Beyond week 16

BY THE NUMBERS 12-win rookie coaches (Nine … and counting?)

Packers coach Matt LaFleur can become the 10th rookie head coach in NFL history to reach 12 wins. His first crack at it comes against the Vikings (10-4) at U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night.

Having already secured the most wins by a rookie coach in Packers history, La-Fleur can move into a tie for third among all NFL rookie coaches with two more wins in the final two weeks of the regular season.

George Seifert (49ers, 1989) and Jim Caldwell (Colts, 2009) both went 14-2. Steve Mariucci (49ers, 1997) and Jim Harbaugh (49ers, 2011) went 13-3.

John Madden (Raiders, 1969) went 12-1-1, while Chuck Knox (Rams, 1973) and Red Miller (Broncos, 1977) each went 12-2.

Barry Switzer (Cowboys, 1994) and Matt Nagy (Bears, 2018) went 12-4.

Did you know? Stats of the Week

Vikings and Packers at it again

For the fourth time since the start of the 2015 season, the NFL will have a game between division foes that have won at least 10 games. For the second time, it will feature the Vikings (10-4) and Packers (11-3), who face off Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. On Jan. 3, 2016, the Vikings were 10-5 when they went to Green Bay and won the NFC North by beating the 10-5 Packers 20-13. During the 2016 season, New England was 13-2 when it beat the 10-win Dolphins 35-14 in Miami on its way to winning Super Bowl LI. And during the 2018 season, The 10-win Chargers beat the 11-win Chiefs 29-28 in Kansas City.

A load of 11-win teams

For just the second time since 1978, the NFL sent six teams into their 15th games with 11 or more wins — Ravens, Patriots, Seahawks, Packers, Saints and 49ers. The other time was 2004. This also is the second year since 1978 that a conference had at least four teams tied for the best record with fewer than three games left. The NFC had four teams tied through 14 games. In 2014, five NFC teams were 11-4 heading into the final week.

MARK CRAIG