PACKERS HOST LIONS IN HOME OPENER ON MNF
The Green Bay Packers return to Lambeau Field to take on the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. u This is the second MNF game vs. Detroit at Lambeau in the last three seasons and the third in the last five seasons (2017, 2019). Prior to the 2017 contest, the last MNF meeting was in 1972.
• Green Bay is opening its home schedule vs. Detroit for the second straight year (also Week 2 in 2020).
• Green Bay has won eight straight home openers (2013-20). Since 2007, the Packers are 13-1 in their first game of the season at Lambeau Field.
• This is the first time the Packers’ home opener has been on MNF since 2008 (Week 1 vs. Minnesota). u Green Bay scored 42 points in the meeting at Lambeau last season, the most it had scored at home against the Lions since posting 45 in 2011.
• This will be the 19th time the Packers have hosted the Lions in the month of September, and Green Bay has won each of the last five games as the home team in a September matchup.
• Including a 1994 playoff victory, the Packers are 27-3 against the Lions in the state of Wisconsin since 1992.
• The Packers have swept the season series with the Lions each of the past two years. Green Bay has won the season series 12 times in the last 21 seasons (since 2000).
• Green Bay has a 31-11 overall mark against Detroit since 2000, a .738 winning percentage that is tied for No. 1 among NFL teams (Minnesota Vikings) that have played the Lions more than 10 times over that span, according to Stathead.com.
• The Packers have a 18-3 home record (.857) against Detroit since 2000, the best in the NFL over that span among teams that have hosted the Lions at least 10 times.
• QB Aaron Rodgers has led Green Bay to nine wins in 11 starts at home against Detroit, throwing 21 touchdowns with just four interceptions and a passer rating of 106.9 in those games.
• Rodgers has registered a passer rating of 100-plus in seven of 11 home games versus the Lions.
• WR Davante Adams has seven receiving TDs in 10 games played against the Lions, including one in three of the last four games he played against Detroit.
• K Mason Crosby enters Week 2 with a streak of 19 consecutive FGs made, tied for the second-longest streak in team history (Crosby, 23, 2010-11 / Crosby, 19, 2013-14).
• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time that the Packers have had had three players appear in a game in the same season after entering the season having played at least one game in 14-plus seasons (QB Aaron Rodgers-17th year, TE Marcedes Lewis- 16th year and Crosby-15th year)
GREEN BAY UNDER THE LIGHTS
• The Packers went 6-0 in prime-time games during the 2020 regular season, the first time Green Bay has ever gone undefeated in a season that they played five-plus games in prime time (previous best was 4-2 in both 2016 and 2019).
• Among teams to play at least three prime-time games during the 2020 regular season, the Packers tied for the best winning percentage in the league (Sportradar):
• Green Bay led the league in points per prime-time game in 2020 (Sportradar):
• Among teams that played multiple prime-time games during the 2020 season, the Packers finished No. 1 in points-per-game differential:
• QB Aaron Rodgers threw 20 touchdowns (No. 1 in the NFL) and one interception and posted a passer rating of 134.8 (No. 1 in the NFL, min. 50 pass att.) in prime-time games during the 2020 regular season.
• From 2000-20, Rodgers owns the second-highest (136.8 in four games in 2011) and the fifth-highest (134.8 in six games in 2020) single-season passer ratings in prime-time games (min. 50 pass att.) in the NFL (Sportradar).
• Since 2008, Rodgers leads the NFL with 126 TD passes and a TD/INT ratio (min. 500 att.) of 4.85 (126/26) in prime-time games.
• Adams tied for No. 2 in the NFL with five receiving TDs in prime-time games in 2020 even though he missed two of the six contests due to injury.
• TE Robert Tonyan posted six receiving TDs in primetime contests in 2020, No. 1 in the NFL. From 2000-20, his six receiving TDs were the most by a Packer player in prime-time contests since Adams posted seven receiving TDs in six prime-time games in 2016. It also tied for the second most by an NFL TE from 2000-20 (Rob Gronkowski, seven in 2015).
• Adams and Tonyan were two of four NFL players (Tyler Lockett and Stefon Diggs) to register three receiving TDs in a prime-time game during the 2020 regular season.
• Adams has recorded a TD reception in nine consecutive games on Sunday Night Football, the longest such streak in NFL history (via NFL).
GREEN BAY ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
• It is the 29th consecutive season (1993-2021) that Green Bay is appearing on MNF, tied for the longest streak in the NFL (Denver Broncos, 29, 1992-2020).
• The Packers are 35-32-1 in the regular season on MNF.
• Green Bay has won seven of its last eight games on MNF.
• The Packers’ .875 winning percentage (7-1) on MNF since 2014 is No. 1 in the NFL over that span (Pittsburgh, 10-2, .833).
• The Packers have won four straight MNF games (2018-20), tied for the second-longest streak in team history behind only a five-game winning streak from 2001-03.
• It is the eighth time in the last nine seasons the Packers have played at Lambeau Field on MNF.
• Green Bay has won eight of its last 10 home games on MNF.
• The Packers have scored 23-plus points in seven of the last eight MNF games they have played (30, 23, 23, 33, 17, 27, 38, 43), recording a win in each of those seven contests.
• Overall, QB Aaron Rodgers has played in 18 Monday games, recording a passer rating of 101.1 that ranks No. 3 among active players (min. 200 pass att.).
• Last season, Rodgers completed 27 of 33 passes (81.8 pct.) for 327 yards, four TDs, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 147.5, the second-highest passer rating (min. 15 pass att.) by a Packer on MNF (Brett Favre, 154.9, 12/22/03 at Oakland).
• Green Bay has won seven straight games on MNF when Rodgers has started at QB. In those seven games, he has completed 180 of 268 passes (67.2 pct.) for 2,224 yards and 18 TDs with two INTs for a 111.9 rating.
• Rodgers has thrown four-plus TD passes in three of his last four prime-time games at Lambeau Field. He has posted a 90-plus passer rating in 10 straight prime-time games at Lambeau Field, throwing for 2,833 yards and 29 TDs with three INTs for a 114.0 rating.
• Rodgers threw for 300-plus yards and a passer rating of 100-plus in four consecutive MNF games (2015-18). According to The Elias Sports Bureau, that was the longest streak in MNF history. In those four games (Packers were 4-0), Rodgers completed 103 of 156 passes (66.0 percent) for 1,398 yards (349.5 per game), 12 TDs and no INTs for a 120.1 passer rating.
• LB Za’Darius Smith has registered three-plus sacks in both of his last two games on MNF (2019 at Minnesota, 2020 vs. Atlanta). He is one of only two NFL players to register back-to-back games with three-plus sacks on MNF, joining Steelers LB Mike Merriweather (1984).
• WR Davante Adams has posted 10-plus receptions in both of his last two games on MNF (10-132 vs. San Francisco in 2018, 13-116 at Minnesota in 2019). That is tied for the longest streak on MNF with 49ers WR Jerry Rice (1985-86) and Saints WR Michael Thomas (2019).
DIVISION DOMINANCE
• Green Bay started off the 2020 season with continued success in the NFC North, winning three of its first four games against division foes, including the franchise’s 100th all-time win against the Bears (including playoffs) in Week 12, and finished with a 5-1 record and a second consecutive NFC North title.
• The Packers were one of four teams to win five-plus division games last season (Buffalo and New Orleans, 6-0 / Tennessee, 5-1).
• Green Bay was one of three teams (Kansas City, New Orleans) to go 6-0 in road division games over the last two seasons (2019-20).
• The Packers six-game road winning streak in the NFC North is the longest road divisional winning streak in franchise history (Elias Sports Bureau).
• The Packers scored 43 points at Minnesota in Week 1 and 42 points versus Detroit in Week 2 last season. It was only the third time Green Bay had scored 40-plus points in back-to-back divisional games (1984, 2014).
• Green Bay posted 40-plus points three times last season against an NFC North foe (41 vs. Chicago in Week 12). It was the first time in team history that the Packers have posted three 40-point games in a season against divisional opponents since the league went to a divisional format in 1967.
• Green Bay led the NFL during the 2020 regular season in points per game (35.7) in division games, scoring 30-plus points in five of six contests.
• The Packers scored the most points per game (35.7) in 2020 then they ever had against division opponents, dating back to 1967. Green Bay surpassed the 35.3 average it posted against the division in 2011.
• The Packers recorded the fewest giveaways against the division in 2020 (two) then they ever had in a single season, dating back to 1967.
• Since the NFL went to 32 teams in 2002, there have been two teams to average 35-plus points per game and record two or fewer giveaways vs. divisional opponents,
the 2020 Packers (35.7, two) and the 2016 Atlanta Falcons (38.5, two).
• In 2020, Green Bay scored the sixth-most (43 at Minnesota), tied for the seventh-most (42 vs. Detroit) and the ninth-most points (41 vs. Chicago) in a division game dating back to 2002.
• Head Coach Matt LaFleur has led the Packers to division titles in both of his first two seasons and is one of four NFL head coaches to debut in the Super Bowl
era to win his first eight divisional games with a team. All coaches listed below were in their first career head-coaching positions (via the Elias Sports Bureau):
• Green Bay’s eight-game divisional winning streak ended in Week 8 in 2020, but it tied the second longest for the franchise since the league went to a divisional format in 1967, trailing only the 12-game streak from 2010-12.
• Dating back to 1995, the Packers have the second-most division titles in the NFL:
• Green Bay has won seven division titles with Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback.
• Rodgers led the league in both passing TDs and passer rating (min. 50 pass att.) in division games last season (Sportradar)
• Rodgers’ 20 TD passes were the most against his own division in a season without throwing an interception in NFL history, besting the 18/0 ratio Rodgers threw for against the NFC North in 2014.
• Dating back to 1948, Rodgers’ 20 TD passes tied for the fifth most against division opponents in the NFL (Dan Marino is No. 1 with 24 in 1984).
• Rodgers owns three of the top five marks for singleseason passer rating against divisional opponents (min. 100 pass att.) since 1948:
• Rodgers threw four-plus TD passes for the fifth time against the Bears in Week 12 and the sixth time in Week 17, the most in NFL history (Fran Tarkenton, four).
• Rodgers posted his seventh career game with a 130-plus rating against Chicago in Week 17, four more than any other NFL quarterback (John Brodie, three). u WR Davante Adams led the NFL las
• Dating back to 1967, Adams tied the franchise record for TD receptions (eight) against the division in one season (Sterling Sharpe in 1993 and 1994 and Robert Brooks in 1995). u Dating back to 2002, Adams’ eight TD receptions in 2020 tied for the third most in the NFL against division opponents in one season (Terrell Owens, nine in 2007 / Randy Moss, 11 in 2007).
• Adams has at least one TD catch in each of his last four games against NFC North opponents, posting six TD grabs over that four-game span. u Adams has a franchise-record four career games with 13-plus catches, with three of those coming against NFC North teams.
• RB Aaron Jones’ nine rushing TDs against division opponents in 2019-20 ranked No. 4 in the NFL over that span.
• Jones’ top three career rushing-yardage games have all come against NFC North foes (168 vs. Detroit in Week 2 in 2020, 154 at Minnesota in Week 16 in 2019, 116 vs. Minnesota in Week 2 in 2019).
• TE Robert Tonyan has posted a TD reception in each of his last three games vs. NFC North opponents. Tonyan had a career-high three TD catches last season
vs. Atlanta on Monday Night Football in Week 4.
u Dating back to 2019, the Packers have 33.0 sacks
against NFC North teams, the most among teams in the NFC North division over that time span (Minnesota, 24.0 / Chicago, 24.0 / Detroit, 17.0).
HOME SWEET HOME
Green Bay has a long tradition of playing well at Lambeau Field, and it continued in 2020, as it tied for the best home record in the NFL last season (7-1, .875).
• From 2019-20, the Packers are 14-2 at home during the regular season, a .875 winning percentage ranked No. 1 in the NFL over that span:
• Green Bay has 240 victories at Lambeau Field during the regular season, the most home wins by any franchise at one stadium in NFL history.
• Green Bay has won 17 of the last 20 games it has played against an AFC team at Lambeau Field (2011-20).
• Green Bay has won eight straight home openers (2013-20), further extending the longest streak in team history. Since 2007, the Packers are 13-1 in their first game of the season at Lambeau Field.
• Green Bay ranked in the top five in the NFL in points scored and point differential at home last season:
• Green Bay ranked No. 6 in the NFL last season in points allowed at home (156).
• The Packers gave up 24 sacks at home over the last two seasons, the third fewest in the league in 2019-20.
• Green Bay has finished with a record of .500 or better at home in each of the last 14 seasons (2007-20):
• Since 2007, Green Bay ranks No. 2 in the NFL at home during the regular season:
• QB Aaron Rodgers led the NFL in passer rating at home last season (min. 50 pass att.):
• Rodgers has started 94 home games during the regular season for Green Bay, with the Packers holding a 75-18-1 record in those contests. He has completed 2,106 of
3,172 passes (66.4 pct.) for 25,376 yards (270.0 per game), 218 touchdowns, 37 interceptions and a passer rating of 108.8.
• Rodgers ranks No. 1 in the NFL since 1950 in passer rating at home as a starter (min. 500 pass att.), according to Stathead.com:
• Rodgers has led Green Bay to a 24-4-1 record in his last 28 starts at home, recording a passer rating of 100-plus in 17 of those games, including the first perfect passer rating (158.3) of his career in a Week 7 win over Oakland in 2019.
• WR Davante Adams played in seven home games last season and led the NFL with 10 TD receptions.
• In his last eight regular-season games at Lambeau Field (2019-20), Adams has 11 TD catches.
• RB Aaron Jones has played in 26 home games in his career and has scored 25 touchdowns (22 rushing and three receiving).
• Jones ranks in the top five in the NFL in both rushing TDs and total TDs at home since 2017 (Sportradar):
• LB Za’Darius Smith had 9.5 sacks at home last season, the second-most sacks at home in the NFL in 2020 (PIT LB T.J. Watt, 11.5).
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Lions:
Regular season, all-time: 102-72-7
All-time, Postseason: 2-0
All-time, at Home: 34-13-3
Streaks: The Packers have won the last four meetings, all under Matt LaFleur. Additionally, Green Bay is 7-2 in September matchups agianst Detroit since 2000. Last meeting, regular season: Dec. 13, 2020, Ford Field, Packers won, 31-24
COACHES CAPSULES
Matt LaFleur: 26-7-0, .788; (2-2 postseason); 3rd NFL season
Dan Campbell: 0-1, 000; 1st NFL Season
Head to Head: LaFleur 0-0 vs. Campbell vs. Opponent: LaFleur 4-0 vs. Lions; Campbell 0-0 vs. Packers
MATT LaFLEUR…In his third season as the Packers’ 15th head coach.
• In his 13th season in the NFL, having previously served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (Los Angeles Rams, 2017; Tennessee Titans, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington Football Team, 2010-13; Atlanta Falcons, 2015-16), and an offensive assistant for two seasons (Houston Texans, 2008-09).
• In his first two seasons leading the Packers, has authored one of the greatest starts to a head-coaching career in NFL history. For the second consecutive sea- son in 2020, led Green Bay to a 13-3 record and captured the NFC North crown while also earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time since 2011. It was just
the second time in team history that the Packers had won 13-plus games in back-to-back seasons (13-3 in 1996 and 1997).
• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the sixth head coach since 1970 to lead his team to the conference championship game in both of his first two seasons as a head coach, joining Jim Harbaugh (2011-12), Rex Ryan (2009-10), Barry Switzer (1994-95), George Seifert (1989-90) and Don McCafferty (1970-71).
• Became just the second NFL head coach since the league went to a divisional format in 1967 to win 13-plus games and a division title in both of his first two seasons, joining Seifert (1989-90).
• In his first season leading the Packers in 2019, became the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven wins).
DAN CAMPBELL…Is in his first year as the Lions’ 28th head coach.
• Is the fifth former Lions player to be named fulltime head coach for the team and the first since Joe Schmidt, who played for Detroit from 1953-65 and served as head coach from 1967-72.
• Brings 22 years of NFL experience to the Lions, including 11 years as a coach and 11 as a player. Most recently served as the assistant head coach/tight ends coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016–2020.
• In 2015, became the Miami Dolphins’ interim head coach following organizational changes, where he took over a 1-3 team that had lost three consecutive contests and immediately helped the team win its first two games under his leadership. The Dolphins finished 5-7 under Campbell that season.
• A third-round selection by the Giants in the 1999 NFL Draft, the former tight end appeared in 114 total career games (76 starts) and caught 91 passes for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns.
THE PACKERS-LIONS SERIES
• The Week 17 victory in 2019 gave the Packers their 100th regular-season win against the Lions franchise. Green Bay’s now 102 regular-season victories against Detroit are the club’s most against any one opponent. u Green Bay won 29 of the first 38 matchups in the series before the Lions reeled off 11 straight wins over a sixyear span (1949-54).
• The teams have met twice in the postseason, with the first playoff matchup in the Wild Card round of the 1993 season. That game saw QB Brett Favre find WR Sterling Sharpe for a game-winning 40-yard score with less than a minute to go, marking the first playoff win for the Packers in more than 10 years.
LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON
Dec. 13, 2020, Ford Field, Packers won, 31-24
• Packers QB Aaron Rodgers tossed three TDs, while completing 26 of 33 for 290 yards to lead Green Bay.
• WR Davante Adams hauled in seven receptions for 115 yards and a TD. It was his sixth 100-yard performance of the 2020 season.
• Green Bay’s defense had four sacks of Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford, one each by S Darnell Savage, DL Kenny Clark, DL Dean Lowry and LB Rashan Gary.
