Hitting the road: Packers meet division rivals Detroit Lions at Ford Field Sunday
DETROIT (WITI) -- Week three of regular-season play, and the Green Bay Packers hit the road to take on the Detroit Lions. The Pack is 1-1 after a win last Sunday vs. the New York Jets. The Packers fell to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the regular-season opener.
Kickoff is set for Sunday, September 21st at Ford Field. You can watch the game RIGHT HERE on FOX6!
No other NFL teams have played every year since 1932, when the Packers and the Lions, then known as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans, began their yearly home-and-home series. The rivalry actually kicked off in 1930 at City Stadium in Green Bay, a 47-13 Packers win. Two seasons later, the teams began a yearly series. Sunday marks meeting No. 170 in the all-time series (including playoffs).
The Packers lead the regular-season series 94-66-7 and have won both postseason contests the two have played. Green Bay’s 94 wins over the Lions are the most the Packers have against any team. The Packers have won eight of 12 games at Ford Field against the Lions. Ford Field opened in 2002.
The Packers are 9-1 against Detroit with QB Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback. The only loss to the Lions came when Rodgers left the game in the first half with an injury in 2010 at Ford Field.
The Packers have won 15 of the last 17 meetings with the Lions.
Green Bay has scored more points (3,541 in the regular season) against the Lions than any other franchise.
The Packers have won 23 straight games over Detroit in Wisconsin, including a ’94 playoff game. The streak spans eight Lions head coaches: Wayne Fontes (1992-96), Bobby Ross (1997-99), Gary Moeller (2000), Marty Mornhinweg (2001-02), Steve Mariucci (2003-04), Dick Jauron (2005), Rod Marinelli (2006-08) and Jim Schwartz (2009-13).
The 23 straight regular-season wins in Wisconsin ranks No. 1 among NFL streaks at one team’s home field.
The teams last met in the regular season at Detroit on November 28th, 2013. The Lions won, 40-10. After a scoreless first quarter, Green Bay and Detroit combined for 27 points in the second quarter, with the Lions recording 17 to take a seven-point lead into the half. Detroit dominated the second half, scoring 23 unanswered points.
The Detroit Lions have a new coach this season: Jim Caldwell. He is the Lions' 26th head coach.
Prior to joining the Lions, Caldwell spent 2012-13 as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. He orginally joined the Ravens as the quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator with three weeks left to play in the 2012 season. He went on to help Baltimore win the AFC North and Super Bowl XLVII.
From 2002-11, Caldwell coached for the Indianapolis Colts, including three years as the head coach (2009-11).
While in Indianapolis the Colts had nine consecutive playoff appearances that included six AFC South titles, two AFC Championships and one Super Bowl title.
Caldwell began his NFL coaching career as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach in 2001.
From Sept. 21-Oct. 2, the Packers will play three divisional games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Packers played three divisional games in 12 days was Nov. 16-27, 1986. It will be the first time since 2012 that Green Bay has played three consecutive games against division opponents. Green Bay will play NFC North teams on the road in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 2004.
Through the first two games of the season, WR Jordy Nelson has led the way for the Packers offense, putting up numbers of historical significance. Nelson’s 18 receptions are the most by a Packers receiver in the first two games of a season, topping Ken Payne’s mark of 17 in 1975. His 292 yards receiving are the second most through two games in franchise history, trailing only James Lofton’s 323 in 1983. In the Week 2 win over the Jets, Nelson finished with a career-high 209 yards receiving, which tied for the fourth most in a game in franchise history. Nelson’s 209 yards receiving are the most by a Packer since Don Beebe registered 220 yards receiving vs. San Francisco on Oct. 14, 1996. Nelson has recorded nine receptions in each of the last three regular-season games. He is only the second player in team history to register three straight regular-season games with at least nine.
Green Bay is one win away from becoming the second team in NFL history with 700 regular-season victories. The Packers (699-538-37) would join Chicago as the only teams to accomplish the feat.
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