The Dope Sheet - NFL.com

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