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VIKINGS AT PACKERS – NFC WILD CARD<br />
ON THE ROAD AGAIN<br />
Green Bay went 7-1 away from Lambeau Field in 2011, with the seven road<br />
wins setting a single-season franchise record.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Packers have been able to stay above the .500 mark on the road<br />
during Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s tenure, a notable achievement<br />
in the National Football League.<br />
Since 2006, McCarthy’s first season as the head coach in Green Bay,<br />
only 10 of 32 <strong>NFL</strong> teams have regular-season road records above .500.<br />
Team W-L Record Pct.<br />
1. New England 41-15-0 .732<br />
2. N.Y. Giants 34-22-0 .607<br />
3. New Orleans 33-23-0 .589<br />
4t. Green Bay 32-24-0 .571<br />
4t. Indianapolis 32-24-0 .571<br />
6. Philadelphia 31-24-1 .563<br />
7. Dallas 31-25-0 .554<br />
8t. Pittsburgh, San Diego 30-26-0 .536<br />
10. Chicago 29-27-0 .518<br />
309 AND COUNTING<br />
Another packed house at Lambeau Field against the Titans in Week 16<br />
brought the stadium’s consecutive sellouts streak to 310 games (293<br />
regular season, 17 playoffs).<br />
<strong>The</strong> league’s longest-tenured stadium, Lambeau Field is hosting its<br />
56th season of football in 2012. A total of 636,177 fans made their way<br />
through the turnstiles for the nine home contests last season.<br />
Across American professional sports, only Boston’s Fenway Park (1912)<br />
and Chicago’s Wrigley Field (1914) have longer tenures.<br />
THE LAMBEAU ADVANTAGE<br />
<strong>The</strong> crown jewel of the National Football League, Lambeau Field has long<br />
been known as one of the tougher venues to play in, particularly during the<br />
harsh Wisconsin winter.<br />
Re-establishing home-field advantage after a 4-4 mark in 2008 was one<br />
of the goals of 2009, and with the Packers finishing 6-2 at home, they<br />
ac<strong>com</strong>plished that goal. Green Bay followed that up with a 7-1 mark at<br />
Lambeau Field in 2010, a perfect 8-0 record in 2011, the first undefeated<br />
home mark since 2002, and a 7-1 mark this season.<br />
Head Coach Mike McCarthy stated consistently upon his arrival in<br />
Green Bay that one of the team’s goals would be to reclaim the mystique<br />
of playing at Lambeau Field. Mission ac<strong>com</strong>plished. <strong>The</strong> team is 41-9<br />
(.820) at home over the past 50 regular-season games.<br />
Since Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren began the revitalization of the<br />
franchise in 1992, Green Bay owns the best home record in the <strong>NFL</strong>. A<br />
look at the top regular-season home W-L records since the ’92 season:<br />
Team W-L Record Pct.<br />
1. Green Bay 129-39-0 .768<br />
2. Pittsburgh 121-46-1 .723<br />
3. New England 117-51-0 .696<br />
4. Baltimore (since ’96) 94-41-1 .695<br />
5. Denver 116-52-0 .690<br />
HOT AT HOME<br />
<strong>The</strong> Packers’ win over Dallas at Lambeau in Week 10 of 2009 was the first<br />
step to a 7-1 finish and a playoff berth for Green Bay.<br />
Since that victory, the Packers have been one of the best teams in the<br />
league at home. Green Bay’s lone defeats since then came to Miami in<br />
2010 in Week 6 and in the 2012 season opener vs. San Francisco:<br />
Team W-L Record Pct.<br />
1. Green Bay 26-2-0 .929<br />
2. New England 24-3-0 .889<br />
3. Baltimore 24-4-0 .857<br />
IN THE FREE-AGENCY ERA<br />
Talk of unrestricted free agency in the early ’90s led many to forecast tough<br />
times for the small-town Green Bay Packers.<br />
However, Green Bay has remained among the most successful teams<br />
since the advent of free agency in 1993. <strong>The</strong> Packers have won 10 or<br />
more games 13 times since ’93 and captured nine division crowns.<br />
A look at the most successful teams in the free-agency era:<br />
Team W-L Since ’93 Pct. Playoff Berths<br />
1. New England 210-110-0 .656 14<br />
2. Green Bay 205-115-0 .641 15<br />
3. Pittsburgh 201-118-1 .630 13<br />
4t. Denver 187-133-0 .584 10<br />
4t. Indianapolis 187-133-0 .584 14<br />
IN THE LEAGUE RANKINGS, 2012<br />
GREEN BAY (Team)<br />
Category<br />
NFC <strong>NFL</strong><br />
Turnover Margin (+7) . . . . . . . . 7 10<br />
Points Scored (27.1). . . . . . . . . 3 5<br />
Points Allowed (21.0) . . . . . . . . 5 11<br />
Total Offense (359.4) . . . . . . . . 9 13<br />
Rushing (106.4) . . . . . . . . . 11 20<br />
Passing (253.1) . . . . . . . . . . 5 9<br />
Total Defense (336.8) . . . . . . . . 5 11<br />
vs. Rush (118.5) . . . . . . . . 10 17<br />
vs. Pass (218.3) . . . . . . . . . . 6 11<br />
Third-Down Offense (42.3%) . . 6 9<br />
Third-Down Defense (38.1%) . . 7 15<br />
Red-Zone Offense (68.1%). . . . 2 3<br />
Red-Zone Defense (61.7%) . . 16 29<br />
GREEN BAY (Individual)<br />
Category<br />
NFC <strong>NFL</strong><br />
Passing: Rodgers (108.0). . . . . 1 1<br />
Rushing: Green (464) . . . . . . . 21 38<br />
Receptions: Cobb (80) . . . . . . . . .11 17<br />
Rec. Yds.: Cobb (954) . . . . . . 15 24<br />
MINNESOTA (Team)<br />
Category<br />
NFC <strong>NFL</strong><br />
Turnover Margin (-1) . . . . . . 11T 17T<br />
Points Scored (23.7). . . . . . . . . 9 14<br />
Points Allowed (21.8) . . . . . . . 7T 14T<br />
Total Offense (336.6) . . . . . . . 13 20<br />
Rushing (164.6) . . . . . . . . . . 2 2<br />
Passing (171.9) . . . . . . . . . 16 31<br />
Total Defense (350.0) . . . . . . . 10 16<br />
vs. Rush (105.8) . . . . . . . . . 6 11<br />
vs. Pass (244.3) . . . . . . . . . 12 24<br />
Third-Down Offense (37.1%) . 10 19<br />
Third-Down Defense (41.3%). 14 27<br />
Red-Zone Offense (53.8%). . . 10 18<br />
Red-Zone Defense (60.8%) . . .14 27<br />
MINNESOTA (Individual)<br />
Category<br />
NFC <strong>NFL</strong><br />
Passing: Ponder (81.2). . . . . . 12 21<br />
Rushing: Peterson (2,097) . . . . 1 1<br />
Receptions: Harvin (62) . . . . . 25 42T<br />
Rec. Yds.: Harvin (677) . . . . 31T --<br />
Interceptions: Hayward (6) . . . 5T 5T Interceptions: Smith/Winfield (3) .17T 29T<br />
Sacks: Matthews (13.0) . . . . . . 2 4 Sacks: Allen (12.0) . . . . . . . . . . 4 8<br />
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