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Packers aiming for 30

The Packers have won 13 NFL championships, the most all-time, and the club’s .644 postseason winning percentage (29-16) is the best in NFL history. Green Bay currently has 29 playoff wins. With a win Sunday against the Giants at Lambeau Field, the Packers can become the third team to record 30 postseason victories in NFL annals, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers (33) and Dallas Cowboys (33).

 The teams with the most playoff victories in NFL history:

 *still active in 2011 playoffs

Lambeau Field grounds crew prepares for playoffs, paints field

Green Bay Packers fields manager Allen Johnson and his staff are in the midst of a busy week of preparing Lambeau Field for Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. CT showdown between the Packers and New York Giants. The crew painted the Divisional Playoffs logo along both sidelines Tuesday afternoon.

Click here to see photos of the process.

Packers to face Giants in NFC divisional round

With their victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants earned a trip to Lambeau Field for the NFC divisional playoffs against the Packers at 3:30 p.m. CT next Sunday.

Seeded fourth in the NFC, the Giants (10-7) beat the Falcons 24-2 in a wild-card game on Sunday. The Packers (15-1) are seeded first in the NFC and had a first-round bye.

No. 2 seed San Francisco (13-3) will host No. 3 seed New Orleans (14-3) in the other NFC divisional game, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The winners of the two divisional games will meet in the NFC Championship on Sunday, Jan. 22, at the site of the highest remaining seed. The Packers, as the No. 1 seed, would host the conference title game should they get there.

Next Sunday’s Packers-Giants game will be the second meeting between the teams this season. Back on Dec. 4, the Packers won, 38-35, on a last-second field goal at MetLife Stadium.

The Packers and Giants last met in the playoffs following the 2007 season in the NFC title game. The Giants won that game, 23-20 in overtime at Lambeau Field, to advance to the Super Bowl.

The upcoming game will mark the seventh postseason meeting all-time between the Packers and Giants. The Packers are 4-2 in the previous six meetings, beating the Giants for the NFL Championship in 1939, ’44, ’61 and ’62. The Giants beat the Packers for the NFL title in 1938 and in the NFC Championship four years ago.

Looking back, looking ahead

Some numbers worth noting as the Packers prepare for the Lions:

18.6 – Average points Green Bay has allowed this season at home. The Packers have scored an average of 39.4 points per game at Lambeau Field in 2011, which ranks No. 2 in the NFL. The club’s record for scoring average at home is 38.0, set in 1942.

6 – The Packers can become only the sixth team in NFL history to finish a season 15-1.

17 – Passing attempts by Aaron Rodgers the last time the Lions visited Lambeau Field, Oct. 3, 2010. It was the fewest attempts by the QB in a game he finished since he took over as a starter in ’08. The Packers prevailed, 28-26, with Rodgers’ 16-yard scramble helping the club run out the final 6:32 of the contest.

In the ’10 victory over Detroit, he recorded a passer rating of 105.3. Rodgers completed 12 passes vs. the Lions, tied for the fewest in his career (vs. Seattle, 12/27/09). The only game where Rodgers has thrown or completed fewer passes was last year at Detroit (7 of 11, 46 yards), when he departed in the first half with an injury.

2002 – The last year Green Bay went undefeated at home. The Packers enter the finale with a 7-0 record at Lambeau Field. Green Bay is one of three teams unbeaten at home this season, joining the Ravens and Saints.

3 – Charles Woodson has returned an interception for a touchdown vs. the Lions each of the last three years. Woodson picked off a pass in the Thanksgiving game at Detroit, no touchdown. The cornerback’s feat of three-straight seasons is an NFL record.

1,089 – Rushing yards combined between running backs James Starks (578) and Ryan Grant (511).

5 – Both the Packers and Lions have lost only five fumbles in 2011.

385 – Completions by Matthew Stafford this season. Rodgers has completed 343 passes.  The Detroit QB has 604 attempts, Rodgers has 502. Stafford has set team records with 4,518 yards and 36 TDs.

Packers clinch home-field advantage

The Packers gave their fans a Christmas gift in the form of  home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, with a 35-21 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the star of the game, throwing for five touchdowns before giving way to backup Matt Flynn in the fourth quarter. Rodgers has 45 touchdown passes this season and is five touchdown passes away from tying Tom Brady’s all-time single-season record of 50.

The win improved the Packers’ record to 14-1 with one regular-season game remaining, against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on New Year’s Day. The Packers will have a first-round playoff bye and then host a game in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs on either Jan. 14 or 15.

Chicago rushed for 199 yards and was led by running back Kahlil Bell’s 121 yards rushing. Quarterback Josh McCown was making his first start of the season and the Bears were successful in writing him out of the script until the Packers moved out to a 28-10 lead in the third quarter.

The Packers committed no turnovers and no penalties, and the Packers defense stiffened when the Bears moved into scoring territory, but 441 yards of offense by a Bears team that has been struggling to move the ball and score points since losing quarterback Jay Cutler, is a concern for a Packers defense that is ranked 31st in the league.

Jordy Nelson led the Packers with six catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. James Jones also caught two touchdown passes; Jermichael Finley caught one.

Chicago dominated time of possession by more than 10 minutes, but the Packers made the big plays. It was a touchdown drive in the final two minutes of the first half that gave the Packers their first comfortable lead, 14-3 at halftime.

“Now we’re going to enjoy the rest of Christmas with our families,” Rodgers said after the game.

Stay tuned to packers.com as it updates its coverage of tonight’s game.

Team photo taken this morning

As the Packers returned from their bye week, but before taking the practice field, the annual team photo was taken inside Lambeau Field on Monday morning. With cloud cover in Green Bay, the photographers caught a break, not having to deal with sunlight-caused shadows that can create lighting issues.

After the photo, the players quickly returned to the locker room to get ready for practice, which was scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. It’s the team’s first on-field workout since before the Minnesota game on Oct. 24.

Go behind the scenes and see the making of the 2011 team photo:

• Photo gallery
• Video