The Green Bay Packers will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC Championship this Sunday at Lambeau Field with a 2:05 PM kickoff featuring two of the most iconic quarterbacks in league history. The Aaron Rodgers-Tom Brady storyline will be exhausted by Wednesday but there’s so much more to this one. At long last, Rodgers can earn a trip to the Super Bowl on his home field in his fifth conference title game while Brady, who has won 6 rings with New England, playing in 13 AFC Championship games, now has a 14th opportunity in his first season with his new team, trying to become the first in league history to play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on their home turf. Green Bay is looking to even a sour score from week six when they traveled to Florida and got steamrolled 38-10 in their worst performance of a grand 13-3 season, earning them the right to host the rematch as the NFC’s top seed. The Packers advanced through the Divisional Round with a convincing 32-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday while the Buccaneers, the number five seed, beat Washington’s Football Team in the wild card round on the road 31-23 and Sunday night, eliminated New Orleans 30-20 at the Superdome. It’s Tampa’s first trip to the title game since their Super Bowl championship season under Head Coach Jon Gruden in 2003. Green Bay meanwhile, is a step away from the ultimate game for the 9th time since 1995 and before we dive head long into the matchups for this weekend’s game, here’s a little history lesson of the eight previous championship games.
1995 Dallas Cowboys 38 Green Bay Packers 27
On January 14 of 1996, the Packer season ended at Texas Stadium in Arlington for the third year in a row. Mike Holmgren was building a championship contender but the powerhouse Cowboys of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Head Coach Jimmy Johnson were in their prime. Divisional round losses in 1993 (27-17) and 1994 (35-9) were decisive but Brett Favre and company put up a much stronger fight. Favre threw touchdown passes to Robert Brooks (2) and Keith Jackson and Green Bay took a 27-24 lead into the 4th quarter before Smith took over the game. He wound up with 35 carries for 150 yards and capped both 4th quarter drives (sandwiched around a Larry Brown interception) with touchdown runs to send the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. After the game, Holmgren said he was “tired of closing the gap” and Reggie White vowed the Packers would be back. He would be right.
1996 Green Bay Packers 30 Carolina Panthers 13
Hall of Fame General Manager Ron Wolf said this game was his crowning achievement, even more than the Super Bowl XXXI victory that came two weeks after a bitterly cold celebration at Lambeau Field. On a three degree day, Lambeau hosted it’s first championship game in a generation and even after falling behind 7-3 and 10-7, the Packers dominated the rest of the way. Dorsey Levens had a huge game with 205 total yards of offense including 29 yard touchdown catch to get Green Bay on the board. Antonio Freeman grabbed a Favre TD and Chris Jacke added a pair of field goals and when Edgar Bennett ran through the middle of the Carolina defense from 4 yards out late in the third quarter, radio play by play voice Jim Irwin said the hole was “big enough to drive a truck to the Super Bowl through.” Wolf proudly accepted the George Halas Trophy on a mid-field stage and realized what many thought might never be done, was accomplished, the Packers were champions once more.
1997 Green Bay Packers 23 San Francisco 49ers 10
The reigning Super Bowl champs would get the chance to repeat by suffocating Steve Young and the 49ers on a rainy day at old Candlestick Park. Dorsey Levens had another big game with 114 yards on the ground and Eugene Robinson’s interception led to an Antonio Freeman scoring catch. Meanwhile the defense held San Francisco to 33 yards rushing and sacked Young 4 times in the 4th quarter alone. San Francisco’s only touchdown came after the Pack’s final tally, a Levens 5 yard run, when Chuck Levy took the next kickoff 95 yards but the game was decided long before then. Unfortunately, the Packers, according to GM Ron Wolf, were “a fart in the wind” as they failed to repeat, getting stunned by the double digit underdog Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego.
2007 New York Giants 23 Green Bay Packers 20 (OT)
The frozen tundra was in a deep freeze with a kickoff temperature of -1 and a wind chill of -23 when the top seeded Packers welcomed the New York Giants to town as Mike McCarthy was finishing just his second season as Head Coach. Donald Driver’s 90 yard catch and run touchdown helped stake the Packers to a 10-6 lead at halftime but the Giants scored a pair of TD’s to the Pack’s one after intermission to lead 20-17 into the 4th quarter. Brett Favre was driving the offense when he was intercepted by R.W. McQuarters near the goal line but during his return, he fumbled it right back to the offense. A go ahead touchdown was denied by Mason Crosby got the game even with a 37 yard field goal. New York’s kicker, Lawrence Tynes, looked lost in the bitter cold as he missed a 43 yard try and on the final snap of regulation, pulled a 36 yarder wide left. Green Bay won the overtime toss but on the second play, Favre tried to hit Driver on an out route and Corey Webster picked him off. It would be Favre’s last pass as a Packer. Tynes wouldn’t miss again, hitting the walk off 47 yard field goal to leave the icy faithful stunned. The Giants would go on to shock New England in the Super Bowl while Favre would call it a career, or so we thought.
2010 Green Bay Packers 21 Chicago Bears 14
Fueled by an improbable run with a severely injured team, the Packers, a six seed who needed to win their final two games just to make the playoffs, built momentum with wins at Philadelphia and Atlanta to meet the Bears at Soldier Field with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. The Packers got rushing touchdowns in each of the first two quarters from Aaron Rodgers and James Starks to lead 14-0 at the half. Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler was knocked out of the game with a knee injury and his backup, Todd Collins was ineffective so third stringer Caleb Hanie came on. He helped drive the Bears to a touchdown but when backed up after a punt, his pass over the middle was intercepted by dropping defensive lineman B.J. Raji who waltzed in for an 18 yard score and a 21-7 lead. Earl Bennett struck for a 35 yard touchdown but the Bears’ last chance for a rally was ended when Sam Shields came up with his second interception of the game. The cinderella run was capped with Green Bay’s victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
2014 Seattle Seahawks 28 Green Bay Packers 22 (OT)
This will forever be known as the collapse at Century Link. The Packers had dominated Seattle for three quarters but found an uncanny number of ways to lose. The defense and special teams were forcing turnovers and the Packers cashed in two Mason Crosby field goals and a Randall Cobb 13 yard touchdown catch to lead 13-0 after the first quarter. It was 16-0 in the third quarter before the Seahawks got on the board with a trick play. Former Packer punter Jon Ryan was holding for a field goal when he got up and rolled to his left and tossed a 19 yard touchdown to Garry Gilliam to make it 19-7. Crosby would hit again from 48 in the 4th quarter for a 22-7 lead. I’ll never forget talking to my fellow reporters in the press box about whether we should start booking flights to the Super Bowl. We decided against it as the series of improbable events began. Morgan Burnett picked off Wilson, his fourth turnover of the game and instead of running it back as far as he could, went down with no one around near midfield. The Packer offense couldn’t move and Seattle’s did. Wilson scored from a yard out to make it 19-14. Seattle then converted the onside kick when reserve tight end Brandon Bostick made an ill fated play on the ball. In a blink, Marshawn Lynch rumbled in from 24 yards out and then Wilson on a wild scramble threw across the field for a two point conversion for the 22-19 lead. The Packers had just a minute on the clock but got in range for Crosby’s clutch 48 yard field goal to force overtime. Seattle won the toss and never gave it up. Wilson found Jermaine Kearse against tight coverage from Tramon Williams for the stunning, 35 yard walk off touchdown.
2016 Atlanta Falcons 44 Green Bay Packers 21
The North Division champs were coming off an incredible, last second victory over the top seeded Cowboys in Dallas when they ran in to the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in Matt Ryan who lit up an injury depleted secondary. The Falcons scored on all four of their first half possessions to build a 24-0 halftime lead and then Ryan’s third touchdown pass of the night, 73 yards to Julio Jones on the first series of the third quarter, turned the game into a blowout. Aaron Rodgers hope to “run the table” after a mid-season losing streak, including a loss to the Falcons in Atlanta, came up well short despite throwing three second half touchdown passes. It was just too deep a hole to climb out of in what would be Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s last playoff game in Green Bay.
2019 San Francisco 49ers 37 Green Bay Packers 20
Not bad for a rookie Head Coach to bring a 14-3 Division winning team to the Conference Championship but Matt LaFleur would get a second taste of humble pie with the top seeded 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. San Francisco dominated the regular season meeting in November 37-8 and this one only got worse. Led by running back Raheem Mostert who piled up 220 yards on the ground with four touchdowns, the Niners piled up a 27-0 lead by intermission and were never headed. Aaron Jones would score a pair for the Packers and rookie tight end Jace Sternberger would catch a touchdown but it was only consolation window dressing. The Niners had left no doubt and the defensive failings left Packer fans wondering if the window was about to close for Aaron Rodgers’ hope to get one more shot at a Super Bowl.
Not quite so fast.
NFC Championship Week number 9 is here.
