The Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins will square off this Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Wild Card round.
Green Bay last played on the road in the Wild Card round during the 2010 playoffs, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-16. It was also the last time the Packers played on the road against an NFC East team in the postseaosn.
The Packers are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs for the third time (1998, 2009) since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.
The Packers are making their 31st postseason appearance, tied with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants for the most in the NFL.
Green Bay set a franchise record by appearing in the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year (2009-15). The Packers join the New England Patriots as the only teams to make the postseason each of the past seven seasons. Both teams join Houston (1987-93) and San Francisco 1992-98) for the seventh-longest postseason streak in NFL history (Nine: Dallas, 1975-83 / Indianapolis, 2002-10; Eight: Dallas, 1966-1973 / Pittsburgh, 1972-79/ L.A. Rams, 1973-80 / San Francisco, 1983-90).
Green Bay is 31-20 all-time in the postseason. The Packers’ 31 wins are the second most in the NFL behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (33-22). Green Bay’s .608 postseason winning percentage ranks No. 3 in NFL history (Baltimore, 15-8, .652 / New England, 28-18, .609).
The Packers’ 51 postseason games played are the third most in the NFL, trailing only Pittsburgh (55) and Dallas (60).
The Packers and Redskins will meet in the postseason for the third time. They last met in the playoffs in an NFC Divisional game at Washington in 1972, a 16-3 Redskins victory. The only other meeting was in the NFL Championship in 1936 when the Washington franchise was located in Boston. The game was played in New York and Green Bay won, 21-6.
The Packers have won an NFL-record eight Wild Card games (1982, 1993-95, 2001, 2003, 2010, 2012), including two under Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
The Packers are 2-2 in Wild Card playoff games during the McCarthy era.
QB Aaron Rodgers started his first Wild Card game in 2009 at Arizona and recorded the second-most passing yards (423) in NFL Wild Card history (Drew Brees, 466 in 2011 vs. Detroit). The Packers lost to the Cardinals in overtime, 51-45, but the 96 combined points were the most in a single Wild Card game in NFL history.
Rodgers has a 101.0 passer rating in the postseason, No. 3 in NFL history (min. 150 att.) behind Kurt Warner (102.8) and Bart Starr (104.8).
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 22nd season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game to a national audience.
Play-by-play man Joe Buck joins color commentator Troy Aikman and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Chris Myers.
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 (color) call the action. McCarren first joined the team’s broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 21st season calling Packers’ games. McCarren has four times been voted Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 17th season of broadcasts together.
Westwood One Sports will air the game across the country. Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Boomer Esiason (analyst) will call the action with Tony Boselli reporting from the sidelines and Scott Graham hosting pre-game and halftime shows.
The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
NOTES ON THE REGULAR SEASON
The Packers earned the 750th total victory in franchise history this season. Green Bay is 751-567-37 and joined the Chicago Bears as the only teams in NFL history to reach 750 total wins.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy has now led Green Bay to seven seasons with 10-plus regular-season wins, the most in franchise history (since 1921).
McCarthy is the 10th coach to record seven-or-more 10-win seasons in their first 10 years as an NFL head coach (Don Shula, Marty Schottenheimer, Chuck Knox, Joe Gibbs, Bud Grant, Tony Dungy, Mike Ditka, George Seifert, Bill Walsh).
Green Bay posted eight zero-turnover games during the 2015 regular season, tied for No. 1 (2009) in franchise history (since 1933).
The Packers finished the regular season 7-5 against NFC teams. It was the eighth regular season since 2006 that Green Bay finished with seven-plus wins against NFC opponents.
Dating back to 1963, the Packers’ three six-plus sack games during the regular season tied a single-season franchise record (1966, 1978, 1991).
The Packers had four players with 50-plus receptions for only the third time (1983, 2002) since 1940.
OFFENSE
QB Aaron Rodgers reached 30 passing touchdowns (31) during the regular season for the fifth time in his career. He ranks second in team history behind Brett Favre's eight. Rodgers’ five 30-plus passing touchdown seasons since 2009 are tied for the second most in the NFL over that time span (NE Tom Brady and IND/DEN Peyton Manning, five / NO Drew Brees, seven).
Rodgers only threw eight interceptions, marking his fifth season with 500-plus attempts/eight or fewer interceptions. He has five of the 13 seasons in NFL history (Tom Brady - three / Aaron Brooks, Marc Bulger, Jason Campbell, Brett Favre, Alex Smith - one).
Rodgers finished with 344 rushing yards, the second-highest total of his career (356 in 2010).
WR Randall Cobb has recorded a reception in 56 consecutive regular-season games, the fifth-longest streak in franchise history. He trails WR James Lofton (58, 1979-1983) for the fourth longest.
WR James Jones finished the regular season with a team-high 102 yards on four receptions (25.5 avg.) against Minnesota, giving him a single-season career-best three games with 100-plus receiving yards.
Jones set a career high with 890 receiving yards on 50 receptions, his fourth consecutive season with 50-plus catches.
Dating back to 1991, Jones’ 15 receptions for 25-plus yards tied the fourth-most in a single regular season by a Green Bay player (Jordy Nelson , 19 in 2013, 16 in 2011 / Greg Jennings, 16 in 2010).
TE Richard Rodgers hauled in 58 receptions for 510 yards (8.8 avg.) and eight touchdowns. He became only the fourth tight end in team history with 55-plus receptions in a season: Jermichael Finley (three), Paul Coffman (two), Jackie Harris (one).
Rodgers has 10 career receiving touchdowns, tied for the most by a Green Bay tight end in his first two seasons since the 1970 merger (Bubba Franks, 10, 2000-01).
RB Eddie Lacy finished the season with three 100-yard rushing games. He has recorded three or more 100-yard rushing games in each of his three NFL seasons (three in 2014 and four in 2013).
With 3,075 rushing yards, Lacy is one of only two players in team history (RB John Brockington, 3,276) to rush for 3,000-plus yards in his first three seasons in the NFL.
RB James Starks set new career bests in receptions (43), receiving yards (392) and receiving touchdowns (three) this season.
Starks recorded 100-plus yards from scrimmage four times during the regular season. His 993 yards from scrimmage were a new career high, surpassing the 794 yards in 2011.
With 601 rushing yards, Starks surpassed his single-season career high of 578 yards from 2011.
Lacy (758) and Starks (601) gave the Packers two players with 600-plus rushing yards in the same season for the first time since 1985 (Jessie Clark-633 / Eddie Lee Ivery-636).
Starks (993) and Lacy (946) each recorded over 900 yards from scrimmage, making the Packers one of three teams in the NFL with two running backs with 900-plus yards from scrimmage (Denver and Tampa Bay).
DEFENSE
LB Clay Matthews finished second on the team with 85 tackles, eclipsing his previous career high of 83 tackles (2010).
Matthews finished second on the team with 6.5 sacks this season. It was the seventh consecutive season he recorded six or more sacks, tying him with LB Julius Peppers , KC LB Tamba Hali and DEN LB DeMarcus Ware for the most six-plus sack seasons in the NFL since 2009.
Peppers led the team with 10.5 sacks during the regular season. Dating back to last season (including playoffs), Peppers has 15.0 sacks in the last 20 games.
Peppers recorded his ninth season with 10-plus sacks, which tied John Randle for the fourth-most 10-sack seasons since 1982 (Bruce Smith, 13 / Reggie White, 12 / Kevin Greene, 10).
Peppers tied Jared Allen (136.0) for No. 9 on the all-time sacks list (since 1982). He trails both Richard Dent and John Randle (137.5) for the seventh most.
DB Micah Hyde , CB Damarious Randall and CB Sam Shields tied for the team lead with three interceptions each. It was the first time Green Bay had three players with three or more interceptions in the same regular season since 2011, when they had six.
SPECIAL TEAMS
P Tim Masthay finished the regular season with a net punting average of 40.25 yards, the top mark in franchise history (since 1976) as he surpassed his own record of 38.95 in 2013. He now holds the top five single-season marks in team annals (2010-13, 2015).
Masthay averaged 44.9 net yards per punt from Week 13-16, No. 1 in the NFL over that span. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the best by a Green Bay punter over a four-game stretch in a single season (min. four punts per game) since net punting began to be tracked in 1976.
From Week 13-15, Masthay became the first Packers punter to post a net average of 44-plus yards (min. four punts) in three straight games (according to the Elias Sports Bureau).
The Packers led the league in opponent punt return average (4.2) during the regular season. It was the best by a Green Bay team since 1969 (3.4 avg.).
K Mason Crosby was one of five players (min. 25 att.) to connect on all extra points this season. Among those five, his 36 attempts were the second most (NE Stephen Gostkowski, 52-52).
Crosby recorded 108 points, giving him the ninth 100-point season of his career and passing with Ryan Longwell (1997-2004) for the franchise record.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:
Packers at Redskins:
All-time, regular season: 18-13-1
All-time, postseason: 1-1
All-time, in Washington: 4-8-0 (includes one postseason meeting)
Streaks: The Packers have won five of the last six meetings.
Last meeting, postseason: Dec. 24, 1972, at Washington; Redskins won, 16-3
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 111-61-1, .642, (incl. 7-6 postseason); 10th NFL season
Jay Gruden: 13-19-0, .406, Second NFL season
Head to Head: 0-0
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 2-1 vs. Redskins; Gruden 0-0 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 10th year as the Packers’ 14th head coach.
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.
Led the Packers to their seventh consecutive playoff appearance this season, joining New England as the only two NFL teams to do so over that span. Has also led the team to eight playoff appearances and seven double-digit win seasons in the last 10 years (2007, 2009-2015).
Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight seasons (2007-14).
His .653 winning percentage during the regular season (104-55-1) is ranked second among active NFL coaches (min. 50 games).
Was named Packers head coach on Jan. 12, 2006, his first head-coaching job after 13 years as an NFL assistant.
JAY GRUDEN…Is in his second year as the Redskins’ 29th head coach.
Helped Washington capture its first NFC East division championship under his reign this season, after winning four of the last five games and finishing with a 9-7 record.
Hired by the Redskins in 2014, becoming the team’s youngest head coaching hire since eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs (age 40, 1981) and the first Redskins coach hired directly from an offensive coordinator role on another team since Norv Turner in 1994.
Prior to joining the Redskins, he spent his previous three seasons as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals where they averaged 10 wins a season, making three consecutive playoff appearances and earning an AFC North championship in 2013.
Produced seven Pro Bowl selections on offense in his three seasons in Cincinnati.
Spent seven seasons (2002-08) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning a Super Bowl championship ring as an offensive assistant in 2002.
THE PACKERS-REDSKINS SERIES
The Packers first met the Redskins (then Boston Braves) in 1932, five days after Franklin D. Roosevelt won his first presidential election.
The two clubs met several times in the early years, most memorably in the 1936 NFL championship game. That year, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, upset with his fans’ lack of support, was moving his team to Washington and didn’t want to host the championship in Boston. So, the NFL moved the game to New York’s Polo Grounds, where Green Bay claimed its fourth title, 21-6.
In the other playoff meeting in the series, an NFC Divisional game on Christmas Eve 1972, Bill Kilmer hit Roy Jefferson on a 32-yard TD pass, and Curt Knight kicked three FGs in a 16-3 Washington win, spoiling the Packers’ Central Division crown.
The Packers and Redskins played the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history on Oct. 17, 1983, at Lambeau Field, in a game that featured 11 TDs and six FGs in the 48-47 Green Bay win.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy played eight seasons (1977-84) with the Redskins, serving as co-captain from 1980-84, playing on the Super Bowl XVII championship team, and earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 1983...Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball spent the 2001 season as director of football administration for the Redskins…Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac held the same position with the Redskins for two seasons (2000-01)...Packers secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry was born in Norfolk, Va. ...Packers longsnapper Rick Lovato went to Old Dominion University...Redskins General Manager Scot McCloughan was a scout for Green Bay from 1994-99...Redskins CB Will Blackmon was a fourth round pick by the Packers in the 2006 NFL Draft and played for Green Bay from 2006-09...Redskins offensive assistant Aubrey Pleasant played safety at the University of Wisconsin from 2005-08, while Redskins offensive line coach Bill Callahan coached the offensive line from 1990-94... Callahan coached alongside Trgovac while the two were in Philadelphia from 1995-97... Redskins defensive coordinator Joe Barry was Packers linebacker Nick Perry ’s position coach at USC from 2010-11…Barry, Redskins assistant special teams coach Bradford Banta and Packers running backs coach Sam Gash were on the same staff in Detroit from 2007-08…Banta played tight end and long snapper for the Bills in 2004 while Packers associate head coach/offense Tom Clements was the offensive coordinator…Redskins quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh and assistant offensive line coach Shane Day both coached with the Bears (separate times) while Packers linebacker Julius Peppers was with the team…Cavanaugh was the offensive coordinator for the Ravens while Gash was his fullback…Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett also played under Cavanaugh while the two were in Chicago from 1997-98…Packers assistant offensive line coach Mike Solari served in the same role in San Francisco while Cavanaugh was the quarterbacks coach…Redskins defensive backs coach Perry Fewell was the defensive coordinator for the Bills from 2006-09 while Packers quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Alex Van Pelt was the offensive quality control/quarterbacks coach…Fewell coached defensive backs under Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers while he served in the same role in Jacksonville…Capers served as the head coach of the Texans while Redskins offensive quality control coach Dave Ragone played quarterback…Redskins running backs coach Randy Jordan played running back for the L.A. Raiders in 1993 while Packers associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss played linebacker...Some college connections include: Packers DT B.J. Raji and Redskins CB Will Blackmon (Boston College), Packers WR Davante Adams and Redskins TE Marcel Jensen (Fresno State), Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and RB Eddie Lacy and Redskins G Arie Kouandjio (Alabama), Packers S Chris Banjo and Redskins C/G Josh LeRibeus (Southern Methodist), Packers CB Damarious Randall and Redskins WR Rashad Ross (Arizona State), and Packers FB Aaron Ripkowski and Redskins P Tress Way (Oklahoma).
LAST MEETING
Sept. 15, 2013, at Lambeau Field; Packers won, 38-20.
QB Aaron Rodgers completed 34 of 42 pass attempts for 480 yards and four TDs (146.0 passer rating).
WRs James Jones and Randall Cobb combined for 20 catches, 306 yards and one TD.
QB Robert Griffin III passed for 320 yards, three TDs and one INT on 26-of-40 pass attempts (104.2 passer rating).
WR Pierre Garcon logged eight receptions for 143 yards (17.9 avg.) and one score.
so we know you haven't lost you mind