2012 Green Bay Packers season

The **2012 Green Bay Packers season** was the Green Bay Packers' 92nd season in the National Football League, the 94th overall and the seventh under head coach Mike McCarthy.

### 2012 NFL Draft

|Round|Pick|Overall|Player|Position|College|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Nick Perry|Linebacker|USC||||
|Jerel Worthy|Defensive end|Michigan State||||
|Casey Hayward|Cornerback|Vanderbilt||||
|Mike Daniels|Defensive tackle|Iowa||||
|Jerron McMillian|Safety|Maine||||
|Terrell Manning|Linebacker|North Carolina State||||
|Andrew Datko|Offensive Tackle|Florida State||||
|B. J. Coleman|Quarterback|Tennessee-Chattanooga||||
**Notes:**

The Packers acquired the No. 224 selection in a trade that sent guard Caleb Schlauderaff to the New York Jets.

The  Packers have received the maximum number of compensatory selections available to teams through the NFL's compensatory draft program. Two addition picks in both the 4th and 7th rounds.

The Packers traded the No. 54 and No. 123 picks to receive No. 51 from the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Packers traded the No. 90 and No. 163 picks to receive No. 62 for the New England Patriots .

### Free agents

|Position||Player||Free agency tag || Date signed || 2012 team|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|QB|Matt Flynn|UFA|March 18,|Seattle Seahawks|
|RB|Ryan Grant|UFA|September 25|Washington Redskins|
|TE|Jermichael Finley|UFA|February 22,|Green Bay Packers|
|C|Scott Wells|UFA|March 16,|St. Louis Rams|
|NT|Howard Green|UFA|||
|OLB|Erik Walden|UFA|April 23,|Green Bay Packers|
|CB|Jarrett Bush|UFA|March 20,|Green Bay Packers|
|CB|Pat Lee|UFA|March 21,|Oakland Raiders|
<small>_RFA_: Restricted free agent, _UFA_: Unrestricted free agent, _ERFA_: Exclusive rights free agent, _FT_: Franchise Tag</small>

### Additions

- On January 1 the Packers signed QB Nick Hill.
- On March 23 the Packers signed former Indianapolis Colts C Jeff Saturday.
- On March 23 the Packers signed former Indianapolis Colts DE Daniel Muir.
- On March 30 the Packers signed former Seattle Seahawks DE Anthony Hargrove.
- On May 23 the Packers signed former Miami Dolphins DE Philip Merling.
- On August 12 the Packers signed former Cincinnati Bengals RB Cedric Benson.
- On September 3 the Packers signed WR Diondre Borel, TE Brandon Bostick, QB B. J. Coleman, T Andrew Datko, DE Lawrence Guy, G/T Chris Scott, RB Marc Tyler and G Greg Van Roten signed to practice squad.

### Departures

- On April 23 the Packers released T Chad Clifton after a failed physical.
- On April 25 the Packers released S Nick Collins after agreeing to part ways after his neck injury sustained in 2011.
- On May 23 the Packers released QB Nick Hill.
- On July 25 the Packers released S Charlie Peprah.
- On August 24 the Packers released WR Andrew Brewer, DE Anthony Hargrove, S Micah Pellerin, T Herb Taylor and CB Dion Turner.
- On August 26 the Packers released FB Jon Hoese and DE Jarius Wynn.
- On August 31 the Packers released S Anthony Levine, CB Otis Merrill, WR Dale Moss, DT Daniel Muir, RB Marc Tyler, G Greg Van Roten, G/T Reggie Wells, T Shea Allard, WR Diondre Borel, TE Brandon Bostick, QB B. J. Coleman, FB Nic Cooper, T Andrew Datko, C/G Tommie Draheim, C/G Sampson Genus, WR Curenski Gilleylen, WR Tori Gurley and DE Lawrence Guy as part of the cutdown to the 53 man regular season roster.

### Coaching changes

- On January 21, Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was named the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
- On February 2, Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was promoted to the team's offensive coordinator position.

## Regular Season

<div style="float:left; width:60%;">

### Starters on Offense

|**POS**|**Name**|**GS**|**Name**|**GS**|**Name**|**GS**|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|QB|Aaron Rodgers|4|||||
|RB|Cedric Benson|4|||||
|FB|John Kuhn|4|||||
|WR|Greg Jennings|3|James Jones|1|||
|WR|Jordy Nelson|4|||||
|TE|Jermichael Finley|4|||||
|LT|Marshall Newhouse|4|||||
|LG|T. J. Lang|4|||||
|C|Jeff Saturday|4|||||
|RG|Josh Sitton|4|||||
|RT|Bryan Bulaga|4|||||

### Starters on Defense and Special Teams

|**POS**|**Name**|**GS**|**Name**|**GS**|**Name**|**GS**|**Name**|**GS**|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|LDE|Ryan Pickett|4|||||||
|NT|B. J. Raji|4|||||||
|RDE|C. J. Wilson|3|_Jerel Worthy_|1|||||
|LOLB|_Nick Perry_|4|||||||
|MLB|A. J. Hawk|4|||||||
|MLB|D. J. Smith|4|||||||
|ROLB|Clay Matthews|4|||||||
|RCB|Tramon Williams|4|||||||
|LCB|Sam Shields|3|Jarrett Bush|1|||||
|SS|Charles Woodson|4|||||||
|FS|Morgan Burnett|4|||||||
|K|Mason Crosby|4|||||||
|P|Tim Masthay|4|||||||

</div>

### Preseason

|Week|Date|Opponent|Result|Record|Game site|NFL.com recap|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|August 9|at San Diego Chargers|**L** 13–21|0–1|Qualcomm Stadium|Recap||
|August 16|Cleveland Browns|**L** 10–35|0–2|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|August 23|at Cincinnati Bengals|**W** 27–13|1–2|Paul Brown Stadium|Recap||
|August 30|Kansas City Chiefs|**W** 24–3|2–2|Lambeau Field|Recap||

### Regular season

|Week|Date|Opponent|Result|Record|Game site|NFL.com recap|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|September 9|San Francisco 49ers|**L** 22–30|0–1|Lambeau Field|Recap||
||**Chicago Bears**|**W** 23–10|1–1|Lambeau Field|Recap||
||at Seattle Seahawks|**L** 12–14|1–2|CenturyLink Field|Recap||
|September 30|New Orleans Saints|**W** 28–27|2–2|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|October 7|at Indianapolis Colts|**L** 27–30|2–3|Lucas Oil Stadium|Recap||
|October 14|at Houston Texans|**W** 42–24|3–3|Reliant Stadium|Recap||
|October 21|at St. Louis Rams|**W** 30–20|4–3|Edward Jones Dome|Recap||
|October 28|Jacksonville Jaguars|**W** 24–15|5–3|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|November 4|Arizona Cardinals|**W** 31–17|6–3|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"|_Bye_||||||
|November 18|at **Detroit Lions**|**W** 24–20|7–3|Ford Field|Recap||
|November 25|at New York Giants|**L** 10–38|7–4|MetLife Stadium|Recap||
|December 2|**Minnesota Vikings**|**W** 23–14|8–4|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|December 9|**Detroit Lions**|**W** 27–20|9–4|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|December 16|at **Chicago Bears**|**W** 21–13|10–4|Soldier Field|Recap||
|December 23|Tennessee Titans|**W** 55–7|11–4|Lambeau Field|Recap||
|December 30|at **Minnesota Vikings**|**L** 34–37|11–5|Mall of America Field|Recap||
- **Note:** Intra-division opponents are in **bold** text.

### Postseason

|Playoff round|Date|Opponent|Result|Record|Game site|NFL.com recap|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Minnesota Vikings (6)|**W** 24–10|1–0|Lambeau Field|Recap||
||at San Francisco 49ers (2)|**L** 31–45|1–1|Candlestick Park|Recap||

### Regular season statistical leaders

|||Player(s)||Value|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Passing Yards|Aaron Rodgers|4,295 Yards|||
|Passing Touchdowns|Aaron Rodgers|39 TDs|||
|Rushing Yards|Alex Green|464 Yards|||
|Rushing Touchdowns|Aaron Rodgers, DuJuan Harris and Ryan Grant|2 TDs|||
|Receptions|Randall Cobb|80 Receptions|||
|Receiving Yards|Randall Cobb|954 Yards|||
|Receiving Touchdowns|James Jones|14 TDs|||
|Points|Mason Crosby|103 Points|||
|Kickoff Return Yards|Randall Cobb|964 Yards|||
|Punt Return Yards|Randall Cobb|292 Yards|||
|Tackles|A. J. Hawk and Morgan Burnett|116 Tackles|||
|Sacks|Clay Matthews|13 Sacks|||
|Interceptions|Casey Hayward|6 INTs|||

<small> statistical values are correct through Week 17. </small>

### Best game performances

|||Player(s)||Value||Opponent|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Passing Yards|Aaron Rodgers|365 Yards|@ Minnesota Vikings||||
|Passing Touchdowns|Aaron Rodgers|6 TDs|@ Houston Texans||||
|Rushing Yards|Cedric Benson|84 Yards|New Orleans Saints||||
|Rushing Touchdowns|Ryan Grant|2 TDs|Tennessee Titans||||
|Receiving Yards|Jordy Nelson|122 Yards|@ St. Louis Rams||||
|Receiving Touchdowns|Jordy Nelson and James Jones|3 TDs|@ Houston Texans and @ Chicago Bears||||
|Points|Jordy Nelson and James Jones|18 Points|@ Houston Texans and @ Chicago Bears||||
|Tackles|Morgan Burnett|14 Tackles|New Orleans Saints||||
|Sacks|Clay Matthews|3.5 Sacks|Chicago Bears||||
|Interceptions|Tramon Williams, Casey Hayward and Morgan Burnett|2 INTs|Chicago Bears, @ Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings||||

<small> statistical values are correct through Week 17. </small>

### Statistical league rankings

- Total Offense (YPG): 13th
- Passing (YPG): 10th
- Rushing (YPG): 20th
- Points (PPG): 7th

- Total Defense (YPG): 10th
- Passing (YPG):12th
- Rushing (YPG): 14th
- Points (PPG): 7th

Stats correct through December 24, 2012

## Other websites

- Green Bay Packers official website

## Infobox (nfl season)

- **team**: Green Bay Packers
- **year**: 2012
- **record**: 11–5
- **division place**: 1st NFC North
- **coach**: Mike McCarthy (American football), Mike McCarthy
- **general manager**: Ted Thompson
- **owner**: Green Bay Packers, Inc. (112,158 stockholders)
- **stadium**: Lambeau Field
- **playoffs**: **Won NFL playoffs, 2012-13, Wild Card Playoffs** (Minnesota Vikings, Vikings)  24–10
 Lost NFL playoffs, 2012-13, Divisional playoffs (San Francisco 49ers, 49ers) (45–31)
- **pro bowlers**: Aaron Rodgers, QB
Jeff Saturday, C
Clay Matthews III, Clay Matthews, LB
Josh Sitton, G
- **uniform**: File:Packers 12 uniform.xcf
- **colors**: Dark Green & Gold