Patriots Looking to Hand Packers Their First Loss at Lambeau of 2014
 Tom Brady and the Patriots will be looking for their 10th win this Sunday when they travel to Green Bay. (USA TODAY Images) |
The Patriots know what it's like to dominate opponents at home, and they'll be trying to do what hasn't happened to the Packers all season when they travel to Green Bay this weekend.
Beat them at Lambeau Field.
In a town with a population of 100,000 people, 80,000 of them fill the Packers' home field each Sunday in what is one of the most historic and intense environments in the NFL. It's also been a place they've played extremely well this season, scoring more than 30 points in each of their home games in 2014 (31, 42, 38, 55, 53), all of them wins. Going back to 1921, it's the first time the Packers have registered at least 30 points in each of their first five home contests.
 The last time Tom Brady played at Lambeau field, the Patriots beat Brett Favre and the Packers 35-0. (USA TODAY Images) |
It's going to likely be quite a rowdy environment, and one thing New England will need to do is get on the board early because Green Bay has gotten off to fast starts in the first half this season. The Packers have had at least four scoring drives in the first half in four of their last five games, and have outscored opponents 128-9 in the first half of their last four home games.
For the Patriots, they've had success there in the past, although this is just the first time that Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will face off in that stadium. The last time these two teams played there it was New England who came up big, beating the Packers 35-0 back in November 19, 2006. In that game New England's defense dominated then-quarterback Brett Favre, holding him to just 5-of-15 passing for 73 yards, while Brady threw four touchdowns on the afternoon.
One big key in that match-up was the fact the Patriots got up 21-0 in the first half and forced the Packers to have to play from behind, which Brady admitted this week is something they'll need to try and do this time around as well.
"This is not the team you want to get behind by," Brady told reporters on Wednesday. "You get behind 14-0, and then it's 21-0, then it's 28-0, and before you know it, they've just got the game so well under control that you have no chance."
"You've got to be able to stay close to them. There is nothing other than solid execution that you could point to, and we've got to figure out the best ways to attack them. They present a lot of challenges. They can rush the passer. They're good in coverage. They've got a real good secondary [with] great cover players. It's a terrific team, great defense. We're going to need to be sharp."
Defensively this should be a good challenge for New England's secondary. They've recorded interceptions in each of their last four straight games, but picking off Rodgers is going to be quite a challenge. He's thrown just three interceptions all season and has thrown 322 consecutive passes at home without an interception, as well as 29 consecutive touchdown passes at home without being picked off. Both are current NFL records.
Oddly enough, Rodgers needs one more three or more touchdowns and no interception performance to tie Brady for the most in NFL history in a single season. Brady did that eight times in 2007.
As a result, Brady admitted this week that limiting turnovers is an obvious point of emphasis because each turnover eliminates a scoring opportunity. He and Rogers are the top two quarterbacks all-time in touchdown-interception ratio, with Brady having thrown 385 touchdowns and 140 interceptions, while Rodgers has 218 touchdowns and just 55 interceptions. That's one of the key reasons why Rodgers has been so dangerous, and Brady said that they'll need to take advantage of each time they have the football.
"That's the problem with turnovers. You can't score if you're turning it over," said Brady. "It's like a punt. If you go out and you punt 12 times, you're not scoring points. That's not good. So, when you turn the ball over and throw interceptions, you're giving the other team more opportunities and your team less opportunities. Not that they're going to take advantage of it every single time, but the odds are they're going to take advantage of it more than they're not, especially a team like this, where you turn it over, they have the highest percentage of scores after you turn the ball over than any team in the league."
"That's a big reason why they're getting ahead at home because they get ahead of you, you start to press, you turn it over, they convert into more touchdowns, and it just piles on. You've got to keep the game close and keep it competitive, and I think Aaron has done a great job in his career of not turning the ball over. He's got all the ability in the world."
It should definitely be a tough game for a Patriots team that is looking for their 10th win, which would mark the 12th consecutive season they've won 10 or more games. That would trail just the San Francisco 49ers, who won 10 or more games for 16 consecutive seasons from 1983-1998.
New England has won 14-straight games against NFC North teams following their win over Detroit last Sunday. However, the last team that beat them was the Packers, which came in a 28-10 home loss at Gillette Stadium back on October 13, 2002. Overall Rodgers has won his last six games against AFC teams at Lambeau Field and Green Bay has already had their way against the AFC East so far, beating both Miami and the Jets heading into this game.
Now it will be up to Brady and the Patriots to make sure they're not the Packers' next victim.
"They're one of the best teams in the league, so it'll be a lot of fun," said Brady. "It's fun getting a chance to go up to Lambeau again, so I know all the guys will be pretty pumped up."
