The 2016 season was the Green Bay Packers' 96th in the National Football League (NFL), their 98th overall and their 11th under head coach Mike McCarthy. Despite a 4–6 start to the season, the Packers went undefeated in their remaining six games to finish the regular season with a 10–6 record. The team clinched the NFC North for the fifth time in six years with their week 17 win over the Detroit Lions. They routed the 5th seeded New York Giants 38–13 in the wild card round of the playoffs and defeated the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys 34–31 in the divisional round of the playoffs, but their season came to an end when they lost to the second-seeded Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game 44–21.
Offseason Free agents Position Player Free agencytag Date signed TeamS Chris Banjo ERFA March 8, 2016 Green Bay PackersOT Don Barclay UFA April 18==2016, 2016 Green Bay PackersK Mason Crosby UFA March 1, 2016 Green Bay PackersDE Mike Daniels UFA December 14, 2015 Green Bay PackersLS Brett Goode UFA September 5, 2016 Green Bay PackersDE Letroy Guion UFA February 12, 2016 Green Bay PackersCB Casey Hayward UFA March 13, 2016 San Diego ChargersWR James Jones UFA August 2, 2016 San Diego ChargersFB John Kuhn UFA August 5, 2016 New Orleans SaintsOLB Andy Mulumba RFA April 1, 2016 Kansas City ChiefsOLB Mike Neal UFA TE Justin Perillo ERFA March 9, 2016 Green Bay PackersOLB Nick Perry UFA March 11, 2016 Green Bay PackersTE Andrew Quarless UFA August 15, 2016 Detroit LionsNT B. J. Raji UFA N/A N/A – Hiatus from footballSS Sean Richardson UFA RB James Starks UFA March 22, 2016 Green Bay PackersG Lane Taylor RFA March 8, 2016 Green Bay PackersQB Scott Tolzien UFA March 11, 2016 Indianapolis Colts
Draft
Notes As the result of a negative differential in free agent signings and departures that the Packers experienced during the free agency period, the team received two compensatory selections for the 2016 draft. Free agent transactions that occurred after May 12, 2015 did not impact the team's formula for determining compensatory selections for the 2016 draft. Thompson traded three picks to the Indianapolis Colts for their second round (48th overall) and selected Jason Spriggs. Thompson traded the Packers' second round pick (57th overall) a fourth-round pick (125th) and a seventh-round pick (248th).
Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2016 NFL draft on April 30, unless noted otherwise.
Position Player College Notes WR Geronimo Allison Illinois S Kentrell Brice Louisiana Tech ILB Beniquez Brown Mississippi State QB Joe Callahan Wesley 2015 Gagliardi Trophy winner CB Makinton Dorleant Northern Iowa C Jacob Flores Dartmouth OLB Reggie Gilbert Arizona TE David Grinnage NC State CB Josh Hawkins East Carolina RB Don Jackson Nevada OT Josh James Carroll CB Randall Jette UMass DE Tyler Kuder Idaho State P Peter Mortell Minnesota WR Dennis Parks Rice LB Manoa Pikula BYU NT Brian Price UTSA WR Devonte Robinson Utah State WR Herb Waters Miami (FL) G Kyle Steuck Northern Michigan
Staff
Final roster
Starters Regular season
Offense Pos.NameGSQB Aaron Rodgers 16RB Eddie LacyTy MontgomeryDon JacksonJames Starks 5614WR Randall CobbGeronimo Allison 102WR Jordy Nelson 16WR Davante AdamsJeff Janis 151FB Aaron Ripkowski 8TE Jared CookRichard RodgersJustin Perillo 561LT David Bakhtiari 16LG Lane Taylor 16C J. C. TretterCorey Linsley 79RG T. J. LangDon BarclayJason Spriggs 1312RT Bryan Bulaga 16
Defense Pos.NameGSDT Mike Daniels 16NT Letroy GuionKenny Clark 151DE Kenny ClarkDatone Jones 11OLB Nick PerryDatone Jones 123OLB Clay Matthews IIIJulius Peppers 611ILB Jake RyanJoe Thomas 107ILB Blake MartinezClay Matthews IIIMorgan Burnett 931CB LaDarius GunterSam Shields 151CB Damarious RandallMicah Hyde 98CB Quinten RollinsDemetri Goodson 103SS Morgan BurnettMicah HydeKentrell Brice 1411FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 16S Micah Hyde 2
Playoffs
Offense Pos.NameGSQB Aaron Rodgers 3RB Ty Montgomery 3WR Randall Cobb 3WR Jordy NelsonGeronimo Allison 21WR Davante Adams 3TE Jared Cook 3LT David Bakhtiari 3LG Lane Taylor 3C Corey Linsley 3RG T. J. Lang 3RT Bryan Bulaga 3
Defense Pos.NameGSDT Mike Daniels 3NT Letroy Guion 3OLB Clay Matthews III 3OLB Julius Peppers 3ILB Jake Ryan 3ILB Blake MartinezJoe Thomas 12CB LaDarius Gunter 3CB Damarious Randall 3CB Micah Hyde 3SS Morgan Burnett 3FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 3
Standings Division
Conference
Schedule Preseason On February 16, the NFL announced that the Packers would play the Indianapolis Colts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. The game would have occurred on Sunday, August 7, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, but was cancelled due to field conditions. However, the two teams met during the regular season in Green Bay.
The remainder of the Packers' preseason opponents and schedule were announced on April 7.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF August 7 vs. Indianapolis Colts Cancelled due to field conditions 1 August 12 Cleveland Browns W 17–11 1–0 Lambeau Field Recap 2 August 18 Oakland Raiders W 20–12 2–0 Lambeau Field Recap 3 August 26 at San Francisco 49ers W 21–10 3–0 Levi's Stadium Recap 4 September 1 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–17 3–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–23 1–0 EverBank Field Recap 2 September 18 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–17 1–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 3 September 25 Detroit Lions W 34–27 2–1 Lambeau Field Recap 4 Bye 5 October 9 New York Giants W 23–16 3–1 Lambeau Field Recap 6 October 16 Dallas Cowboys L 16–30 3–2 Lambeau Field Recap 7 Chicago Bears W 26–10 4–2 Lambeau Field Recap 8 October 30 at Atlanta Falcons L 32–33 4–3 Georgia Dome Recap 9 November 6 Indianapolis Colts L 26–31 4–4 Lambeau Field Recap 10 November 13 at Tennessee Titans L 25–47 4–5 Nissan Stadium Recap 11 November 20 at Washington Redskins L 24–42 4–6 FedExField Recap 12 at Philadelphia Eagles W 27–13 5–6 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 13 December 4 Houston Texans W 21–13 6–6 Lambeau Field Recap 14 December 11 Seattle Seahawks W 38–10 7–6 Lambeau Field Recap 15 December 18 at Chicago Bears W 30–27 8–6 Soldier Field Recap 16 Minnesota Vikings W 38–25 9–6 Lambeau Field Recap 17 January 1, 2017 at Detroit Lions W 31–24 10–6 Ford Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Postseason
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card January 8, 2017 New York Giants (5) W 38–13 1–0 Lambeau Field Recap Divisional January 15, 2017 at Dallas Cowboys (1) W 34–31 2–0 AT&T Stadium Recap NFC Championship January 22, 2017 at Atlanta Falcons (2) L 21–44 2–1 Georgia Dome Recap
Game summaries Regular season Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 4: Bye week No game. Green Bay had their bye week on Week 4.
Week 5: vs. New York Giants
Week 6: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Packers wore their throwback uniforms for this game.
The Dallas defense forced four Green Bay turnovers. It was the first time since 2008, and second time in Cowboys history, that Dallas had won at Lambeau.
This was the Packers first loss wearing throwback uniforms.
Week 7: vs. Chicago Bears
For the first time since 1989, the Packers wore their white jerseys at a home game. As part of the NFL Color Rush, they wore white jerseys and white pants for the first time.
Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons Despite Aaron Rodgers throwing for 4 touchdowns and the team holding a 32–26 lead with less than a minute left in the game, Matt Ryan threw a game-sealing touchdown pass to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu to stun Green Bay. The Packers drop to 4-3 after the last-second loss.
Week 9: vs. Indianapolis Colts Despite Aaron Rodgers throwing for 3 touchdowns and just one interception, the Colts got their first victory at Lambeau since 1988 with a 31–26 win. The Packers drop to 4–4 with the loss.
Week 10: at Tennessee Titans
Week 11: at Washington Redskins The Packers fell to 4–6 for the first time since 2006. Days later, Aaron Rodgers said he believed the Packers could "run the table", which proved to be prophetic as the Packers would then go on an 8-game winning streak (6 regular-season, 2 playoff) that lasted until the NFC Championship against the Falcons.
Week 12: at Philadelphia Eagles
With the 27–13 win, the Packers improved to 5–6. This was the start of an eight-game winning streak going into the NFC Championship against the Falcons.
Week 13: vs. Houston Texans
The Packers beat the Texans for the first time at home 21–13 to improve to 6–6 at a snowy Lambeau Field. With the Texans' loss, no team has an undefeated record at Lambeau. This was also the first time the Packers had beaten a Houston NFL team at home.
Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Packers intercepted Russell Wilson a career-high five times as the Packers routed the Seahawks 38–10 to improve to 7–6. Aaron Rodgers, with his 3:0 TD-INT ratio in this game, posted a 150.8 passer rating, the highest allowed by the Seattle defense (which was without safety Earl Thomas, who was out for the year with a broken leg) since Pete Carroll became the Seahawks' head coach in 2010.
Week 15: at Chicago Bears
The Packers led 27–10, but the Bears came back and tied the game at 27. Aaron Rodgers then threw a 60-yard pass to Jordy Nelson to set up a Mason Crosby field goal to win 30–27 and improve to 8–6.
With the win, the Packers tied the all-time series against the Bears at 94–94–6, the first time since 1933 that the Bears did not lead the all-time series outright.
Week 16: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Packers defeated the reeling Vikings 38–25 to improve to 9–6 as Rodgers became the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards against the Vikings defense. With the win, the Packers eliminated the now 7-8 Vikings from the playoffs.
Week 17: at Detroit Lions
The Packers successfully ran the table as they improved to 10–6 and won the NFC North, matching last year's record.
Postseason
NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) New York Giants
The Packers hosted the fifth seeded New York Giants, who defeated the Packers at Lambeau in the 2007 and 2011 playoffs. It was also a rematch of week five, which was won by the Packers 23–16. The Giants had one of the best defenses in the NFL going into the game, but Rodgers threw for 4 touchdowns, including a 42-yard Hail Mary pass to Cobb at the end of the first half as the Packers would lead 14–6. The Packers went on to rout the Giants 38–13 and would travel to face the top-seeded Cowboys.
NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Dallas Cowboys
This game was a rematch of week six, a game the Packers lost 16–30. However, unlike the previous meeting of these two teams, the Packers were expected to give the Cowboys difficulties. Dallas clinched the #1 seed as well as home-field advantage, but the Packers were able to prevail and upset the Cowboys with a Mason Crosby field goal as time expired 34–31.
NFC Championship: at (2) Atlanta Falcons
This was the end of an 8-game winning streak for the Packers as they were crushed 44–21. The Packers were scoreless until they scored a touchdown when they were behind 31–0 as Atlanta took an early 7–0 lead and never trailed from there. Green Bay's 24-0 halftime deficit was also then the largest deficit Aaron Rodgers had faced in his entire career. This would later be surpassed with the 27-0 halftime deficit the Packers would face in the 2019 NFC Championship, which resulted in a 37-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Statistics
Regular season statistical leaders Statistic Player(s) Value Passing yards Aaron Rodgers 4,428 Passing touchdowns 40 Rushing yards Ty Montgomery 457 Rushing touchdowns Aaron Rodgers 4 Receptions Jordy Nelson 97 Receiving yards 1,257 Receiving touchdowns 14 Kickoff return yards Ty Montgomery 366 Punt return yards Trevor Davis 115 Tackles Morgan Burnett 93 Sacks Nick Perry 11.0 Interceptions Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 5
Playoffs statistical leaders