It has been a long time since the Green Bay Packers have visited out West to play the Oakland Raiders. In fact, last time, it was in December as well, in one of the most memorable games of Brett Favre's career. It went all the way back to December 22, 2003. It was memorable to many fans as they will remember that as the game that Favre played after his Father had passed away a few days prior to the game. Favre threw for four touchdowns and the Packers ended up winning 41-7. 

Last Matchup

The last time these two teams met was when Hue Jackson, the Offensive Coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, was the Head Coach of the Raiders. Carson Palmer had a passing touchdown to Kevin Boss while Michael Bush rushed for another touchdown. But Palmer also had thrown four interceptions and the Packers easily won the game 46-16. The Packers led 31-0 at the half and were up 34-0 before giving up any points to the Raiders. Overall the Packers lead the series 7-5, including a win in Super Bowl II. The Raiders had won the next five in the series before the Packers won the next six in the series. In fact, Oakland hasn't beaten Green Bay since September 13, 1987. 

Former Packers In Oakland

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Former Packers punt and kick returner Jeremy Ross has signed with the Raiders during this season, as he had originally started the year with the Baltimore Ravens. If you remember Ross from before, it was probably due to the fact that his hands are not terribly good at catching. Whether it was muffed punts or actually fumbling himself, Ross just struggled to keep his hands on the ball. He fumbled his way out of Green Bay, his time with the Detroit Lions, and Baltimore earlier this year. In three games with Oakland, he has lost a fumble as well. Look for Jeff Janis to put a lot of pressure on Ross as Janis has top flight speed which helps him be a great gunner. 

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More importantly, Charles Woodson, who started his career with Oakland, has returned to Oakland and been there for three seasons now after having been a Packer himself for seven years. He did win Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, which made him the second Packer to win the award as the late, great Reggie White had won it back in 1999. 

Former Raider In Green Bay

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He might be known as some as the receiver who occasionally wears a hoodie with his jersey, but James Jones was with the Oakland Raiders last year. They had cut him prior to the season and then he had attempted to make the roster for the New York Giants before making a return to the green and gold. 

What Is At Stake?

The Raiders are still on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff possibilities. They are sitting in eighth place at 6-7, but they trail the trio of wild card teams that are sitting at 8-5 with the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Jets all two games ahead of them. 

Meanwhile the Packers are looking to maintain their one game lead in the NFC North as they are 9-4 and need to stay ahead of the Minnesota Vikings who are at 8-5. Green Bay defeated Minnesota earlier this year but they have yet to play a second time. 

Matchup To Watch

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Khalil Mack usually rushed against the right tackle to get four of his five sacks in the game against the Denver Broncos in week 14. But he did switch it up and got one from the other side as well. That means that the offensive tackles, who are both listed as probable on the Packers injury report, will have their hands full. They are David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga. If one of them were to go down, then it would be up to the backup swing tackle Don Barclay to come in to the rescue. 

Prediction

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers should be good enough to be able to knock off the Raiders, despite having to travel to the West coast in order to be able to do so. Especially if Eddie Lacy and James Starks can find a way to run like they did last week, they should be able to Park the Carr, Derek Carr, on the sidelines and be able to slow down the Raiders offense as well. This writer predicts that the Packers will achieve victory by a final score of 31-13.