The Green Bay Packers will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. It begins a stretch of facing four teams from the NFC in the final five regular season games.
The Packers are 31-21-1 against the former divisional foe in the regular season and 1-0 in the postseason.
From 1977-2001, Green Bay and Tampa Bay were in the NFC Central, playing multiple times a season each year except for in 1977 and 1987 when they faced each other once and they did not play during the strike-shortened season of 1982.
Green Bay has won both of the past two meetings, including the last game at Lambeau, a 35-26 win in 2011.
Including the postseason, the Packers are 19-7 at home against the Buccaneers.
Dating back to 1990, Green Bay is 14-1 at home versus Tampa Bay (including playoffs).
Each of the last six home contests against the Buccaneers have been decided by single digits, including four by three or fewer points.
It is Tampa Bay’s first December trip to Lambeau since 2000, a 17-14 overtime victory by Green Bay on December 24.
The Packers have registered a takeaway in 10 of 11 games this season, including each of the last nine.
Green Bay is tied for No. 1 in the NFL in games with atleast one takeaway this season.
Green Bay has won the turnover battle in six of the last eight games, recording a turnover margin of plus-seven over that span.
Next week, the Packers start a run of three road games in the next four weeks with a trip to Cleveland. It is the first time since 2009 that Green Bay will finish the regular season with three of the final four games taking place on the road.
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 24th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
Play-by-play man Tim Brando joins analyst Greg Jennings and sideline reporter Jennifer Hale.
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. John Sadak (play-by-play) and Ross Tucker (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).
DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 713.
BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
The Packers currently have a 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, 33 of them (62.3 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 15 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with 10 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 the 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 18 of the 53 players on the roster (34.0 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 Dec. 3)
21-24: 26 players
25-28: 20 players
29-32: 3 players
33-plus: 4 players
BY EXPERIENCE
R-1: 15 players
2-3: 17 players
4-5: 9 players
6-9: 7 players
10-plus: 5 players
BY DRAFT ROUND
1st: 5 players
2nd/3rd: 13 players
4th/5th: 15 players
6th/7th: 5 players
Undrafted: 15 players
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Buccaneers
All-time, Regular season: 31-21-1
All-time, postseason: 1-0
All-time, at Lambeau: 16-5
Streaks: Green Bay has won the last two matchups.
Last meeting, regular season: Dec. 21, 2014, at Raymond James Stadium; Packers won, 20-3.
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 129-75-1, .632 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 9th NFL season
Dirk Koetter: 13-14, .481 (incl. 0-0 postseason); 2nd NFL season
Head to Head: 0-0
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 2-2 vs. Buccaneers; Koetter 0-0 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.
DIRK KOETTER …Is in his second year as the Buccaneers’ 11th head coach.
Koetter led Tampa Bay to nine wins in his first season, the club’s most victories since 2010.
In Koetter’s first season, he helped to develop Jameis Winston, a year in which the quarterback set franchise records in yards and touchdowns.
Prior to joining Tampa Bay, Koetter was the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2015 with previous roles as offensive coordinator in Jacksonville and Atlanta, beginning in 2007.
A college head coach for nearly 10 seasons, Koetter’s first head-coaching job was at Boise State, followed by six seasons at Arizona State.
THE PACKERS-BUCCANEERS SERIES
Sunday marks the 55th overall meeting between these former NFC Central rivals. They launched the series in 1977, when the expansion Bucs moved to the Packers’ division after an inaugural 1976 campaign in the AFC West.
Including a 1997 playoff win, the Packers have a 32-21-1 edge. Since the Bucs shifted to the NFC South before the 2002 season, Tampa has won four of the last seven, with Green Bay winning two straight.
From the second meeting in 1992 through the first meeting in 1998, the Packers won 12 of 13 contests. The Bucs’ lone win in that stretch came in overtime (Dec. 10, 1995).
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers assistant head coach/LBs Winston Moss was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft and played four seasons in Tampa Bay…Packers senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith played for the Buccaneers for the final two seasons of his NFL career…Both Moss and Highsmith are from Miami and played at the University of Miami...Packers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt served in the same position with the Bucs from 2010-11…Packers with ties to Florida include WR Geronimo Allison (Riverview), S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Orlando), G Justin McCray (Miami and Central Florida), CB Damarious Randall (Pensacola), P Justin Vogel (Tampa and the University of Miami) and director of football operations Eliot Wolf (University of Miami)...Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett played fullback at Florida State and was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame…Packers special teams coordinator Ron Zook was an assistant coach at the University of Florida from 1991-95 and the head coach from 2002-04…Green Bay TEs coach Brian Angelichio held the same title in Tampa Bay from 2012-13…Buccaneers C Evan Smith played for the Packers from 2009-2013...Tampa Bay TEs coach Ben Steele played for Green Bay from 2004-05...Buccaneers LBs coach Mark Duffner held the same title with the Packers from 2003-05…Tampa Bay defensive line coach Jay Hayes coached on the University of Wisconsin staff from 1995-98...Hayes was a special teams coach with the Steelers while Packers assistant special teams coach Jason Simmons played for Pittsburgh…Hayes would go on to be the DL coach of the Bengals while Packers LB Ahmad Brooks played in Cincinnati…Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers while Bucs offensive line coach George Warhop worked in the same position...Buccaneers P Bryan Anger and Packers CB Davon House were teammates with the Jaguars in 2015…Packers defensive quality control coach Tim McGarigle and Buccaneers QB Ryan Fitzpatrick teamed together with the St. Louis Rams in 2006…The following year, Fitzpatrick would go on to play for Cincinnati, where he was a teammate of Brooks…After his time with the Bengals, Fitzpatrick would play for the Bills where Van Pelt was his offensive coordinator in 2009…Additionally, Tampa Bay LS Garrison Sanborn was on the Buffalo roster in 2009 while Van Pelt was on the coaching staff…Green Bay secondary – cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. was Tampa Bay CB Brent Grimes’ assistant position coach in Atlanta in 2007…Bucs LB Cameron Lynch and Packers TE Lance Kendricks played together with the St. Louis Rams in 2015…Packers G Jahri Evans and Buccaneers DE Darryl Tapp were on the same Saints roster in 2016…Packers DL coach Mike Trgovac and Buccaneers offensive coordinator/WR coach Todd Monken were on the same Notre Dame staff in 1992…Zook was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State while Bucs strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy was the Buckeyes’ head strength coach…Kennedy would go on to hold the same title at the University of Pittsburgh while Packers WRs coach Luke Getsy and ILBs coach Scott McCurley were playing for the Panthers…Warhop played at the University of Cincinnati while Zook was the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator from 1981-82…Packers secondary – safeties coach Darren Perry got his start in coaching in 2002 as the safeties coach under Duffner when he was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator…Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers held the same title in Jacksonville while Tampa assistant DL coach Paul Spicer played for the Jaguars…Capers would then be named head coach of the Houston Texans and Tampa secondary coach Jon Hoke was Capers’ defensive backs coach from 2002-05…Hoke was also Simmons’ position coach for four seasons in Houston…Prior to his time in Houston, Capers was Tampa defensive backs coach Brett Maxie’s position coach with the New Orleans Saints…Maxie also teamed with Packers OL coach James Campen for two seasons in New Orleans…Maxie would go on to play for the Carolina Panthers from 1995-96, where Capers was his head coach…Maxie got his start in coaching as a quality control & DBs coach on Capers’ staff in Carolina in 1998…Maxie would again work on Capers’ staff in 2007 with the Dolphins…Steele was a graduate assistant at Colorado during Packers T David Bakhtiari ’s freshman season with the Buffaloes…Former college teammates include: Clinton-Dix and Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard (Alabama), Anger and Packers TE Richard Rodgers (California), McCray and Buccaneers CB Josh Robinson (Central Florida), Green Bay FB Aaron Ripkowski and Tampa LB Devante Boyd (Oklahoma), Buccaneers OL Caleb Benenoch, Packers DT Kenny Clark and QB Brett Hundley (UCLA) and Packers G/T Adam Pankey , Buccaneers DE Will Clarke and RB Charles Sims (West Virginia).
