GREEN BAY PACKERS (0-0) VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-0) REGULAR SEASON GAME #1 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 – 3:25 P.M. (CST) TIAA BANK FIELD – JACKSONVILLE, FL. TV: FOX (WVUE FOX 8 locally) – Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color analyst) and Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline) NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Radio – Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Doug Plank (color analyst) LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Mike Hoss (play-by-play) and Deuce McAllister (color analyst) SPANISH LANGUAGE RADIO: KGLA (830 AM and 105.7 FM) – Mario Je- rez (play-by-play), Juan Carlos Ramos and Victor Quinonez (color analysts) Green Bay upended New Orleans 42-34 in the 2011 sea- . THE MATCHUP son opener at Lambeau Field. The New Orleans Saints will open the season by facing Sunday’s contest will be the 28th meeting between New the Green Bay Packers. The two teams will meet at 3:25 Orleans and Green Bay, with the Packers leading the all- p.m. CT Sunday, September 12 at TIAA Bank Field in time series 17-9. Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has Jacksonville, Fla., a temporary relocation of the contest posted a 4-2 record against the Packers. necessary for the host Saints as the greater New Orleans region recovers from Hurricane Ida, which made landfall The New Orleans Saints took another step forward un- on Sunday, August 29. In the midst of hurricane recovery der Payton in 2020, persevering through the COVID-19 and municipalities restoring services, the Saints moved pandemic to win their fourth consecutive NFC South divi- their football operation to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to sion title. New Orleans will face similar challenges at the prepare for their opener. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin An- start of the 2021 season as they will have dealt with the drews and Tom Rinaldi will have the call on FOX in a con- aftereffects of Ida. The resolve that they showed in 2020 test that will be broadcast in the majority of the nation. despite injuries at the quarterback, wide receiver and cor- Mike Hoss and Deuce McAllister will bring life to the game nerback positions will be needed in 2021. After starting the on radio through WWL, while Mario Jerez, Juan Carlos 2020 campaign 1-2, two overtime wins and a three straight Ramos and Victor Quinonez will present the game in victories without their starting quarterback during a nine- Spanish on KGLA. game winning streak showed what the Saints are made of. A 6-2 road record displayed their persistence, which will be The Saints have a 19-35 all-time record in season necessary when they play a home game at a neutral site openers, but will be seeking to win three straight openers on Sunday against the 2020 NFC Championship finalists. for the second time in franchise history on Sunday (2008- 10). This is the third time the Saints and Packers have Following Sunday’s contest, the Saints will open the road faced off in a Season opener. New Orleans dropped the portion of their regular season at Carolina on Sept. 19 fol- 1977 opener 24-20 to the Packers in the Superdome. lowed by a trip to New England on Sept. 26. Packers vs. Saints: Week 1 2 SAINTS-PACKERS CONNECTIONS THE HEAD COACHES New Orleans QB Taysom Hill was originally signed by the Sean Payton has posted a 152-89 overall record (.629), Packers as an undrafted free agent out of Brigham Young including a 9-8 postseason mark after the franchise had in 2017 and spent training camp with the team before being won only one playoff game prior to his arrival in 2006. Pay- picked up off waivers at the start of the regular season by ton holds both the club’s top victory total and winning per- the Saints...Green Bay Outside Linebackers Coach Mike centage. Payton is ranked 25th all-time in NFL record Smith tutored Saints LB Demario Davis as a rookie books in victories, fifth among active head coaches. He with the New York Jets in 2012...Green Bay Defensive Line continues to represent the Saints as the model of stability Coach Jerry Montgomery went to training camp with the not only within the NFC South, as he is the longest tenured Saints in 2002...New Orleans Offensive Assistant Declan head coach within the division, but also among the most Doyle is an Iowa City, Iowa native who served as base- accomplished within the NFL. Only the Patriots’ Bill Bel- ball team captain at Iowa Western Community College and ichick (2000) has been with the his team longer than Pay- served as an offensive student assistant at the University ton’s 15 seasons. Payton is also one of just nine active of Iowa as he completed his education...Saints K Wil Lutz NFL head coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. and Packers CB Chandon Sullivan were college team- The others are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Bruce Arians, mates at Georgia State. New Orleans S Malcolm Jenkins Belichick, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, the Las Ve- and Sullivan were teammates in Philadelphia in 2018...New gas Raiders’ Jon Gruden (Buccaneers in 2002), the Balti- Orleans DB J.T. Gray and Green Bay C Hunter Bradley, G more Ravens’ John Harbaugh, the Dallas Cowboys’ Mike Ekgton Jenkins and S Will Redmond were college McCarthy (Green Bay Packers in 2010), Kansas City’s teammates at Mississippi State...Saints C/G Cesar Ruiz Andy Reid and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin. The and Green Bay G Jon Runyan Jr. were teammates on the 2020 Saints were only the sixth team in National Football offensive line at Michigan and also played with Packers LB League history to have six-game winning streaks in four Rashan Gary..…Saints C/G Erik McCoy and Packers TE consecutive seasons and with a nine-game winning streak Jace Sternberger were college teammates at Texas had won at least nine straight games in two of the past A&M…New Orleans WR Ty Montgomery played for Green three seasons and had double-digit victory figures and con- Bay from 2015-17...Packers Executive Vice President/ secutive playoff berths in four straight years for the first Director of Football Operations Russ Ball spent six sea- time in franchise history, also being only the third NFC sons (2002-07) with the Saints in their front office, the final team since divisional alignment to capture four straight divi- two as Vice President of Football Administration and the sion championships. Five Saints were selected to the Pro first four as Senior Football Administrator...Saints T Ryan Bowl as the Black and Gold qualified for the NFL playoffs Ramczyk is a Stevens Point, Wis. native who played at for the ninth season (2006, 2009-11, 2013, 2017-20) in Wisconsin Stevens-Point and then Wisconsin in 2016, Payton’s head coaching tenure. The 2019 New Orleans where he was a first-team All-American...New Orleans LB Saints posted their second consecutive 13-3 record, cap- Zack Baun is a Brown Deer, Wis. Native who played at turing their third consecutive NFC South title and playoff Wisconsin…Green Bay General Manager Scouting Brian berth. A franchise-record six players were selected Associ- Gutekunst received his first NFL experience in the ated Press All-Pro and a club-best 11 were named to the summer of 1995 when he assisted the Saints coaching Pro Bowl. New Orleans won seven games on the road for staff with the offensive line during training camp in La- the second consecutive season. The Saints set an National Crosse, Wisc...Packers Special Teams Coordinator Mau- Football League single-season record with only eight turno- rice Drayton served on the Southern Mississippi vers as they ranked second in the league in turnover ratio coaching staff in 2012...New Orleans S Jeff Heath and (+15). New Orleans also ranked third in sacks (51), tied for Green Bay WR Randall Cobb were teammates in Dallas in third in scoring (28.6 ppg.) and ranked fourth in opponent 2019...New Orleans TE Juwan Johnson, OL Calvin Throck- rushing yards per game. Special teams captured first place morton and Green Bay C Jake Hanson were college in National Football League writer Rick Gosselin’s annual teammates at Oregon...Saints LB Pete Werner and Pack- comprehensive rankings. Payton earned a bachelor’s de- ers C Josh Myers were college teammates at Ohio gree in communications at Eastern Illinois, where as a State...New Orleans DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Pack- quarterback he had 10,665 passing yards, at the time the ers DT T.J. Slaton were college teammates at the Universi- third-highest total in NCAA Division I-AA history. Payton ty of Florida...Saints DL Christian Ringo was originally a was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Fame in 2000 sixth round draft pick of Green Bay in 2015 and played in and had his jersey retired in a ceremony in 2010. He re- eight regular season games and one postseason contest ceived an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2013. for the Packers in 2016, posting two tackles and one forced Payton was born Dec. 29, 1963 in San Mateo, Calif., and fumble. raised in Naperville, Ill., Payton has a daughter, Meghan and a son, Connor. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Packers vs. Saints: Week 1 3 THE HEAD COACHES the Louisiana Superdome, Oct. 12, 1975. • RB Mark Ingram II, 105 yards on 22 carries, at Matt LaFleur (26-6) was named the 15th head coach in Lambeau Field, Oct.