What You Need to Know About the New England Patriots Game Against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium

Editor’s Note: Information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations.

Sick of hearing about deflated footballs and courtroom drama? So are we and that’s why Foxborough Patch is more excited than usual for the start of the NFL preseason!

Thursday night, the New England Patriots will open the preseason at home against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots and Packers will be facing off in the preseason for the 14th time overall and for the first time since Aug. 26, 2005 when the Patriots claimed a 27-3 victory at Lambeau Field.

The Patriots traveled to Green Bay last season for a regular season game, where the Packers claimed a 26-21 victory on Nov. 30 at Lambeau Field.

The Patriots first regular season home victory under the ownership of Robert Kraft was on Oct. 2, 1994 in a 17-16 win against Green Bay.

To help you get ready for the game, here is what you need to know:

Broadcast Information
TELEVISION: The game will be broadcast by the Patriots Preseason Television Network and can be seen in every New England state, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. The pre-season network’s flagship station is WBZ-TV CBS in Boston. WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche provides play-by-play and is joined by former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria in the broadcast booth. Former Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham will provide sideline analysis along with WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton. Patriots Football Weekly’s beatwriters Paul Perillo and Andy Hart will also provide insight and analysis.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network’s 39 stations can be found in this press release. Play- by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.

Parking Lot and Gate Information

The Gillette Stadium parking lot open 4 hours before the start of the game and fans may start entering the stadium 2 hours before kickoff.

• Any vehicle towing a trailer (this includes fifth-wheel RV units).
• Professional catering trucks and or services without prior written approval from stadium management.
• Excessive tailgate setups that impede on customers parked around your vehicles, emergency access or deemed to be unsafe or inappropriate by Stadium Management.
• Any type of swimming pool, portable pool, hot tubs, water filled pickup trucks, or the like.

Allow Plenty of Time for Traffic Around the Stadium

With a large crowd expected, drivers are advised to allow themselves plenty of time when traveling near the stadium on game day. Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads before and after the game. Fans must use I-95, I-495 or Route 140 to access Gillette Stadium.

Those not going to the game should seek alternate routes to their destination.

The Dos and Do Nots of the Parking Lot

No one wants to be that person that gets in trouble for something that could have been avoided by knowing the the rules of the parking lot. Here are the regulations for parking at the stadium. To provide all visitors with a safe and enjoyable visit to Gillette Stadium, the following parking lot restrictions apply on game days:

• Visitors must be in possession of a valid ticket to that day’s game to gain access to parking lots.
• Parking license is limited solely to the purpose of parking your vehicle on our property to gain entry to Gillette Stadium. Each paid license entitles the licensee to occupy one parking space.
• Solicitation, commercial or otherwise, by anyone for any purpose is expressly prohibited.
• Sale of any food, beverage or other items in Gillette Stadium parking lots, either prepaid or walk-up, without obtaining prior written approval of stadium management is expressly prohibited.
• Visitors must follow the directions given by the parking attendants and park within the space they designate for your use.
• Spaces cannot be held for vehicles arriving at a later time.
• Vehicles cannot be pulled into drive aisles after they are parked.
• Failure to abide by these rules and restrictions will result in the immediate revocation of the individual’s parking license, the individual will be escorted from the property, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense, and such conduct may result in the loss of Season Ticket Holder privileges.

Series History

The Patriots will face Green Bay in the preseason for the first time since 2005 and for the 14th time overall in a preseason game. The last time the two teams met in a preseason contest was on Aug. 26, 2005 at Lambeau Field with New England claiming a 27-3 victory.

The Packers will play a preseason game in Foxborough for the first time since 1993. Green Bay leads the preseason series, 7-6. The last four preseason meetings between the the two clubs have been played in Green Bay.

This week’s game will be Green Bay’s first preseason meeting at Gillette Stadium and third visit overall to Gillette Stadium. The Packers beat the Patriots, 28-10, in a 2002 regular season game at Gillette and lost, 31-27, in a Sunday Night Football game on Dec. 19, 2010 in their last visit to New England.

The Patriots traveled to Green Bay last year for a regular season game, where the Packers claimed a 26-21 victory on Nov. 30 at Lambeau Field. The regular season series between the two teams is tied, 5-5. Green Bay beat the Patriots in the one postseason meeting between the two teams, a 35-21 Packers victory in Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 1997.

The Patriots first regular season home victory under Robert Kraft was on Oct. 2, 1994 in a 17-16 win against Green Bay.

Quick Hits

The Packers were the first team to defeat the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, claiming a 28-10 victory on Oct. 13, 2002, in New England’s first season in its new home.
Following that loss, the Patriots won 14 straight against the NFC North until losing, 26-21, at Green Bay on Nov. 30, 2014.

Connections

New England Ties

• Packers DT Lavon Hooks was born in New Haven, Conn.
• Packers TE Justin Perillo played in 44 games with 35 starts at Maine, where he hauled in 128 receptions for 1,318 yards and 15 TDs.
• Packers TE Richard Rodgers attended St. John’s HS in Shrewsbury, Mass., where he was named a PrepStar All-American after leading all Massachusetts Division C-1 players in receiving (1,064 yards), sacks (eight) and scoring (17 touchdowns) as a senior in 2010.
• Packers QB Scott Tolzien’s younger brother, Mark, played quarterback at Holy Cross.

Green Bay Ties

• Patriots RB James White played collegiately at Wisconsin from 2010-13, appearing in 52 games with 12 starts and finishing his career ranked No. 4 all-time at Wisconsin with 4,015 rushing yards. He also finished third all-time at Wisconsin with 45 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the eighth-most in Big Ten history, and third all-time with 48 total touchdowns, the ninth-most by a Big Ten player. White also broke school records for longest run (93 yards) and career receiving yards by a running back (670).

Former Patriots

• Packers running backs coach Sam Gash was originally drafted by New England in the eighth round (205th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He spent six seasons (1992-97) with the Patriots, appearing in 88 games, rushing 105 times for 291 yards and two touchdowns and catching 104 passes for 826 yards and six touchdowns.
• Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers served as a special assistant – secondary for the Patriots in 2008.
• Packers strength and conditioning assistant Thadeus Jackson got his first NFL experience as an athletic training intern for the Patriots during their 2003 training camp.

Former NFL Teammates

• Patriots defensive assistant Brendan Daly tutored Packers DT Letroy Guion from 2012-13, when Daly was the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vi- kings. Guion set career highs with 15 starts and 31 tackles in 2012, his first year under Daly.
• Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea and Packers offensive line coach Mike Solari spent two seasons (2004-05) together on the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff under Dick Vermeil, O’Shea as a volunteer special teams assistant and Solari as the offensive line coach.

Former College Teammates

• Patriots T Nate Solder and Packers T David Bakhtiari were teammates along the offensive line at Colorado from 2009-10. Bakhtiari redshirted as a true freshman in 2009 before playing all 11 games at right tackle opposite Solder in 2010. Following Solder’s graduation, Bakhtiari moved over to the blind side full-time in 2011.
• Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower (2008-11), Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (2011-13) and RB Eddie Lacy (2009-12) were teammates at Alabama in 2011, when they helped lead the Crimson Tide to the BCS National Championship.
• Patriots TE Michael Hoomanawanui (2007-09) and DB Tavon Wilson (2008-11) played under Packers assistant special teams coach Ron Zook when he was serving as head coach at Illinois from 2005-11.
• Packers DT Josh Boyd and Patriots LB Chris White were defensive teammates at Mississippi State from 2009-10.

What to Look for

Who Goes Behind Center?

With Tom Brady potentially out for up to four games, all eyes will be on backup quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Lindley and the quality of their play. On Monday, reporters at training camp called the rainy and Brady-less practice session one of the sloppiest they have seen.

Mike Reiss of ESPN reported that the team has no plans to play Brady Thursday night, with Garoppolo to start and Lindley to serve as the backup.

While things could change before the start of the game, it is not uncommon for Brady to miss the preseason opener, sitting out the first game in 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014

A Look at the Team’s Depth
Will this game have the same amount of hype and meaning as November’s Patriots-Packers game? Absolutely not. With that bring said, the preseason provides a chance for veterans to get back into the groove of things, young players to prove themselves, and for coaches to get a better idea of a team’s depth.
So while it will be nice to see the Patriots back on the field, Thursday night is about seeing where the team is as a whole rather than wins and losses. While a win would be nice for Patriots fans and the team, a preseason loss isn’t the worse thing in the grand scheme.

Photo Credit: New England Patriots