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Packers and Lions will meet in primetime

The Packers will host the Lions at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football

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  • The Packers will host the Lions at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football.
  • Green Bay has won three consecutive games on MNF, including a 27-13 win over Philadelphia last season. It will be the third time the Packers and Lions have met on MNF and the first since 1972.
  • It will be the 25th consecutive season (1993-2017) that Green Bay is appearing on MNF, the second-longest streak behind Denver (1992-2017).
  • Including a 1994 playoff victory, the Packers are 25-1 against the Lions in the state of Wisconsin since 1992.
  • Green Bay has an 18-4 overall mark (.818) and a 10-1 home record (.909) against Detroit under Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
  • Green Bay swept the regular-season series with the Lions last season for the first time since 2012 and for the seventh time under McCarthy.
  • The rivalry actually kicked off in 1930 at City Stadium in Green Bay, a 47-13 Packers win. Two seasons later, the teams began a yearly series. Monday marks meeting No. 176 in the all-time series (including playoffs).
  • The Packers lead the regular-season series, 98-68-7 (.590), and have won both postseason contests the two have played. Green Bay's 98 wins over the Lions are the most the Packers have against any team.
  • The Packers have won 19 of the last 23 against Detroit and 27 of the last 33 in the series.
  • The Packers are 4-3 this season, marking the fourth straight season and the ninth time under McCarthy that Green Bay reached the bye week with a winning record (2-1 in 2016, 6-0 in 2015, 5-3 in 2014, 6-3 in 2012, 7-0 in 2011, 6-3 in 2010, 4-3 in 2008, 5-1 in 2007).
  • The Packers have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season games and have the best record in the NFC and the fourth-best record in the NFL over that span (Kansas City, 11-3 / Pittsburgh and New England, 12-2).
  • The Packers have posted 160-plus rushing yards in two of the last three games.
  • Since the merger in 1970 (735 games for the Packers), Green Bay has had five games with 25 or fewer rushing attempts and 160-plus rushing yards, with three coming in the last 10 games (9/29/85, at St. Louis, 25 for 216 yards / 9/29/03, at Chicago, 25 for 187 yards / 12/18/16, at Chicago, 23 for 226 yards / 10/8/17, at Dallas, 25 for 160 yards / 10/22/17, vs. New Orleans, 24 for 181 yards). Since Week 15 last season, there have been four of those games in the NFL, and Green Bay has accounted for three of them (9/24/17, Kansas City Chiefs, 25 for 189 yards at Los Angeles Chargers).

OUT OF THE BYE

  • The previous four times the Packers have lost heading into the bye, they have won each game immedietely following the bye. Three of the four games took place at home against division opponents (2014 vs. Chicago, 2009 and 2013 vs. Detroit).
  • This will be the first time since 2007 (at Denver, Week 8) that Green Bay will play on Monday Night Football coming out of its bye.
  • It will be the fourth straight season that the Packers have played in a prime-time contest coming out of the bye.
  • Green Bay will play at home in the week after the bye for the fifth time in the McCarthy era. The Packers have won each of the previous four.
  • Green Bay will face an NFC opponent for the seventh time after the bye since 2006, and it will be the sixth time the Packers play a team from the NFC North.
  • The Packers have won each of the six previous matchups against NFC teams in the week after the bye.
  • In games immediately following its bye week, Green Bay has won 16 of its last 21 (.762), including wins in seven of the last eight. Overall, the Packers are 9-2 (.818) under McCarthy in games played the week after the bye.
  • Since McCarthy took over in 2006, the Packers have a 69-39-1 overall record (.638) after the bye. Since 2009, Green Bay is 52-26-1 (.665) overall after the bye.

WITH THE CALL

  • ESPN is in its 12th season as host of the most successful series in sports television history, Monday Night Football. Play-by-play man Sean McDonough is joined by analyst Jon Gruden for the 48th season of MNF broadcasts, with Lisa Salters 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 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. Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Boomer Esiason (analyst) will call the action, with Hub Arkush reporting from the sidelines and Jim Gray hosting the pregame and halftime shows.
  • The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER

  • The Packers currently have an 53-man roster that is composed of 25 offensive players, 25 defensive players and three specialists.
  • Of the 53 players on Green Bay's roster, 32 of them (60.4 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 14 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with 11 of those originally signed by Green Bay.
  • Over a third (37.7 percent) of the players (20 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 four players on the roster that played in the NFL prior to the 2009 season. Three of those four players were draft picks of the Packers (K Mason Crosby, WR Jordy Nelson and LB Clay Matthews) and two have made at least one Pro Bowl.
  • Of the 53 players on the roster, 43 began their pro careers with the Packers (81.1 percent).
  • Only 19 of the 53 players on the roster (35.8 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 16 being drafted by the Packers.

GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...

BY AGE (as of Nov. 6)

  • 21-24: 26 players
  • 25-28: 19 players
  • 29-32: 5 players
  • 33-plus: 3 players

BY EXPERIENCE

  • R-1: 14 players
  • 2-3: 16 players
  • 4-5: 9 players
  • 6-9: 9 players
  • 10-plus: 5 players

BY DRAFT ROUND

  • 1st: 6 players
  • 2nd/3rd: 13 players
  • 4th/5th: 14 players
  • 6th/7th: 6 players
  • Undrafted: 14 players

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

  • Packers vs. Lions
  • All-time, Regular season: 98-68-7
  • All-time, Postseason:2-0
  • All-time, at Lambeau:33-11-3
  • Streaks: The Packers have won three straight and nine of the last 12 against the Lions. Green Bay is 39-13 against Detroit since the start of the 1992 season.
  • Last meeting, regular season:Jan. 1, 2017; Packers won, 31-24, Ford Field

COACHES CAPSULES

  • Mike McCarthy: 128-72-1, .639 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 12th NFL season
  • Jim Caldwell: 58-51-0, .532 (incl. 2-4 postseason); 7th NFL season
  • Head to Head:McCarthy 4-2
  • vs. Opponent:McCarthy 18-4 vs. Lions; Caldwell 2-4 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.

JIM CALDWELL…Is in his fourth year as the Lions' 23rd head coach.

  • Had 23 wins in his first three seasons as the Lions' head coach, the most in any head coach's first three seasons in Detroit history.
  • Joined Buddy Parker and Bobby Ross as the third coach in Lions history to lead their teams to two playoff appearances in their first three years.
  • Became the first coach in franchise history to win 11 games in his first year since 1931 when the team was the Portsmouth Spartans.
  • Coached Indianapolis to 14 wins and an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV in his first season as head coach (2009).
  • As Baltimore's offensive coordinator, coached Ravens QB Joe Flacco to become the second QB in NFL history to throw 11 TDs and 0 INTs en route to a Super Bowl title in a postseason (Montana, 1989).

THE PACKERS-LIONS SERIES

  • Last season's Week 17 matchup gave the Packers franchise their 100th win (including playoffs) against the Lions franchise. Green Bay's 100 victories against Detroit are the club's most against any one opponent.
  • Green Bay won 29 of the first 38 matchups in the series before the Lions' 11 straight wins over a six-year 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.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers LB Nick Perry is from Detroit...Green Bay WR Jeff Janis played at Saginaw Valley State and grew up in Tawas City, Mich. ...Packers LS Taybor Pepper is from Saline, Mich., and played at Michigan State…Green Bay S Josh Jones attended Walled Lake Western High School in Walled Lake, Mich. …Green Bay LB Jake Ryan played at Michigan from 2011-14...Lions G T.J. Lang originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Packers in 2009 and spent eight seasons in Green Bay…Lang was a member of Green Bay's Super Bowl XLV-winning squad…Detroit WR Jared Abbrederis is a Wautoma, Wis., native, played collegiately at Wisconsin and was the Packers' fifth-round draft pick in 2014...Detroit head coach Jim Caldwell was inducted into the Beloit (Wis.) Memorial High School Hall of Fame in 2011...Caldwell was also inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013...Detroit T Rick Wagner is from West Allis, Wis., and was a team captain while starting 37 games during his college career at Wisconsin…Lions LB Nick Bellore is a Whitefish Bay, Wis., native…Packers defensive front assistant Jerry Montgomery (2011-12) coached for the Wolverines...Green Bay defensive line coach Mike Trgovac played and was a graduate assistant at Michigan...Green Bay running backs coach Ben Sirmans coached from 2005-06 at Michigan State...Packers wide receivers coach Luke Getsy coached at Western Michigan in 2013…Packers secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry (2003-06) worked with Detroit assistant defensive line coach Matt Raich in Pittsburgh...Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin coached in Seattle from 2003-04 when Packers executive vice president, general manager & director of football operations Ted Thompson was the Seahawks' vice president of football operations…Lions defensive backs/cornerbacks coach Tony Oden (2004-05) and special teams coordinator Joe Marciano (2002-05) coached in Houston when Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the Texans' head coach...Capers and Marciano coached in New Orleans from 1986-91...Lions T Greg Robinson and Packers TE Lance Kendricks were teammates for three seasons with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams…Green Bay TE Martellus Bennett and Detroit DE Cornelius Washington played together in Chicago from 2013-15…Packers LB Ahmad Brooks, DT Quinton Dial and Bellore teamed together in San Francisco for two seasons with the 49ers…Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio worked in Tampa Bay with Oden (2013) and Lions linebackers coach Bill Sheridan (2012-13)...Angelichio coached in Cleveland with Lions offensive line – quality control coach Michael McCarthy in 2015...Lions running backs coach David Walker coached at Pittsburgh with Angelichio (2006-10) and Getsy (2010)...Packers special teams coordinator Ron Zook coached Detroit S Tavon Wilson and LB Akeem Spence at Illinois while Zook was the Illini's head coach...Packers WR Jordy Nelson was coached at Kansas State by Lions assistant head coach/offensive line Ron Prince (2006-07) and assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons (2007)...Detroit WRs coach Robert Prince was Colorado's passing game coordinator in 2010 when he coached Green Bay T David Bakhtiari...Lions quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan coached Bakhtiari at Junipero Serra High (San Mateo, Calif.) in 2008…Lions offensive assistant – special projects George Godsey coached at Central Florida while Packers G Justin McCray played for the Knights…Packers P Justin Vogel played at Miami when Lions TEs coach Al Golden was the Hurricanes' head coach…Golden was also Ahmad Brooks' defensive coordinator during his collegiate career at Virginia…Abbrederis was collegiate teammates with Kendricks (2010) and LB Vince Biegel (2012-13) with the Badgers…Other notable college teammates include: Robinson and Packers DT Montravius Adams (Auburn), Packers WR Davante Adams and Lions S Charles Washington (Fresno State), Detroit DT A'Shawn Robinson and Green Bay S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama), Packers RB Jamaal Williams and Lions DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU), Packers TE Richard Rodgers and Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr. (California), Ryan and Lions C Graham Glasgow (Michigan), Detroit T Taylor Decker and Green Bay C Corey Linsley (Ohio State), Lions CB Nevin Lawson, Packers S Marwin Evans and LB Kyler Fackrell (Utah State) and Packers CB Kevin King and Lions RB Dwayne Washington (Washington).

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