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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 2 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Major test awaits PackersGreen Bay caninch towardplayoff byeBy Paul ImigFor Green & Gold Express
Aaron Rodgers didn’thave the look of a quarter-back whose team had justclinched its seventh con-
secutive playoff appear-ance.
It was a memorablepost-game press confer-ence for Rodgers after thePackers went into Oaklandthis past weekend and won,30-20. He was brief in his re-sponses. His tone was thatof a player who’s clearlydisappointed. It’s difcultto imagine anyone sayingthe phrase “I’m happy” in amore frustrated voice thanthe one Rodgers used atthe podium.
In a lot of ways, it makessense why Rodgers wasn’toverjoyed by Green Bay
winning its 10th game ofthe regular season. Sure,10 wins is an accomplish-ment that 26 other teamsacross the league wish theyhad achieved by this pointin December. Rodgers isaware, however, where
the expectations lie for thePackers. He also has hisown sky-high expectationsto meet, and throwing for204 yards in a game is un-likely to ever please him.
The easier portion ofGreen Bay’s schedule isover. The Packers’ currentthree-game winning streakhas come from victories
against the Lions, Cowboysand Raiders, teams thathave no chance at makingthe playoffs.
If Green Bay is going tomake a run to the SuperBowl, the real competitionbegins now.
The Arizona Cardinalsare one of the league’s
most well-balanced teams.They’re ranked seventhin total defense, sixth inpoints allowed per gameand fourth in interceptions.Offensively, Arizona leadsthe NFL in yards per gameand is second in points pergame.
At age 35 (he’ll be 36
at the end of December),Carson Palmer has a verygood shot at winning theleague’s Most ValuablePlayer award this sea-son. Fellow veteran LarryFitzgerald is having one ofhis best seasons at age 32,already surpassing 1,100receiving yards.
Fitzgerald isn’t the onlyreceiving threat for Palm-er. John Brown’s 933 re-ceiving yards is 150 yardsmore than anyone on thePackers’ roster has. TheCardinals’ third-leading re-ceiver, Michael Floyd, has
Game VitalsGREEN BAY PACKERS (10-4)
VS. ARIZONA CARDINALS (12-2)
WHEN: 3:25 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: University of Phoenix
Stadium
TV: FOX
RADIO: 620 WTMJ, 92.3 WJMQ-
FM, 101.1 WIXX-FM
•••
Locker Room“They have a veteran
quarterback who’sprobably having a career
year.”
DOM CAPERS, Packers
defensive coordinator, on
Carson Palmer’s season after
sustaining an ACL injury
•••
The SeriesPackers vs. Cardinals:
All-time, regular season, all-
time: 44-22-4
All-time, at Arizona: 16-14-4
Streaks: The Packers have won
four of the last ve regular-season
meetings at Arizona.
Last meeting, regular season:
Nov. 4, 2012, at Lambeau Field;
Packers won, 31-17.
•••
ScheduleDate Opponent Time TV
Sept. 13 at Chicago Win 31-23
Sept. 20 Seattle Win 27-17
Sept. 28 Kansas City Win 38-28
Oct. 4 at San Francisco Win 17-3
Oct. 11 St. Louis Win 24-10
Oct. 18 San Diego Win 27-20
Oct. 25 BYE
Nov. 1 at Denver Loss 29-10
Nov. 8 at Carolina Loss 37-29
Nov. 15 Detroit Loss 18-16
Nov. 22 at Minnesota Win 30-13
Nov. 26 Chicago Loss 17-13
Dec. 3 at Detroit Win 27-23
Dec. 13 Dallas Win 28-7Dec. 20 at Oakland Win 30-20
Dec. 27 at Arizona 3:25 p.m. FOX
Jan. 3 Minnesota 12 p.m. FOX
ON THE COVERPackers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has not been playing up to his expectations recently, but with Green Bay competing for the No. 2 seed in the NFC, he and the offense will have to becomemore efcient.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A week after Clay Matthews and the Packers held the Raiders to 20 points, they face a stiff challenge with the No. 2 scoring offense in Arizona on Sunday.
SEE PACKERS, PAGE 3
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NFL Power RankingsBy Paul Imig
For Green & Gold Express
1. Carolina Panthers (Re-cord: 14-0; Previous Rank: 1)
Odell Beckham Jr. and theGiants had a great fourth-quar-ter comeback attempt againstCarolina, but Cam Newtonled a game-winning eld-goaldrive to keep the Panthers un-defeated.
2. Arizona Cardinals (Re-cord: 12-2; Previous Rank: 2)
The good news for the Car-dinals was winning in Philadel-phia by 23 points. The bad news
was losing star defensive backTyrann Mathieu to a torn ACL.
3. New England Patri-ots (Record: 12-2; PreviousRank: 3)
Beating the Titans by 17points isn’t exactly proof thatNew England is a serious Su-per Bowl contender. But thereis plenty of other evidence thatTom Brady’s team is poised foranother postseason run.
4. Seattle Seahawks (Re-
cord: 9-5; Previous Rank: 6) After beating the Browns inWeek 15, the Seahawks have
won their last three games by acombined score of 103-26. Seat-tle is playing dominant footballonce again.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Re-cord: 9-5; Previous Rank: 8)
Pittsburgh’s offense stayed white-hot against a great Den- ver defense. With that Steelers win, they’ve now scored 112points in their last three games
— all of which have beengames against division leadersat that time.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (Re-cord: 11-3; Previous Rank: 4)
Cincinnati won a game with-out Andy Dalton, which was agood sign for the Bengals. Butthey won’t be seeing teams likeSan Francisco in the playoffs,so question marks remain.
7. Denver Broncos (Re-cord: 10-4; Previous Rank: 5)
Denver is now on a two-game losing streak and trend-ing in the wrong direction late
in the season. Still, it’s not likelosing in Pittsburgh by sevenpoints should be considered a
“bad” loss.8. Green Bay Packers (Re-
cord: 10-4; Previous Rank: 7)That’s seven straight post-
season appearances for thePackers after their victoryin Oakland. But Aaron Rodg-ers seems far from satised
with where his offense is at asthe regular season draws to aclose.
9. Minnesota Vikings (Re-cord: 9-5; Previous Rank: 9)
The Vikings followed uptheir strong showing againstan elite Arizona team by de-stroying the Bears by 21 points.
10. Kansas City Chiefs(Record: 9-5; Previous Rank:10)
That is eight wins in a rowfor the Chiefs after a victorioustrip to Baltimore.
11. New York Jets (Re-cord: 9-5; Previous Rank: 11)
Winning in Dallas made itfour consecutive victories for
the Jets.12. Houston Texans (Re-
cord: 7-7; Previous Rank: 14)With the division lead on the
line, the Texans went into In-dianapolis and won. J.J. Wattshould be headed to the play-offs this season.
13. Washington Redskins(Record: 7-7; Previous Rank:15)
Washington’s victory overBuffalo has Kirk Cousin’s teamas the sole leader for rst place
in the NFC East.14. Buffalo Bills (Record:
6-8; Previous Rank: 13)Back-to-back losses to NFC
East teams (rst Philadelphia,now Washington) has the Billstrending downward at the
wrong time of the season.15. Philadelphia Eagles
(Record: 6-8; Previous Rank:21)
The Eagles beat New Eng-land and then Buffalo, but theyfollowed that up by gettingdestroyed at home by Arizonathis past weekend.
16. New York Giants (Re-cord: 6-8; Previous Rank: 16)
The Giants gave Carolina a
good ght (literally and gu-ratively), but the loss put New
York behind Washington in thedivision standings.
17. Oakland Raiders (Re-cord: 6-8; Previous Rank: 22)
Oakland has lost ve of itslast seven games after losingto the Packers. Charles Wood-son announced he’ll be retiringat season’s end, so he has twogames left in his Hall of Famecareer.
18. Atlanta Falcons (Re-cord: 7-7; Previous Rank: 18) Atlanta had lost seven of i ts
previous eight games beforebeating Jacksonville in Week15. Still, that slump will likelylead to the Falcons missing theplayoffs.
19. Indianapolis Colts (Re-cord: 6-8; Previous Rank: 12)
After getting crushed byJacksonville the week before,the Colts hosted the Texansand lost. Changes should be
coming to Indianapolis this off-season.
20. St. Louis Rams (Re-cord: 6-8; Previous Rank: 25)
Case Keenum had a goodday at quarterback to lead theRams to victory over TampaBay.
21. Tampa Bay Bucca-neers (Record: 6-8; PreviousRank: 17)
The Buccaneers were play-ing well before back-to-backlosses to New Orleans and St.
Louis.22. Detroit Lions (Record:
5-9; Previous Rank: 20)The Lions beat the Saints on
Monday Night Football to con-tinue their strong second halfto the season.
23. Chicago Bears (Re-cord: 5-9; Previous Rank: 19)
Remember when the Bears won at Lambeau Field onThanksgiving? They’ve sincelost on consecutive weeks toSan Francisco, Washingtonand Minnesota.
24. Miami Dolphins (Re-
cord: 5-9; Previous Rank: 24)San Diego was struggling to
score points in recent weeks.
Fortunately for the Chargers,they got to face Miami’s de-fense in Week 15.
25. New Orleans Saints(Record: 5-9; Previous Rank:26)
The Saints were lookingimproved in recent weeks, butthen they lost to Detroit.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars(Record: 5-9; Previous Rank:29)
Jacksonville put up 51 points
on the Colts. However, the Jag-uars followed that up with aloss to the drowning Falcons.
27. San Diego Chargers(Record: 4-10; PreviousRank: 31)
The Chargers scored threepoints in back-to-back games.But San Diego did much betteragainst the Dolphins, scoring30 points against them.
28. Dallas Cowboys (Re-cord: 4-10; Previous Rank:23)
The Cowboys are now 1-10in games without Tony Romothis season after losing athome to the Jets.
29. San Francisco 49ers(Record: 4-10; PreviousRank: 27)
The 49ers lost at home toan Andy Dalton-less Bengalsteam this past weekend.
30. Tennessee Titans (Re-cord: 3-11; Previous Rank:28)
Tennessee seems to be at
least a couple years away fromcompeting.
31. Baltimore Ravens (Re-cord: 4-10; Previous Rank:30)
Another blowout loss for aRavens team that should com-mit to rebuilding mode this off-season.
32. Cleveland Browns (Re-cord: 3-11; Previous Rank:32)
All things considered, John-ny Manziel did OK against Se-attle’s defense. The Brownsstill lost, though.
WOLF RIVER MEDIA 3SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
only 11 fewer yards than Green Bay’s lead-
ing receiver, Randall Cobb. Arizona is on an eight-game winningstreak, which includes a victory in Seat-tle. During that span, the Cardinals havescored fewer than 26 points only twice.
Yet, for as mediocre as the Packershave been since their Week 7 bye, and foras good as the Cardinals have been, theNo. 2 seed in the NFC’s postseason is stillup for grabs. That makes Sunday after-noon’s game even more important.
If Green Bay goes into Arizona and wins,the rst-round postseason bye would thencome down to Week 17. A Packers win over
Minnesota, coupled with the Cardinals los-ing at home to the Seahawks, would vaultGreen Bay to No. 2 in the conference andsend Arizona down to the third seed.
If the Packers are unable to beat Ari-zona and the Vikings take care of businessat home against the New York Giants, thenGreen Bay would be in danger of not even
winning the NFC North. The result of thePackers-Vikings game in Week 17 wouldthen likely decide which of those twoteams gets to host the other a week laterin the wild-card round.
That’s how much postseason momen-tum could swing in the next two weeks.Either Green Bay gets a bye followed bya home game (as the No. 2 seed), or thePackers could be forced to spend theentirety of the postseason (no matterhow long it lasts) on the road. Yeah, that
worked out well in 2010 for Green Bay, butit’s obviously a more difcult path for anyNFL team.
Rodgers is surely more concerned withhow the offense is playing than how theplayoff seeds break down. Going into Ari-zona and putting together a quality offen-
sive performance against a team that hasa top-six defense in nearly every meaning-ful category would likely improve Rodgers’mood, win or lose. At least that would be asign that the Packers’ offense still has theability to improve this season.
In Green Bay, with Rodgers in hisprime, it has to be a “Super Bowl or bust”mentality. Rodgers seems to acknowledgethat as fact, but if the Packers are goingto be playing in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7,2016, their stretch of upcoming games willall be against teams with winning records.The only team with a winning record that
Green Bay has defeated since Septemberhas been the win at Minnesota.
PACKERSFROM PAGE 2
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 4 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Keys to the Game: Packers vs. CardinalsBy Green & Gold Express Staff
The Green Bay Packers (10-4) are 4.5-point
underdogs for Sunday’s game vs. the ArizonaCardinals (12-2) at University of Phoenix Sta-dium. Here’s the breakdown.
When the Packers have the ball After Sunday’s victory over Oakland, it
sounded as if Packers coach Mike McCarthyand quarterback Aaron Rodgers had seen dif-ferent games. McCarthy said he was “sick andtired” of the negative questions and wasn’tinterested in “style points.” Rodgers, on theother hand, simply said “no” when asked if he
was happy about the offensive production.
That unit will face its biggest challenge ofthe season against the Cardinals. For all theaccolades earned by their offense, this lookslike a championship-caliber defense. Arizonaenters this week tied for sixth in points al-lowed, seventh in third-down efciency, sev -enth in yards allowed and fourth in rushing
yards allowed. While it ranks just 16th againstthe pass, it’s fth in opponent passer rating.
“Doing a really good job of stopping therun and then red-zone defense has pickedup,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said in aconference call. “The biggest thing is takingthe ball away. We’ve been very good at getting
turnovers, especially the last three weeks.Just playing hard and fast and physical.”
In its 3-4 scheme, the Cardinals’ best de-fenders are defensive end Calais Campbelland cornerback Patrick Peterson. Peterson is
one of the NFL’s premier corners. Accordingto Pro Football Focus, Peterson has allowed a45.6 percent completion rate. Among corners
who play at least half of the defensive snaps,that’s No. 2 in the league.
The big key is whether the Packers’ strug-gling passing attack will nd some successagainst a Cardinals secondary that lost jack-of-all-trades defensive back Tyrann Mathieuto a torn ACL last week. Mathieu, who hadve interceptions, was arguably the league’stop slot defender. That could give Green Bayan opening to get Randall Cobb on track.Cobb hasn’t scored a touchdown in the lastfour games and hasn’t had a 100-yard gamesince Week 2.
When the Cardinals have the ballLed by quarterback Carson Palmer, re-
ceiver Larry Johnson and rookie runningback David Johnson, Arizona is an offensive
juggernaut, with a second-ranked 31.8 pointsper game. The Cardinals ranks No. 1 in yardsper game (422.9) behind a diverse attackthat’s No. 3 through the air and No. 6 on theground.
For Green Bay, which ranks fth in points
allowed — its best since nishing second inthe 2010 Super Bowl season — this will be
the biggest test of the season.“They have a veteran quarterback who’s
probably having a career year,” Packers de-
fensive coordinator Dom Capers said. “He’sthrown for 4,000 yards. He’s very smart. Heknows where to go with the ball. He’s beenaround awhile and he’s got a lot of tools and
weapons around him. They have a veteranoffensive line. They’ve got big, physical tightends. Their receiving skill is outstanding.They have speed that they can go deep. Youhave a guy like Fitzgerald, who’s just an excel-lent all-around football player. He has 99 re-ceptions. He’s a very good blocker. This youngrunner, you don’t have to look at him very long(until) he catches your eye. So, they have all
the complementary phases of what you lookfor: an outstanding veteran quarterback, a lotof skill at wide receiver, a big, physical tightends, a veteran offensive line.”
Palmer, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, ranks second with a 106.7passer rating and is tied for third with 32touchdown passes. This is a down-the-eldpassing game, as evidenced by Palmer’sleague-high 8.82 yards per passing attempt.
Johnson, who has taken over for veteranstandout Chris Johnson (leg; injured reserve/designated for return), averages 4.9 yardsper carry. Moreover, he’s fourth on the team
with 30 receptions and averages 11.2 yardsper catch with four touchdowns. Alongside
Fitzgerald, receivers John Brown (16.1 yardsper reception) and Michael Floyd (16.0 yardsper reception) are big-play threats with six
touchdowns apiece.
Special teamsThe Cardinals use Peterson on punt re-
turns. He’s a dangerous weapon, his 8.4-yardaverage notwithstanding. As a rookie in 2011,he had a league-high four punt-return touch-downs. Johnson handles kickoff returns andaverages 27.2 yards with a 108-yard touch-down. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro has missed
just two eld-goal attempts all season andenters the game on a streak of 18 consecutiveconversions. He hasn’t made a 50-yarder all
season. The Packers have the edge at punter with Tim Masthay over Drew Butler.
CoachingThese are two of the most successful
coaches in the game. McCarthy has led thePackers to seven consecutive playoff berths,a streak matched only by New England’sBill Belichick. Arians boasts a 42-17 record,a mark that includes going 9-3 and winningCoach of the Year honors with Indianapolisin 2012. Arians was the coach when the Coltsbeat the Packers 30-27 — the coaches’ onlyhead-to-head matchup. In his three seasons
with Arizona, the Cardinals have won at least10 games each season.
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 5SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
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Packers Notebook By Green & Gold Express Staff
Cards may make history
At 12-2 and in position to clincha rst-round bye on Sundayagainst Green Bay, the ArizonaCardinals have a legit chance to
win their rst NFL championshipsince 1947.
The Cardinals might havebeen in this position last year hadquarterback Carson Palmer notsustained a torn ACL. With him,they were 6-0. Without him, they
were 5-5. This season, Palmer hasa chance to win MVP honors. He’ssecond in the league with a 106.7passer rating and third with acareer-high 32 touchdown passes.While the Packers’ Aaron Rodg-ers, the league’s reigning MVP,hasn’t had a 100 passer ratingsince Week 6, Palmer has topped100 in 10 of 14 games.
“Oh, gosh, it’s hard to say thatI’ve ever had anybody play bet-ter,” said Cardinals coach Bruce
Arians, who was an offensive co-ordinator in Pittsburgh with Ben
Roethlisberger and offensive co-ordinator and interim coach in In -dianapolis with Peyton Manning.
“He’s playing at an extremelyhigh level right now with a lot ofcondence.”
Of course, Rodgers doesn’thave the repower that’s atPalmer’s disposal. It starts withreceiver Larry Fitzgerald, who’sserved notice that he’s still anelite player. Last year, with DrewStanton and Ryan Lindley tryingto ll Palmer’s shoes, Fitzgeraldcaught 63 passes for 784 yardsand two touchdowns. This sea-son, Fitzgerald has caught 99passes for 1,131 yards and seventouchdowns.
The Packers will have to con -tend with more than Fitzgerald.John Brown has caught 58 passesfor 933 yards and six touchdownsand Michael Floyd, who wasslowed early in the season by ahand injury, has caught 45 passesfor 722 yards and six touchdowns.In his last eight games, Floyd hasfour 100-yard games.
“They’re loaded. They’re load-ed,” Packers cornerback CaseyHayward said. “We have to nd a
way to slow those guys down. You just don’t stop their offense. You want to slow those guys down andget some turnovers, stop them onthird downs and get our offenseback the ball.”
Rookie cornersRegardless of the status of
Packers cornerback Sam Shields(concussion), they’re going toneed big contributions fromrookie cornerbacks Damarious
Randall (rst round) and QuintenRollins (second round) to containPalmer and Co.
Until getting torched by Oak -land’s Amari Cooper for six re-ceptions for 120 yards (plus a 25-
yard interference penalty) andtwo touchdowns, Randall hadbeen having an excellent rookieseason. He ranks second in this
year’s draft class with three inter -ceptions, including one returnedfor a touchdown vs. the Raiders.
The week before, he didn’t allow asingle catch in about 2½ quartersagainst Dallas star Dez Bryant.
Rollins rose to the occasion vs.the Raiders. While Michael Crab-tree nished with six catches for90 yards, Rollins broke up twopasses. It was the latest strongperformance for Rollins, who wasa star basketball player at Miami(Ohio) before giving football a tryin 2014.
“He has a bright future,” safetyMorgan Burnett said. “I give hima lot of credit and respect. He’sonly been playing the positionfor two years. Now you’re goingagainst great athletes and greatreceivers and you’re doing a good
job at it, that’s much respect tohim. He’s going to keep improv -ing. He kind of reminds me ofSam Shields.”
Rookie runner Before this year’s draft, North-
ern Iowa running back DavidJohnson elicited comparisons toChicago’s Matt Forte. Johnson
has matched those expectationsas a third-round pick with theCardinals, with his 12 total touch-
downs topping all NFL rookies.He’s a triple threat, with a 4.9-
yard average and seven touch-downs on the ground, an 11.2-yardaverage and four touchdownsthrough the air and a 27.2-yardaverage and one touchdown onkickoff returns.
Since veteran Chris Johnson was lost to a leg in jury, the 6-foot-1, 224-pound rookie has league-high totals of 378 rushing yardsand 472 scrimmage yards in histhree starts. Last week at Phila-delphia, Johnson rushed for 187
yards and three touchdowns.“He’s worked hard his whole
life,” Arians said. “He had jobs atNorthern Iowa cleaning latrinesand working in the cafeteria. Thisis a very mature man who’s paidhis dues. He’s not like a youngguy who’s been given everything,highly recruited and they have asense of entitlement. You have tobe very aware of those guys.”
Got an idea for a Packers feature story? Email us at [email protected]
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 6 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Cardinals hope to keep rolling after Mathieu injury Arizona can securefirst-round byeThe Associated Press
For the second time in histhree-year NFL career, TyrannMathieu is out for the season witha torn ACL.
Coach Bruce Arians revealedthe extent of the injury at his Mon-day news conference.
The popular safety/cornerback— “Honey Badger” to his fans —
injured his right knee after inter-cepting a pass in the nal minutesof Sunday night’s 40-17 victory atPhiladelphia.
He tore the ACL and LCL in hisleft knee 13 games into his rookieseason in 2013.
No longer having to wear theknee brace that slowed him in2014, Mathieu was having an out-standing season and was the NFCdefensive player of the month forNovember. He is third on the teamin tackles with 89 — behind DeoneBucannon’s 110 and Kevin Mint-er’s 91 — and is tied with safety
Rashad Johnson for the team leadin interceptions with ve.
“He set goals, and he was at-taining them,” Arians said. “Ithought he should be right there
with Patrick (Peterson) for (NFL)defensive player of the year. I
don’t think there was any doubthe was having that type of season,and it’s a shame with two gamesleft. And it’s always a non-contactinjury when these things happen.”
It was after that fth intercep-tion that he came down awkward-
ly on his right leg and fell to the
turf. He exed his injured leg ashe lay on his back, then limped offthe eld with 2:33 to play.
There had been some opti-mism because Mathieu was walk-ing without a limp after the game.
“He felt very relieved becausehe was walking ne (after thegame),” Arians said. “He’s still
walking ne, it’s just the MRI saysdifferently.”
The victory clinched the NFCWest title for the Cardinals andgave them their rst 12-win sea-
son in the history of a franchisethat dates to 1920.
“I’m very happy for obviousreasons,” Arians said, “other thanit’s very bittersweet when youlose a guy like Ty.”
Arians has said he’s neverbeen more proud of a draft pickthan the one the Cardinals used toselect Mathieu in the third roundin 2013. It was considered a sig-nicant risk at the time.
Mathieu was a Heisman Tro-phy nalist when he was at LSU,but was kicked off the team andout of school for marijuana-relat-
ed issues. He was out of football
in 2012 and the contract he signed with Arizona included require-ments for a large number of drugtests.
But he’s never been a problemsince the day he arrived. Helpedby his LSU teammate Peterson,he emerged as a charismaticteam leader, a high-energy playeron the eld and a highly acces-sible one off it.
Arians acknowledged that Ma-thieu was a favorite player. Thecoach was kicked off his team in
high school.“We have a little different bond
just because where he came from, where I came from and I’ve justgotten real attached to him,” Ari-ans said. “I love the player. but Ilove the person more.”
The coach said surgery willcome in a couple of weeks afterswelling in the knee subsides.
The Cardinals have no timeto dwell on the impact of the Ma-thieu injury. They can clinch arst-round playoff bye with a vic-tory at home against Green Bayon Sunday.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arizona Cardinals’ Tyrann Mathieu, left, suffered a season-ending ACL injury last week. The
Cardinals want Jerraud Powers can ll in without missing a beat for the third-year player.
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 7SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Surging Packers slip-slide their way into the postseasonIf there is a dilemma fac-
ing the Green Bay Packers,it is one that 26 other teamsin the NFL would love to bepondering.
In winning their 10th game of the year last Sun-day, the Packers becameone of six teams in theleague to clinch a playoffberth, leaving only the mat-ter of where and when theirrst postseason game takesplace to be determined.
Whether they plow forth
into the wild card fray or en- joy a rst-round bye, whichis still a possibility, remainsto be seen.
The 30-20 victory overthe Oakland Raiders wastheir third win in a row, butnonetheless left a feelingof uneasiness among someof the perfectionists inthe gallery, who clamored
for answers of when theirprecision offense would
resurface.The Packers scored 30on a team that held Denverto 12 points on a dry tracklast week. Sub-.500 markaside, Oakland’s defensehas played impressively oflate.
The most dedicatedof Chicken Littles werequick to point out that 14 of
the Packers’ points camedirectly or indirectly fromthe defense and not thehigh-octane offense. MicahHyde’s 34-yard return of arst-quarter interceptionset up John Kuhn’s touch-down run from the 5, whichcame a full 15 secondsbefore Damarious Randallmade it a 14-0 game on a 43-
yard TD runback of anotherinterception.
Correct me if I’m wrong,but points scored by any
member of your team areconsidered a good thing.The Packers’ offense sput-tered a bit in another rainygame on a sloppy eld. Bigdeal. Normally, when it’ssaid that there’s a darkcloud following a team, it’s agure of speech. That’s thekind of season it’s been.
It’s already been estab-
lished that the road to theSuper Bowl will be an uphillbattle for these Packers,but that with a break hereand there, it’s within theirgrasp. Finding fault in a10-point December road
win takes a special kind offatalism.
It was the sort of nitpick-ing that caramelized coachMike McCarthy’s crèmebrulee in the postgamepresser, where he remind-ed inquiring minds that he
couldn’t give a toss whetherthe offense, defense orspecial teams wins a gamefor his team. The bottomline is they won, again. ThePackers are in the playoffs,again.
“We’re right where we want to be,” an exasper-ated McCarthy said. “Thestyle points — you can ush
that. I’m sick and tired ofthe negativities. We’ve won10 games. We’ve lost threegames on the last play, andDenver beat us. That’s theoverview of our season. Wehave a chance to win 11next week.”
After Oakland went ona 20-3 run to take a 20-17lead in the third quarter,the Packers’ defense threwa shutout over the nal21-plus minutes, icing the
victory and setting up a
Sunday showdown in Ari-zona. Stingy fourth-quarterdefense has become aregular thing of late for thePackers. Over their last vegames they have alloweda total of six points in thefourth quarter. That’s thekind of trend that needsemphasizing.
Should the Packers
defeat Arizona and then wintheir nale against Min-nesota, and if the Cardinalsalso lose their nale —against a Seattle club that’s
won its last ve — it will bethe Packers and CarolinaPanthers cooling their heels
with a rst-round playoffbye.
Failing that, they willhave to go the wild cardroute, as they did ve yearsago when they won the
whole thing.
Clearly, the hope is thatthey win every game in ablowout from here on in. Amore realistic hope is thatbrighter days lay ahead forthe Packers – literally.
Veteran sportswriter Gary Sey- mour’s column appears weekly in
Green & Gold Express. To contact him, send an email to [email protected].
Gary Seymour
Keep up with Packers news online at www.shawanoleader.com
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 8 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 9SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 10 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
WR
Davante Adams
James Jones
LT
David Bakhtiari
Don Barclay
LG
Josh Sitton
Lane Taylor
C
Corey Linsley
JC Tretter
RG
T.J. Lang
Josh Walker
RT
Bryan Bulaga
Don Barclay
FB
John Kuhn
Aaron Ripkowski
WR
Randall Cobb
Jared Abbrederis
QB
Aaron Rodgers
Scott Tolzien
RB
James StarksEddie Lacy
CB
Patrick Peterson
Corey White
SLB
Marcus Golden
Dwight Freeney
SS
Rashad Johnson
D.J. Swearinger
ILB
Deone Bucannon
Alani Fua
NT
Rodney GunterXavier WIlliams
FS
Tony Jefferson
Chris Clemons
CB
Jerraud Powers
Justin Bethel
DT
Frostee Rucker
Ed StinsonWLB
Alex Okafor
Kareem Martin
ILB
Kevin Minter
Sean Weatherspoon
DTCalais CampbellCory Redding
TE
Richard Rodgers
Justin Perillo
THE DEPTH CHARTPackers vs. Cardinals
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 11SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
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RCB
Sam Shields
Quinten Rollins
ROLBJulius Peppers
Nick Perry
FS
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Micah Hyde
SS
Morgan Burnett
Chris Banjo
MLB
Clay Matthews
Nate Palmer
LOLB
Mike Neal
Clay Matthews
DE
Letroy Guion
Datone Jones
NOSE
B.J. Raji
Mike Pennel
DT
Mike Daniels
Mike Pennel
LCB
Casey Hayward
Damarious Randall
BLB
Jake Ryan
Nate Palmer
LG
Mike Iupati
Jonathan Cooper
LT
Jared Veldheer
Bradley Sowell
RB
David Johnson
Andre Ellington
QB
Carson PalmerDrew Stanton
TE
Darren Fells
Troy Niklas
WR
Michael Floyd
John Brown
TE/WR
Jermaine Gresham
Brittan Golden
RG
Ted Larsen
Jonathan Cooper
C
Lyle SendleinA.Q. Shipley
RT
Bobby MassleD.J. Humphries
THE DEPTH CHARTPackers vs. Cardinals
WR
Larry Fitzgerald
Jaron Brown
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 12 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
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Packers Roster
Active
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
84 Abbrederis, Jared WR 6-1 195 24 2 Wisconsin
17 Adams, Davante WR 6-1 215 22 2 Fresno State
86 Backman, Kennard TE 6-3 245 22 R Alabama-Birmingham
69 Bakhtiari, David T 6-4 310 24 3 Colorado
32 Banjo, Chris S 5-10 207 25 2 SMU
67 Barclay, Don T/G 6-4 305 26 4 West Virginia
75 Bulaga, Bryan T 6-5 314 26 6 Iowa
42 Burnett, Morgan S 6-1 209 26 6 Georgia Tech
21 Clinton-Dix, Ha Ha S 6-1 208 22 2 Alabama
18 Cobb, Randall WR 5-10 192 25 5 Kentucky
38 Crockett, John RB 6-0 217 23 R North Dakota State
2 Crosby, Mason K 6-1 207 31 9 Colorado
76 Daniels, Mike DT 6-0 310 26 4 Iowa
91 Elliott, Jayrone LB 6-3 255 23 2 Toledo
39 Goodson, Demetri CB 5-11 197 26 2 Baylor
98 Guion, Letroy DT 6-4 322 28 8 Florida State
36 Gunter, LaDarius CB 6-2 201 23 R Miami
29 Hayward, Casey CB 5-11 192 26 4 Vanderbilt
7 Hundley, Brett QB 6-3 226 22 R UCLA
33 Hyde, Micah DB 6-0 197 24 3 Iowa
83 Janis, Jeff WR 6-3 219 24 2 Saginaw Valley State
95 Jones, Datone DE 6-4 285 25 3 UCLA
89 Jones, James WR 6-1 208 31 9 San Jose State
30 Kuhn, John FB 6-0 250 33 10 Shippensburg
27 Lacy, Eddie RB 5-11 234 25 3 Alabama
70 Lang, T.J. G 6-4 318 28 7 Eastern Michigan
63 Linsley, Corey C 6-3 301 24 2 Ohio State
59 Lovato, Rick LS 6-2 249 23 R Old Dominion
8 Masthay, Tim P 6-1 200 28 6 Kentucky
52 Matthews, Clay LB 6-3 255 29 7 Southern California
55 Mulumba, Andy LB 6-3 260 25 3 Eastern Michigan
96 Neal, Mike LB 6-3 262 28 6 Purdue
51 Palmer, Nate LB 6-2 248 26 3 Illinois State
64 Pennel, Mike DT 6-4 332 24 2 Colorado State-Puebl o
56 Peppers, Julius LB 6-7 287 35 14 North Carolina
80 Perillo, Justin TE 6-3 250 24 2 Maine
53 Perry, Nick LB 6-3 265 25 4 Southern California
81 Quarless, Andrew TE 6-4 252 27 6 Penn State
90 Raji, B.J. DT 6-2 337 29 7 Boston College
23 Randall, Damarious CB 5-11 196 23 R Arizona State
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
22 Ripkowski, Aaron FB 6-1 246 22 R Oklahoma
12 Rodgers, Aaron QB 6-2 225 31 11 California
82 Rodgers, Richard TE 6-4 257 23 2 California
24 Rollins, Quinten CB 5-11 195 23 R Miami (Ohio)
47 Ryan, Jake LB 6-2 240 23 R Michigan
37 Shields, Sam CB 5-11 184 27 6 Miami (Fla.)
71 Sitton, Josh G 6-3 318 29 8 Central Florida
44 Starks, James RB 6-2 218 29 6 Buffalo
65 Taylor, Lane G 6-3 324 25 3 Oklahoma State
48 Thomas, Joe LB 6-1 227 24 1 South Carolina State
16 Tolzien, Scott QB 6-2 213 28 5 Wisconsin
73 Tretter, JC C/G 6-4 307 24 3 Cornell
79 Walker, Josh G 6-5 328 24 1 Middle Tennessee State
Reserve/Injured
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
58 Barrington, Sam LB 6-1 240 25 3 South Florida
93 Boyd, Josh DT 6-3 310 26 3 Mississippi State
61 Goode, Brett LS 6-1 255 30 8 Arkansas
88 Montgomery, Ty WR 6-0 216 22 R Stanford
87 Nelson, Jordy WR 6-3 217 30 8 Kansas State
59 Rasco, Jermauria LB 6-3 252 23 R Louisiana State
28 Richardson, Sean S 6-2 216 25 4 Vanderbilt
Practice Squad
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
54 Bradford, Carl LB 6-1 248 23 2 Arizona State
38 Crockett, John RB 6-0 217 23 R North Dakota State
31 Daniel, Robertson CB 6-1 205 24 R BYU
85 Henry, Mitchell TE 6-4 252 22 R Western Kentucky
10 Johnson, Jamel WR 6-2 217 24 R Alabama State
77 McBride, B.J DE 6-5 303 24 R Connecticut
97 Ringo, Christian DT 6-1 298 23 R Louisiana- Lafayette
74 Rotheram, Matt G 6-5 325 23 R Pittsburgh
26 Scheuerman, Ross RB 6-0 210 22 R Lafayette College
60 Vujnovich, Jeremy T 6-5 300 25 1 Louisiana College
19 Williams, Ed WR 6-0 196 24 R Fort Hays State
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Julius Peppers has been a major
component of a stout Packers defense that looks to help the Packers defeat
the 12-2 Cardinals Sunday.
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 13SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Active
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
9 Barkley, Matt QB 6-2 227 25 3 USC
28 Bethel, Justin CB 6-0 190 25 4 Presbyterian
13 Brown, Jaron WR 6-2 205 25 3 Clemson
12 Brown, John WR 5-11 179 25 2 Pittsburg State
71 Bryant, Red DT 6-4 323 31 8 Texas A&M20 Bucannon, Deone S 6-1 208 23 2 Washington State
2 Butler, Drew P 6-1 217 26 3 Georgia
93 Campbell, Calais DT 6-8 300 29 8 Miami (Fla.)
7 Catanzaro, Chandler K 6-3 200 24 2 Clemson
29 Clemons, Chris S 6-1 214 30 7 Clemson
61 Cooper, Jonathan G 6-2 312 25 3 North Carolina
38 Ellington, Andre RB 5-9 199 26 3 Clemson
85 Fells, Darren TE 6-7 281 29 2 California-Irvine
11 Fitzgerald, Larry WR 6-3 218 32 12 Pittsburgh
15 Floyd, Michael WR 6-3 225 26 4 Notre Dame
54 Freeney, Dwight OLB 6-1 268 35 14 Syracuse
59 Fua, Alani ILB 6-5 234 23 R BYU
10 Golden, Brittan WR 5-11 186 27 2 West Texas A&M
44 Golden, Markus OLB 6-2 260 24 R Missouri
84 Gresham, Jermaine TE 6-5 260 27 5 Oklahoma
95 Gunter, Rodney DT 6-5 305 23 R Delaware State
74 Humphries, D.J. T 6-5 315 21 R Florida
76 Iupati, Mike G 6-5 331 28 6 Idaho
22 Jefferson, Tony S 5-11 212 23 3 Oklahoma
31 Johnson, David RB 6-1 224 24 R Northern Iowa
26 Johnson, Rashad S 5-11 204 29 7 Alabama
62 Larsen, Ted C/G 6-2 305 28 6 North Carolina State
82 Leach, Mike LS 6-2 235 39 16 William and Mary
96 Martin, Kareem OLB 6-6 272 23 2 North Carolina
70 Massie, Bobby T 6-6 316 26 4 Mississippi
97 Mauro, Josh DT 6-6 282 24 2 Stanford
51 Minter, Kevin ILB 6-1 245 25 3 LSU
14 Nelson, J.J. WR 5-10 156 23 R UAB
87 Niklas, Troy TE 6-6 270 23 2 Notre Dame
57 Okafor, Alex OLB 6-4 260 24 3 Texas
3 Palmer, Carson QB 6-5 235 35 13 USC
21 Peterson, Patrick CB 6-1 203 25 5 LSU
25 Powers, Jerraud CB 5-10 187 28 7 Auburn
90 Redding, Cory DT 6-4 318 35 13 Texas
47 Riddick, Shaq OLB 6-6 260 22 R West Virginia
92 Rucker, Frostee DT 6-3 280 32 10 USC
63 Sendlein, Lyle C 6-3 308 31 9 Texas
53 Shipley, A.Q. C/G 6-1 307 29 4 Penn State
79 Sowell, Bradley T 6-7 315 26 4 Mississippi5 Stanton, Drew QB 6-3 243 31 9 Michigan State
91 Stinson, Ed DT 6-3 287 25 2 Alabama
Active
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
36 Swearinger, D.J. S 5-10 208 24 3 South Carolina
30 Taylor, Stepfan RB 5-9 214 24 3 Stanford
68 Veldheer, Jared T 6-8 321 28 6 Hillsdale
55 Weatherspoon, Sean ILB 6-2 244 27 6 Missouri
27 White, Corey CB 6-1 210 25 4 Samford33 Williams, Kerwynn RB 5-8 198 24 2 Utah State
94 Williams, Xavier NT 6-2 309 23 R Northern Iowa
Reserve/Injured
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
35 Brooks, Cariel CB 5-10 200 24 R Adams State
83 Christian, Gerald TE 6-3 244 24 R Louisville
54 Demens, Kenny ILB 6-1 242 25 2 Michigan
75 Fullington, John G 6-5 301 24 1 Washington State
32 Mathieu, Tyrann S 5-9 186 23 3 LSU
80 Momah, Ifeanyi TE 6-7 248 26 1 Boston College
45 Person, Brandon S 6-0 200 24 R Tifn University
98 Peters, Corey DT 6-3 305 27 6 Kentucky
49 Wagenmann, Zack OLB 6-3 247 23 R Montana
78 Watford, Earl G 6-4 295 25 3 James Madison
56 Woodley, LaMarr OLB 6-2 265 31 9 Michigan
Practice Squad
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
29 Byndom, Carrington CB 6-0 180 23 1 Texas
37 Eskridge, Durell S 6-3 207 24 R Syracuse39 Hughes, Robert RB 5-11 235 26 3 Notre Dame
50 Martin, Gabe ILB 6-2 235 23 R Bowling Green
60 McClain, Antoine G 6-5 336 26 2 Clemson
72 Pierre, Olsen DT 6-4 293 24 R Miami (Fla.)
16 Shipley, Jaxon WR 6-0 190 23 R Texas
41 Toure, Abou RB 6-2 230 24 R Tennessee-Martin
73 Wetzel, John T 6-7 328 24 1 Boston College
34 White, Kevin CB 5-10 174 23 R Texas Christian
Practice Squad/Injured
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
67 Crisp, Rob T 6-7 300 24 R North Carolina State
Reserve/Non-Football Injury
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
86 Powell, Damond WR 5-11 180 23 R Iowa
Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
58 Washington, Daryl ILB 6-2 230 29 5 TCU
Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College
23 Johnson, Chris RB 5-11 203 30 7 East Carolina
Cardinals Roster
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arizona Cardinals’ David Johnson has taken over for the injured Chris John-son, exploding for three touchdowns last week against the Eagles.
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Around the NorthSlumping Bears
Just a few weeks ago,
the Chicago Bears were cel-
ebrating in the locker room
and looking at an unexpectedplayoff push.
A three-game losing
streak dashed those hopes.
Now, they’re simply trying tostop a freefall.
The Bears (5-9) delivered
one of their worst perfor-mances of the season in a 38-17 pounding at Minnesota onSunday.
“We’ll nd out who in thatlocker room has some char-acter and wants to nish and
who doesn’t,” quarterbackJay Cutler said.
Chicago was buzzing af-ter an inspired win at GreenBay on Thanksgiving nightthat put them right in theplayoff picture at 5-6, with
coach John Fox and his play-ers letting loose in the lockerroom afterward. Not only didthe Bears spoil Brett Favre’snight, they matched last sea-son’s win total.
They’ve been stuck on ve wins since then, with closelosses to San Francisco andWashington at home along
with that blowout by Min-nesota. They will miss theplayoffs for the eighth time innine years.
If they drop their remain-ing games at Tampa Bay and
against Detroit, the Bears will nish with the same re-cord they had last season
under former coach MarcTrestman.
Blossoming Bridgewater Teddy Bridgewater took
the shotgun snap for Min-nesota from the 15-yard lineand saw Chicago cornerbackTracy Porter in man-to-man,bump-and-run coverage onStefon Diggs.
This was second down,midway through the rstquarter of a then-score-less game, so Bridgewatercould’ve played it safe. Adri-an Peterson was out wide inthat formation, open for whatought to have been at least ashort completion in the at.
Bridgewater ignoredthat option and locked in onDiggs, whose fade route intothe corner of the end zonerequired a difcult throw thatthe second-year quarterbackmade look easy. The ball
oated just right, over the re-ceiver’s left shoulder where it
was out of Porter’s reach.Touchdown, Vikings, and
the Bears were behind the
remainder of the game.“He decided that he’d tryto hit the big one. I think thatplay probably shows as muchabout his condence levelright now,” Vikings coachMike Zimmer said.
Describing Bridgewateras coming of age wouldn’tquite be accurate, sincehe’s barely 23 with only 26career starts. The timing ofthis groove he’s in, though,couldn’t be better with the Vi-kings (9-5) tantalizingly closeto a spot in the playoffs.
“He just maybe feels alot more comfortable withthe things we’re doing now,”Zimmer said. “I think we’restarting to settle into who weare.”
Improving LionsThe Detroit Lions have
shown promising signs ofprogress on offense in the
past few weeks.In Monday night’s 35-27
win at New Orleans, Detroit(5-9) had perhaps its best of-fensive outing of the season.
Matthew Stafford was 22of 25 for 254 yards and threetouchdowns. Nine differentreceivers caught at least onepass.
The Lions, who rank 31stin the league in rushing of-fense, got a major boost fromtheir ground game againstthe Saints, gaining 150 yardsand two scores.
“I feel like we are play-ing good complementaryfootball,” Stafford said. “We
aren’t turning the ball overfor the most part … and weare putting up points.
“But we have to be moreconsistent just like everyother team in the NFL. When
you go out and score 35(points) on the road, you’vegot to feel good about that.”
Detroit scored fewer than20 points in eight of its rst10 games, a stretch that in-cluding three straight sub-20point performances to start
Jim Bob Cooter’s tenure asoffensive coordinator.
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 15SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS
Saturday, Dec. 26
Washington at Philadelphia, 8:25 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 27
Houston at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
New England at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Miami, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at New Orleans, 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.
Green Bay at Arizona, 4:25 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 28
Cincinnati at Denver, 8:30 p.m.
NFL Standings & ScheduleNATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
North Division
Team W L T
x-Green Bay 10 4 0
Minnesota 9 5 0
Detroit 5 9 0
Chicago 5 9 0
East Division
Team W L T
Washington 7 7 0
Philadelphia 6 8 0
N.Y. Giants 6 8 0
Dallas 4 10 0
South Division
Team W L T
y-Carolina 14 0 0
Atlanta 7 7 0
Tampa Bay 6 8 0
New Orleans 5 9 0
West DivisionTeam W L T
y-Arizona 12 2 0
x-Seattle 9 5 0
St. Louis 6 8 0
San Francisco 4 10 0
x-clinched playoff spot
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
North Division
Team W L T
x-Cincinnati 11 3 0
Pittsburgh 9 5 0
Baltimore 4 10 0
Cleveland 3 11 0
East Division
Team W L T
y-New England 12 2 0
N.Y. Jets 9 5 0
Buffalo 6 8 0
Miami 5 9 0
South Division
Team W L T
Houston 7 7 0
Indianapolis 6 8 0
Jacksonville 5 9 0
Tennessee 3 11 0
West DivisionTeam W L T
Denver 10 4 0
Kansas City 9 5 0
Oakland 6 8 0
San Diego 4 10 0
y-clinched division
NFL Stat LeadersSCORING, NONKICKERS
Points
1. Baldwin · SEA 78
1. Beckham Jr. · NYG 78
1. A. Robinson · JAX 78
4. Eifert · CIN 72
4. D. Freeman · ATL 72
4. Dav. Johnson · ARI 72
7. Je. Hill · CIN 68
8. Gronkowski · NE 66
8. B. Marshall · NYJ 66
10. An. Brown · PIT 64
SCORING, KICKERS
Points
1. Gostkowski · NE 139
2. Gano · CAR 131
3. Catanzaro · ARI 129
4. Santos · KC 1215. Jos. Brown · NYG 117
6. Hauschka · SEA 110
6. Tucker · BAL 110
8. McManus · DEN 108
8. Walsh · MIN 108
10. Da. Bailey · DAL 106
LEADING PASSERS
Rating
1. Ru. Wilson · SEA 111.4
2. C. Palmer · ARI 106.7
3. Dalton · CIN 106.3
4. Brady · NE 103.8
5. T. Taylor · BUF 101.8
6. C. Newton · CAR 98.9
7. Brees · NO 98.4
8. Cousins · WAS 97.2
9. Al. Smith · KC 96.9
10. Roethlisberger · PIT 96.4
LEADING PASS
RECEIVERS
Yards
1. An. Brown · PIT 1586
2. Ju. Jones · ATL 1544
3. Beckham Jr. · NYG 1396
4. De. Hopkins · HOU 1315
5. B. Marshall · NYJ 1261
6. A. Green · CIN 1206
7. A. Robinson · JAX 1141
8. Fitzgerald · ARI 1131
9. Dem. Thomas · DEN 1128
10. Gronkowski · NE 1072
LEADING RUSHERSYards
1. A. Peterson · MIN 1314
2. D. Martin · TB 1305
3. Gurley · STL 1023
4. J. Stewart · CAR 989
5. L. Murray · OAK 956
6. Ivory · NYJ 951
7. D. Freeman · ATL 907
8. McFadden · DAL 898
9. L. McCoy · BUF 895
10. Rawls · SEA 830
YARDS FROM
SCRIMMAGE
Total
1. An. Brown · PIT 1614
2. Ju. Jones · ATL 1544
3. A. Peterson · MIN 1520
4. D. Martin · TB 1510
5. D. Freeman · ATL 14506. Beckham Jr. · NYG 1399
7. De. Hopkins · HOU 1315
8. B. Marshall · NYJ 1261
9. A. Green · CIN 1206
10. Gurley · STL 1204
INTERCEPTIONS
1. R. Nelson · CIN 8
2. M. Peters · KC 7
2. K. Coleman · CAR 7
4. Tr. Johnson · STL 6
4. Marc. Williams · NYJ 6
6. R. Jones · MIA 5
6. Mathieu · ARI 56. M. Adams · IND 5
6. Woodson · OAK 5
6. Ras. Johnson · ARI 5
SACKS
1. K. Mack · OAK 15.0
2. Ansah · DET 13.5
2. J. Watt · HOU 13.5
4. Cha. Jones · NE 12.5
5. Wilkerson · NYJ 12.0
6. Donald · STL 11.0
7. C. Dunlap · CIN 10.5
8. Atkins · CIN 10.0
8. V. Miller · DEN 10.0
10. Peppers · GB 9.5
Packers StatsPASSING PCT YARDS TD INT RATE
A. Rodgers 60.8 3379 29 6 95.2
RUSHING ATT YARDS AVG LONG TD
Lacy 162 664 4.1 29 3J. Starks 137 566 4.1 65t 2
A. Rodgers 52 313 6.0 18 1
RECEIVING NO. YARDS AVG LONG TD
R. Cobb 70 777 11.1 53t 6
R. Rodgers 50 449 9.0 61t 7
D. Adams 43 387 9.0 40 1
Jam. Jones 41 742 18.1 65t 8
J. Starks 40 374 9.4 30 3
Lacy 17 153 9.0 26 1
Montgomery 15 136 9.1 31t 2
Perillo 11 102 9.3 24 1
Abbrederis 8 106 13.3 32 0
INTERCEPTIONS NO.
Randall 3
Shields 3
Clinton-Dix 2
M. Hyde 2Rollins 2
SACKS NO.
Peppers 9.5
Cl. Matthews 5.5
M. Daniels 4.0
N. Perry 3.5
Elliott 3.0
Dat. Jones 3.0
Neal 3.0
Clinton-Dix 2.0
M. Hyde 1.0
N. Palmer 1.0
Injury ReportPackers
T David Bakhtiari, ankle
T Bryan Bulaga, ankle
DT Mike Daniels, hamstring
LB Jayrone Elliott, quadricep
DT Letroy Guion, foot
RB Eddie Lacy, rib
T.J. Lang, shoulder
C Corey Linsley, ankle
LB Clay Matthews, ankle
CB Quinten Rollins, groin
CB Sam Shields, concussionG Josh Sitton, back
Cardinals
RB Andre Ellington, toe
TE Jermaine Gresham, knee
S Rashad Johnson, ankle
DT Josh Mauro, calf
CB Carson Palmer, right fnger
CB Patrick Peterson, ankle
CB Jerraud Powers, calf
DT Cory Redding, ankle
DT Frostee Rucker, ankle
C Lyle Sendlein, knee
DT Ed Stinson, shoulderLB Sean Weatherspoon, illness
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WOLF RIVER MEDIA 16 Saturday, December 26, 2015 GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS