GREEN BAY (5-6) VS HOUSTON (6-5)
Sunday, Dec. 4 l Lambeau Field l 12 p.m. CST
This will be the fourth overall meeting between the two franchises. Green Bay holds a 2-1 advantage in the series.
The two teams last played in 2012, a 42-24 Green Bay victory.
Sunday will be the Texans’ second visit to Green Bay, having previously won, 24-21, in 2008.
Two of the three matchups were decided by three points.
Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the first head coach of the Houston Texans (2001-05).
Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Packers are 8-5 in games played the week after appearing on Monday Night Football, including wins in six of the last eight.
QB Aaron Rodgers has multiple passing touchdowns in six straight games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL (Marcus Mariota, eight).
Green Bay has had one or more players register 10-plus receptions and/or 100-plus receiving yards in eight of the last nine games.
The Packers have scored 23 or more points in eight of the last nine games. Dating back to Week 3, they are tied for the second-most 23-plus point games in the NFL (Atlanta Falcons), trailing only the Dallas Cowboys, who have nine (according to pro-football-reference.com).
The Packers will finish the regular season with four games against NFC foes, including the last three against division opponents.
Next week, Green Bay will welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Lambeau Field. Including the postseason, it will be the fifth time the two teams have played since 2012. The Packers beat the Seahawks at home last season, 27-17.
GREEN BAY IN DECEMBER
Dating back to 2014, Green Bay has won six of the eight games it has played in December. The Packers’ six December wins since 2014 are tied for the fourth most in the NFL, trailing the seven wins by Carolina, PIttsburgh and Seattle.
Under McCarthy, the Packers are 29-13 (.690) in the month of December, No. 3 in the NFL.
Green Bay is 18-3 (.857) at home in the month of December under McCarthy, tied with New England for No. 1 in the NFL since 2006.
In eight of 10 seasons under McCarthy, including each of the last five, Green Bay has won three-plus games and lost just one in the month of December.
QB Aaron Rodgers has started 29 total games in the month of December, recording a passer rating of 101.4, No. 4 in the NFL (min. 268 att.) among active quarterbacks since 2008. His 59 passing touchdowns in the month of December rank No. 3 in the NFL since 2008.
Sunday will be Green Bay’s first noon home game in December since Week 14 vs. Atlanta in 2013 (Dec. 8).
WITH THE CALL
CBS will broadcast the game to a regional audience with play-by-play man Jim Nantz and analyst Phil Simms handling the call from the broadcast booth and Tracy Wolfson 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 22nd season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 18th season of broadcasts together.
ESPN Radio will air the game on radio across the country. Mark Kestecher (play-by-play) and Mark Schlereth (analyst) will call the action.
The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 707.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Texans:
All-time, Regular season: 2-1-0
All-time, Postseason: 0-0
All-time, in Green Bay: 0-1-0
Streaks: The teams have alternated wins since the beginning of the series in 2004.
Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 14, 2012; Packers won, 42-24, Reliant Stadium
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 117-68-1, .632 (incl. 8-7 postseason); 11th NFL season
Bill O’Brien: 24-20-0, .545 (incl. 0-1 postseason); 3rd NFL season
Head to Head: Tied 0-0
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 1-1 vs. Texans; O’Brien 0-0 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 11th 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 last 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 in the last nine years (2007, 2009-15).
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.
His .640 winning percentage during the regular season (109-61-1) ranks No. 3 among active NFL head coaches (min. 50 games).
Had 104 regular-season wins in his first 10 seasons as a head coach, ranking No. 3 in NFL history.
BILL O’BRIEN…Is in his third year as the Texans’ third head coach.
Coached WR DeAndre Hopkins to become the third-youngest player in NFL history to reach 200 receptions and 3,000 receiving yards.
Guided the Texans to a 9-7 record in his first season (2014), making Houston the sixth team since 1978 to post a winning season following a year with two or fewer victories.
In 2015, led Houston to another 9-7 record, winning the AFC South.
Coordinated a New England offense that scored 32.1 points per game and gained 428.0 yards per game in 2011.
Despite scholarship reductions and postseason ban, led Penn State to an 8-4 record in 2012, his first season as head coach.
THE PACKERS-TEXANS SERIES
This will be just the fourth meeting between the clubs since the Texans entered the NFL as an expansion club in 2002.
The first meeting came in a nationally televised Sunday night contest at Reliant Stadium in Houston, one that the Packers won, 16-13, on a 46-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell as time expired.
Houston native and longtime Packers WR Donald Driver led Green Bay with 10 catches for 148 yards (14.8 avg.) and QB Brett Favre threw for 383 yards in the win.
The second meeting, which is the only other at Lambeau Field, saw another game-winning field goal as time expired, this time by Houston’s Kris Brown on a 40-yard attempt.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the first head coach of the Houston Texans, coaching from 2001-05...Green Bay executive vice president, general manager & director of football operations Ted Thompson is from Atlanta, Texas, and played for the Houston Oilers from 1975-84...Texans G Josh Walker played for the Packers in 2015 and spent this past offseason with Green Bay...Houston director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan interned with Green Bay in 1993 and graduated from Wisconsin...Packers senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith was selected in the first round of the 1987 draft by the Houston Oilers, playing in Houston for three seasons (1987-89)...Green Bay RB Christine Michael played at Texas A&M and is from Beaumont, Texas...Packers K Mason Crosby (Georgetown), CB Demetri Goodson (Spring), WR Ty Montgomery (Dallas), FB Aaron Ripkowski (Dayton) and G Lane Taylor (Arlington) are all from Texas...Houston linebackers coach Mike Vrabel played linebacker and was coached by Capers (2008) in New England and Packers special teams coordinator Ron Zook (1997-98) in Pittsburgh...During the 2008 season in New England, Capers coached Texans special teams coordinator Larry Izzo and DT Vince Wilfork...Capers and Houston head coach Bill O’Brien were colleagues in New England (2008)...Green Bay TE Jared Cook was coached in Tennessee by Houston running backs coahc Charles London in 2011...Texans defensive line coach Anthony Weaver spent two seasons (2014-15) in Cleveland with Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio...Packers president & chief executive officer Mark Murphy was the athletic director at Colgate when Texans wide receivers coach Sean Ryan was an assistant coach...Zook was the head coach at Illinois when he coached Houston G Jeff Allen (2008-11) and LB Whitney Mercilus (2009-11)...Packers LB Clay Matthews and Texans LB Brian Cushing played together at Southern California from 2005-08...Texans G Xavier Su’a-Filo was coached at UCLA in 2009 by Packers assistant offensive line coach David Raih...Raih also coached at Texas Tech in 2013...Su’a-Filo played at UCLA with Green Bay DT Kenny Clark (2013), QB Brett Hundley (2012-13) and DE/LB Datone Jones (2009, `12)...Packers DT Mike Pennel played at Arizona State in 2012 with Texans CB Robert Nelson...Green Bay LB Carl Bradford played with Houston QB Brock Osweiler (2011), WR Jaelen Strong (2013) and Nelson (2012-13) at Arizona State...Nelson (2013) and Strong (2013-14) also were Sun Devils teammates with Packers CB Damarious Randall ...Taylor and Houston QB Brandon Weeden played together at Oklahoma State from 2009-11...Texans TE C.J. Fiedorowicz played at Iowa with Green Bay DT Mike Daniels (2010-11) and DB Micah Hyde (2010-12)...Packers C Corey Linsley was teammates at Ohio State with Houston WR Braxton Miller (2011-13) and LB John Simon (2010-12)...Texans C Grag Mancz spent 2011-13 as Toledo teammates with Green Bay LB Jayrone Elliott ...Houston TE Stephen Anderson was teammates with packers WR Trevor Davis (2013-15) and TE Richard Rodgers (2011-13) at California.
LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON
Oct. 14, 2012, Reliant Stadium, Packers won, 42-24
QB Aaron Rodgers had his first six-TD performance of his career, finishing 24 of 37 for 338 yards and no turnovers (133.8 passer rating).
WR Jordy Nelson hauled in three TD passes as part of his nine-catch, 121-yard performance.
The Green Bay defense limited Texans RB Arian Foster to 29 yards on 17 carries (1.7 avg.), the lowest output of his career in games with at least 15 attempts.
Evidently their offense is a mess and they are having big time issues scoring.
