Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders: Full Green Bay Game Preview
The Green Bay Packers will travel to the West Coast in Week 15 to take on the Oakland Raiders in a nonconference matchup.
The Packers (9-4), coming off their second straight win, have a one-game lead in the NFC North standings heading into the season's final three weeks.
On the other hand, the Raiders (6-7) are fresh off a victory over the Denver Broncos and remain desperate for wins, as they sit just outside both their division and AFC wild-card races.
Sunday's contest will be just the 13th meeting between the two teams—and the first since 2011. The Packers own the slight head-to-head advantage, 7-5, in the all-time series and have won their last six games against the Raiders.
Oakland presents a tough challenge for opponents because of all the young talent it boasts. From Derek Carr to Khalil Mack, the team is hungry to prove the league wrong while learning quickly.
Let's look ahead to everything you need to know ahead of the Packers' Week 15 matchup with the Raiders.
Viewing Info
Location: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
Date: Sunday
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Week 14 Results and Recap
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NFC North Standings
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | Div. | PF | PA | Streak |
| Green Bay Packers | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 3-2 | 317 | 245 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 3-1 | 258 | 255 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 1-3 | 272 | 314 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 9 | 0 | .308 | 2-3 | 267 | 336 | L2 |
Week 14 Recap
The Packers reeled off an impressive 28-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to give them sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
The big headline from the game, though, was how well the offense played under the play-calling of head coach Mike McCarthy.
News trickled out before kickoff that McCarthy would be calling the offensive plays for the first time this year after handing the duties off to associate head coach Tom Clements in the offseason.
The decision proved to pay off as the Packers gained 435 total yards and 29 first downs on offense—a big difference from what fans have seen from Aaron Rodgers and Co. lately.
Although the final score may not show it, the Cowboys made this a close one in the third quarter following their four-play, 80-yard scoring drive to cut the lead to 14-7.
From there, though, Green Bay would slowly put the game out of reach behind a strong running game that racked up 230 rushing yards—the most in a regular-season game since 2004.
Eddie Lacy had season highs in rushing yards (124) and carries (24) as McCarthy made a clear effort in getting his star tailback back in the mix after a missed curfew caused him to miss paying time against Detroit in Week 13.
News and Notes
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Mike Daniels Gets Contract Extension
The Packers signed defensive lineman Mike Daniels to a four-year, $42 million contract extension on Monday—making him one of the highest-paid 3-4 defensive ends in the league—according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Schefter reported the deal also includes a $12 million signing bonus and will pay Daniels $22 million over the first 15 months. All in all, the $10.5 million annual average makes Daniels the third highest-paid 3-4 defensive end in the league—only Houston's J.J. Watt and ($16.7 million) and Arizona's Calais Campbell ($11 million) make more at the position, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
Daniels, 26, has improved in each of his four NFL seasons with the Packers. He's already matched his career high in tackles this season (41) and leads all Green Bay defensive linemen in sacks (4.0), which gives him 18 in his career, second on the team since 2012 to only Clay Matthews.
According to Pro Football Focus' grading system, Daniels has also moved up in the league ranks at his position each year since his first season in 2012, per NBC's Cris Collinsworth on Twitter.
Here's more from Demovsky on how good Daniels has been this season:
"ProFootballFocus.com rates Daniels as the second-ranked 3-4 defensive end in the league this season behind only Watt. According to PFF, Daniels ranks third among that position group in quarterback hurries and tied for 15th in quarterback hits. Against the run, he has been charged with only three missed tackles.
"
After the news broke, Daniels was asked by a reporter whether or not his chip-on-the-shoulder attitude would be affected after a new contract. He said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
"I'm still pissed, That's never going to change. It's just how I approach the game, it's how I play. The fact that I signed a contract doesn't change the fact that I got overlooked in high school, doesn't change the fact that I was consistently called short coming out of the draft, I'm not strong, I can't play the run and all this other stuff. It doesn't change the fact that I had to grind to get where I'm at. Success is just a product of the work I'm doing. I'll just keep on working.
"
Sounds like that reporter got his answer.
Charles Woodson Opens Up Ahead of Sunday's Reunion
You may remember when the Packers chose to void the final two years of a certain defensive back's contract before the 2012 season that would have paid that certain player $18 million. It's all about money, isn't it? Well, Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson will face his former team for the first time since he left Green Bay three years ago.
As you might expect, it's not about money at all for the 39-year-old former Packer.
"I think it was one of those things, every time you talk about it, it opens up the wound a little bit," Woodson said in a conference call with local reporters, via Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel. "Now you're back talking about it this week and I'm angry again.
"So, I guess I ain't ever getting over it."
Woodson also admitted he's taken specific note of the Packers' struggles at replacing him in the secondary after he left.
"When you're let go, released or whatever, the message is that you're not good enough to play out there and they have something better to offer," the 18-year vet said, via Silverstein. "I definitely paid close attention to it."
Either way, Woodson's seven seasons as a Packer are hard to forget. He not only revived his career but also anchored a Super Bowl-winning defense and earned a Defensive Player of the Year award during his time in Green Bay.
Sunday should be fun—if only to see Woodson try to pick off Aaron Rodgers and wreak havoc on his old team.
Rodgers said this week of his former teammate, via Jason Wilde of ESPN.com:
"He made me a lot better player. If you weren't aware of where he was at [on] every single rep, he'd make you look bad. When you're a backup, you care so much about how those practices go, and the last thing you want is to see Charles holding that ball up after an interception and tossing it back to you. ... He made everybody better when he was here, and he's still doing it.
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Latest Injury News
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Week 15 Injury Report
| Player | Position | Injury | Status |
| David Bakhtiari | OT | Knee | LP |
| Bryan Bulaga | OT | Knee | LP |
| Mike Daniels | DL | Hamstring | LP |
| Casey Hayward | CB | Hamstring | FP |
| T.J. Lang | OG | Shoulder | LP |
| Corey Linsley | C | Ankle | LP |
| Clay Matthews | LB | Ankle | LP |
| Ty Montgomery | WR | Ankle | LP |
| Nick Perry | LB | Shoulder | LP |
| Sam Shields | CB | Concussion | DNP |
| Josh Sitton | OG | Back | DNP |
Injury Notes
Another week, and another injury report featuring the entirety of Green Bay's starting offensive line.
Center Corey Linsley (ankle), guard T.J. Lang (shoulder) and tackles Bryan Bulaga (ankle) and David Bakhtiari (ankle) were all limited at practice Wednesday. Meanwhile, guard Josh Sitton sat out practice with back tightness—an injury that can't be ignored for offensive linemen.
According to Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel, Sitton's injury isn't a serious one at all:
"Over the past three seasons, Sitton has had on-again, off-again back problems and coach Mike McCarthy and the medical staff let him spend most of the week rehabbing to get himself ready to play. He can get away with it because he's the most veteran of the team's linemen, and someone who won't have a problem absorbing the game plan.
"
"It's important," Sitton said of the time off from practice, via Silverstein. "I think I'm at the point where I know what I need and what I don't need. Mike [McCarthy] is tune with that and so is [offensive line coach James] Campen. They've been great about that."
Here's more from Silverstein on how Sitton's week-to-week recovery regimen typically goes with minor injuries like his current back problems: "Sitton typically dresses in pads on Thursdays, but he doesn't do a lot. By the time Saturday's practice rolls around he's feeling better and much closer to being ready to play 60 minutes of football on Sunday."
Linsley, who missed last week's game with a sprained ankle, was back at practice, taking reps with the first team and looking ready for the Raiders.
As for Sam Shields, the cornerback remains in the concussion protocol after leaving in the second quarter against the Cowboys. We'll know more later in the week whether or not Shields is a go for Sunday.
Official injury report courtesy of Packers.com.
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Top Matchup
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Packers CBs vs. Raiders WRs
The Raiders' recent stretch of losing seasons has allowed them to stock up on talent in the first round of the last few NFL drafts.
Quarterback Derek Carr represents one of the best young arms in the league and has two dynamic receivers at his disposal.
Rookie Amari Cooper, the fourth overall pick in May, leads Oakland in receiving yards (920), while Michael Crabtree, a seventh-year receiver who signed with the Raiders before this season, is the team leader in receptions (70) and receiving touchdowns (seven).
The pair of pass-catchers presents matchup problems for any opposing secondary and will go head-to-head with Green Bay's own young cornerbacks Sunday.
If Sam Shields—who's sitting out practice after suffering a concussion against Dallas last week—can't suit up this weekend, the Packers will look to rookie cornerbacks Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins to step up as the main cover guys across from Cooper and Crabtree.
Luckily for Packers fans, the youngsters are coming off an impressive performance against the Cowboys where they were thrust into the spotlight.
When Shields went down just 13 snaps into the game, it was Randall who switched onto Dez Bryant and subsequently shut down the star wideout. Bryant's only catch of the game—a nine-yarder—came against Shields in the first quarter. Afterward, Randall held Bryant without a reception on three targets.
With Randall replacing Shields as the No. 1 corner on the outside, defensive coordinator Dom Capers chose to leave Casey Hayward in the slot and move Rollins to the outside as the No. 2 corner.
"I have confidence in both of those guys," Capers said of his rookie defensive backs, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. "They've played a lot of football for us now. I think they're both confident guys. They've improved as the season has gone on. I thought when Sam went out...Damarious did a nice job. If you would've told me here last week that Bryant would have one catch for nine yards, I would've taken it."
Here's more from Demovsky on how well Randall and Rollins have played this season:
"Randall was named the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month for November, and Pro Football Focus has him graded as the third-best rookie cornerback among those who have played in at least one quarter of their team's snaps (and second best among those rookie corners who have played in at least half the snaps).
If you throw out a minimum snap requirement, PFF has Rollins ranked third among rookie corners.
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It's safe to expect Carr to target the two rookies on the outside and force them into tight coverage on Cooper and Crabtree.
Randall and Rollins passed the first test against Dallas, but Sunday's game, where each will have his hands full with talented pass-catchers, will be the ultimate sign of things to come—good or bad.
X-Factor
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Packers X-Factor of the Week: WR James Jones
Although Oakland safety Charles Woodson is sure to be amped up Sunday against his old team, he's not the only one who is looking for a bit of revenge in this Week 15 matchup.
The Raiders cut James Jones in May with two years left on his contract. The team had just drafted Amari Cooper and signed Michael Crabtree—and apparently saw no use in an aging wideout who could potentially steal targets from the young talent.
All signs are pointing to a revenge game for Jones, who will return to Oakland for the first time since the team released him.
Still, the 31-year-old insists there's no redemption factor in his mind ahead of Sunday's game. Jones said on Wednesday, via Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
"I mean I've been cut by two teams. Like I've been saying since the year started, I want to go out there and play good football, man. Not for them but for myself. I never came into this game trying to prove people wrong. I came into this game just trying to show people my ability and really show myself with all the hard work I've put in in the offseason for it to all pay off on the football field.
"
Jones recorded a career-high 73 receptions in a Raiders uniform last season.
"No, I'm not trying to go in there and catch a million balls and say, 'I told you so. Why did you cut me?'" he said, via Hodkiewicz. "Nah, I just want to play a good game. But most of all, I just want to win."
Prediction: Packers 31, Raiders 20
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Sunday's contest is eerily setting up as a trap game for the Packers—despite how well they performed in last week's win over the Cowboys.
Traveling to the West Coast is notoriously tricky for any team—let alone having to play in front a tough Oakland home crowd.
The Raiders offense has also been on fire lately as the team makes a playoff push behind its young core of quarterback Derek Carr, receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and running back Latavius Murray.
It will be interesting to see which Green Bay offense shows up, as well. If it's anything like the Mike McCarthy-led unit that ran the ball down Dallas' throats last week, this game could wind up being a high-scoring affair.
Look for McCarthy to call Eddie Lacy's number at least 20 times on the ground—as he did last Sunday—and try to establish the run game with Aaron Rodgers taking a backseat to his backfield mates.
Then again, if the game turns into an offensive shootout, Rodgers might need to take control and make plays with his arm.
Prediction: Packers 31, Raiders 20
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