Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Sunday, December 19, 2010, 8:20 pm EST, TV: NBC
Opening Line: Patriots -10.5
Current Line: Patriots -14
Opening Total: 43.5
Current Total: 43.5
Money Line: Patriots -800 / Packers +550
The New England Patriots (11-2) can clinch the AFC East title and a first-round bye in the playoffs with a victory against the injury-plagued Green Bay Packers (8-5) on Sunday Night Football and a loss by the New York Jets. The Patriots (-14) saw quarterback Tom Brady set an NFL record for consecutive home wins in their last game at Gillette Stadium, and now they will get to face the Packers without their starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers due to a concussion.
Rodgers was ruled out on Saturday after suffering the injury on a running play in the second quarter of a 7-3 loss at Detroit last week. It was his second of the season, and a huge area of concern for a Packers team that can lose their bid for the NFC North title with a loss and a win by Chicago at Minnesota on Monday Night Football. Green Bay also sits one game behind the New York Giants for the final wild-card playoff spot and hosts them next week.
Matt Flynn replaced Rodgers last Sunday against the Lions and completed 15 of 26 passes for 177 yards with an interception that was thrown in the end zone during a potential scoring drive. This will be his first career start while Brady goes for his 27th straight home win after dismantling five straight opponents and posting wins. New England is averaging 39.2 points during the five-game winning streak with Brady throwing 15 touchdowns and no interceptions.
In fact, Brady has not thrown a pick since Week 6 against Baltimore, tossing 19 touchdown passes without one. He is 40 pass attempts shy of setting the league record for most passes thrown without an interception. Last week in a 36-7 win at Chicago, Brady threw for a season-high 369 yards and two touchdowns as the total went OVER for the Patriots in their seventh game in a row.
The Packers do present a bit of a challenge defensively, ranking third in the NFL in pass defense, giving up just 196.8 yards per game. They are tied for third in interceptions with 18, behind only New England and Philadelphia. Green Bay’s defense ranks first in the league in points allowed, giving up 14.5 per game. That number is even lower in the last six games at less than nine points per game. The UNDER has cashed in three of the last four games overall for the Pack.
New England blanked Green Bay 35-0 in the last meeting at Lambeau Field in 2006, but the Packers won the previous three meetings, including a victory in Super Bowl XXXI. That championship win was the lone title of Brett Favre’s career, showing how long ago it was. The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the teams.
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