Serving Bills Fans Since 1998 Home BILLS DAILY GAMEDAY PREVIEW GAMEDAY HOMEPAGE Week 16: Bills vs. Packers Preview The Bills go into the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field with the faintest of playoff hopes still alive. They are coming off what is possibly the biggest win of the Gregg Williams era. They go into Green Bay in December, a place where Brett Favre is 26-1 in his career in December and January. To top that off, Favre has never lost a game when the temperature is below 34°. It will be below that on Sunday for sure. The Packers have long clinched their division but they are in a three way dogfight for the number one seed and home field throughout the playoffs. That is vital for their chances of going to the Super Bowl so they will be ready for this battle. Facts and Figures Matchup: Buffalo (7-7) at Green Bay (11-3) Date: Sunday December 22, 2002 Place: Lambeau Field Time: 1:00pm Television: CBS Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross, & Beasley Reece Spread: Packers by 6 1/2 Series: Bills leads 6-2 Last Meeting: Bills 27-18 in Buffalo (2000) Packers Off: Rush (11th); Pass (4th); overall (3rd) Packers Def: Rush (26th); Pass (4th); overall (11th) Bills Offense: Rush (20th); Pass (3rd); overall (7th) Bills Defense: Rush (31st); Pass (6th); overall (17th) Injury Update The Bills may be without Jonas Jennings once again as he recovers from a sprained right ankle. If he can't go Marcus Price will go in his place. Jason Bostic was lost for the season last week with a knee injury. Chris Watson will return to his spot in the nickel defense. Dominique Stevenson is suffering from a mild concussion. He may be available this week. The Packers may be without right tackle Earl Dotson who underwent an MRI this week for a sore back. Defensive tackle Gilbert Brown has missed the last three weeks with an ankle injury. RB Ahman Green is recovered from his knee injury and should be 100 percent this week. WR Terry Glenn continues to be hampered with various bumps and bruised but should be available for the game. For complete injury news throughout the week and the Official NFL Injury Report go to our Injury Page. Key Matchups LT Marcus Price or Jonas Jennings vs. RE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila: Gbaja-Biamila is a solid pass rusher who has 11 sacks. He will likely be going against veteran backup Price with Jennings possibly missing the game. MLB London Fletcher vs. RB Ahman Green: Another week, another top running back for the Bills defense to face. Fletcher's target this week will be Green who had a solid game last week coming off of a knee injury. RE Aaron Schobel vs. LE Vonnie Holliday: Schobel is coming off his best effort of the season and will face the rugged veteran Holliday this week. He needs to get pressure on Brett Favre to keep him off his game a bit for the Bills to have a chance. RB Travis Henry vs. MLB Hardy Nickerson: Henry got the better of one greasily veteran last week, he gets another one this week in Nickerson. For the Bills to have any hope at all he needs to have a big game. QB Drew Bledsoe vs. FS Darren Sharper: Sharper will be watching out for the deep ball. Bledsoe has struggled recently and if the deep ball is taken away from him, he may get impatient and forced into mistakes. Game Plan When The Bills Have The Ball: The offense took a lot of flak for not going to the run earlier last week when the passing game failed. Expect them to learn from that mistake and run, run, and run some more against a weak Packers run defense. With the weather likely to be a factor and the Packers pass defense ranking near the top in the league, the passing game may suffer again. When The Packers Have The Ball: They have a very balanced and effective attack that can exploit the Bills through the air and on the ground. Look for them to mix things up but use the running game more because of the weather conditions. Bills Daily Prediction The Bills are coming off a solid win and will likely play well again with their faint playoff hopes hanging in the balance. The Packers need the game and are downright unbeatable at home, in the cold late in the year. It is a daunting task that the Bills will be up to but fall short: Packers 27, Bills 21 Season Prediction Record: (9-5) Season Record Against The Spread: (9-5) Complete Statistical Matchup Game Analysis and Review - Coming Sunday Night! Positional Breakdown and Grades - Coming Sunday Night! Gameday Homepage 2001 Gameday Homepage 2000 Gameday Homepage Back to Bills Daily homepage Articles Index