38 passes for 368 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 112.6, while Brady recorded a passer rating of 102.7 after completing 22 of 35 passes for 245 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
- Rodgers ranks first in NFL history (min. 1,500 pass att.) in passer rating (103.6) and Brady is third (97.6). They hold the top two spots in NFL history in TD/INT ratio with Rodgers ranking first at 4.1 (326/79) and Brady ranking second at 3.0 (504/167).
- Rodgers has started 22 games on Sunday Night Football and has completed 497 of 760 passes (65.4 pct.) for 6,114 yards and 50 TDs with 10 INTs for a 106.5 passer rating. He has posted a rating of 115-plus in half of those games (11). Among QBs with 200-plus attempts over that span, his rating ranks third behind NO QB Drew Brees (117.5) and LAC QB Philip Rivers (107.6). Brady is fourth among active QBs at 102.7.
- It will be the fourth time Green Bay and New England have played in the month of November, including the third time in the last four matchups between the two teams (2006, 2014).
- The two previous times the Packers have suffered a loss this season, they have bounced back to win the next game.
- The game against the Patriots is the first of three primetime games for Green Bay over the next four games. The Packers have played two primetime games so far this season, defeating the Chicago Bears, 24-23, in Week 1 and the San Francisco 49ers, 33-30, in Week 6.
- The Packers are on the second game of four of five contests on the road, including three games against teams that won their division last season (at Los Angles Rams, at New England Patriots, at Minnesota Vikings).
- In Week 10, the Packers return to Lambeau Field to face the Miami Dolphins. It will be the second of three games the Packers will play in a 12-day span, as they will be back on the road traveling back out west to take on the Seattle Seahawks on a Thursday night.
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WITH THE CALL
NBC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Play-byplay man Al Michaels joins analyst Cris Collinsworth in the booth with Michele Tafoya 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) and twotime 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.
- Westwood One Sports will air the game on radio across the country. Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Mike Mayock (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).
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers at Patriots:
- Regular season, all-time: 5-5
- All-time postseason: 1-0 All-time, in New England: 2-4
- Streaks: The Patriots have won two of the last three matchups dating back to 2006.
- Last meeting, regular season: Nov. 30, 2014, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 26-21
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 134-81-2, .622 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 13th NFL season
Bill Belichick: 284-131, .684 (incl. 28-11 postseason) 24th NFL season
Head to Head: Belichick 2-1
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 1-2 vs. Patriots; Belichick 3-3 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 13th year as the Packers' 14th head coach.
- Led Green Bay to its eighth consecutive playoff appearance in 2016, tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. Has led the team to nine playoff appearances in the last 11 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 span; Packers led the league 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.
BILL BELICHICK…Is in his 19th year as the Patriots' 15th head coach.
- Leads all active coaches and currently stands at third on the all-time NFL wins list with 284 total victories, trailing only Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324).
- His winning percentage of .684 ranks first in NFL history among coaches with 150 or more wins.
- Won his fifth Super Bowl in 2016 to give him the most Super Bowl wins by any head coach in NFL history.
- In the first 18 years as the Patriots head coach, has also won eight conference titles, 15 division crowns and 28 postseason contests.
- Has led the Patriots to a winning record for 17 consecutive seasons (2001-17), trailing only Tom Landry, who recorded 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966-85.
THE PACKERS-PATRIOTS SERIES
- This marks the 11th regular-season meeting between the two teams dating back to their first matchup in 1973.
- The clubs also met in Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans, which the Packers won, 35-21, bringing Green Bay its first Super Bowl title since winning Super Bowl II in 1967.
- Since Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers have won three of five regular-season contests, including winning two of three at New England.
- Green Bay holds the record for most points scored in a game in the series with a 45-3 win in Milwaukee in 1988.
- New England posted the series' only shutout with a 35-0 win over the Packers in 2006 in Green Bay.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers defense – run game coordinator/inside linebackers coach Patrick Graham served as a New England assistant coach in various roles from 2009-15...Green Bay head athletic trainer Bryan Engel spent time on New England's training staff as a seasonal assistant and training camp intern from 1995-1997...Packers strength and conditioning assistant Thadeus Jackson was an athletic training intern for the Patriots during the team's 2003 training camp...New England DL Lawrence Guy was drafted by Green Bay in the seventh round in 2011. He spent that first season on injured reserve and then part of 2012 on the Packers practice squad...Packers QB Tim Boyle was born in Hartford, Conn. and went to high school in Middleton, Conn. ...Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin is from Springfield, Mass., and has coached at a number of colleges in the Boston area, including: Harvard (1997-98), Northeastern (1995-96) and Worcester Tech (1986-87)...Packers running backs coach Ben Sirmans worked in the same role at Boston College from 2007-11...Patriots RB James White played at the University of Wisconsin from 2010-13...New England consultant to the head coach Bret Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-12...Green Bay LB Clay Matthews was selected No. 26 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft with a pick acquired from New England in exchange for the Packers' second-round choice (No. 41) and two third-round picks (Nos. 73 and 83). The Packers also received a fifth-round selection in the trade...Matthews' father, Clay Jr., played under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for three seasons in Cleveland (1991-93)...Green Bay T/G Byron Bell played with Patriots CB Jason McCourty and OL Brian Schwenke in Tennessee from 2015-16...Packers QB DeShone Kizer played with McCourty and New England DL Danny Shelton in Cleveland in 2017...Bell also teamed with New England RB Kenjon Barner in Carolina in 2013...Shelton also played alongside Green Bay CB Tramon Williams for the Browns from 2015-16... Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, tight ends coach Brian Angelichio and defensive quality control coach Ryan Downard coached for the Browns while Patriots QB Brian Hoyer, WR Josh Gordon and Shelton played in Cleveland...Green Bay LB Antonio Morrison was teammates with New England WR Phillip Dorsett and TE Dwayne Allen in Indianapolis in 2016...Morrison also played alongside Patriots DE John Simon in 2017 for the Colts...Philbin, Packers offense – pass game coordinator Jim Hostler and assistant special teams coach Maurice Drayton coached in Indianapolis while Allen, Dorsett and Simon played for the Colts...Pettine (2013) and Hostler (2014) coached in Buffalo while Patriots WR Chris Hogan and CB Stephon Gilmore played for the Bills...Green Bay TE Lance Kendricks played for the Rams in 2011 when New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive line coach Brendan Daly worked in the same roles in St. Louis...Angelichio coached tight ends in Atlanta from 2012-13 while Patriots DE Adrian Clayborn played for the Falcons...Angelichio and Cignetti coached together at Rutgers in 2011 while New England safeties coach Steve Belichick was the Scarlet Knights' long snapper...Sirmans coached running backs at Michigan State for two years (2005-06) while Hoyer played for the Spartans...Packers defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery coached Patriots DL Geneo Grissom at Oklahoma for two seasons (2013-14)...Packers T David Bakhtiari played at the University of Colorado while Patriots head strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera worked on the Buffaloes' strength staff...Drayton coached alongside Patriots assistant special teams coach Cameron Achord at Southern Mississippi in 2012...New England special teams coach Joe Judge was on the Alabama staff in 2011 when Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was a freshman...Green Bay wide receivers coach David Raih was a graduate assistant at Iowa in 2010 while Clayborn played for the Hawkeyes...Former college teammates include: Clinton-Dix and Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (Alabama), Packers CB Jermaine Whitehead, DL Montravius Adams, Patriots DB Jonathan Jones and LB Brandon King (Auburn), Packers RB Jamaal Williams and Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy (BYU), Packers CB Bashaud Breeland and Allen (Clemson), Morrison and Patriots OL Trent Brown (Florida), Packers LB James Crawford, WR Geronimo Allison and Patriots OL Ted Karras (Illinois), Packers T Bryan Bulaga, DL Mike Daniels and Clayborn (Iowa), Packers CB Josh Jackson and Patriots OL Cole Croston (Iowa), Packers S Josh Jones and Patriots OL Joe Thuney (North Carolina State), Packers C Corey Linsley, Patriots DB Nate Ebner and Simon (Ohio State), Packers TE Marcedes Lewis and Patriots WR Matthew Slater (UCLA) and Packers LB Oren Burks and Patriots DL Adam Butler (Vanderbilt).
LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON
Nov. 30, 2014, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 26-21.
- Packers QB Aaron Rodgers completed 24 of 38 attempts for 368 yards and two TDs, including a 45-yard TD to WR Jordy Nelson.
- Green Bay RB Eddie Lacy finished with 115 yards from scrimmage with 98 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards.
- Packers WR Davante Adams totaled six receptions for 121 yards (20.2 avg.).
This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here:
