The 50 Greatest Games of the Favre/Rodgers Era: #25-21
Continuing the countdown of memorable Packer games.
By TimBackes
We are now in the top half of our 50 greatest games of the Favre/Rodgers era. What’s going to come out on top?
The march on toward number one continues. Here we go!
#25 to #21
25. Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys, 2013 (GB 37, DAL 36)
Overall score: 7.20/10 (25/55)
Significance: 5.56/10 (39/55)
Entertainment value: 8.37/10 (12/55)
Intensity: 7.66/10 (21/55)
This critical mid-December game helped keep the Packers’ 2013 playoff hopes alive while Aaron Rodgers was on the shelf with a collarbone injury. Facing a 26-3 halftime deficit, the Packers rallied back with 34 second-half points under the unlikely leadership of Matt Flynn, who returned to the team earlier that fall after an injury to Seneca Wallace and ineffective play by Scott Tolzien. Flynn captured some of the magic he showed in his first stint with the team, throwing four TD passes in the second half, while Eddie Lacy carried 21 times for 141 yards.
View full game here.
View highlights here.
24. Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, 1998 WIld Card Game (SF 30, GB 27)
Overall score: 7.28/10 (24/55)
Significance: 7.09/10 (17/55)
Entertainment value: 6.82/10 (45/55)
Intensity: 7.93/10 (13/55)
A painful loss to end an era, with it being the last Packer appearance for both Mike Holmgren and Reggie White. The Packers were undeniably hosed in this one; an obvious Jerry Rice fumble was instead called down by contact, and without instant replay yet, the Packers were left powerless to contest. A late touchdown in the back of the endzone to Terrell Owens (dubbed The Catch II) completed the 49ers’ comeback and allowed the team in red and gold to finally beat the Packers after a series of crippling defeats.
View full game here.
View highlights here.
23. Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, 2015 (GB 27, DET 23)
Overall score: 7.31/10 (23/55)
Significance: 5.94/10 (35/55)
Entertainment value: 8.41/10 (11/55)
Intensity: 7.57/10 (25/55)
The game that featured one of the greatest moments of Aaron Rodgers’s career: a moonshot hail mary that connected with Richard Rodgers the day after his 32nd birthday. This is one where I have to slightly disagree with the voters in the sense that I do not see the same level of entertainment value. The game itself up until that last play was dull and mostly frustrating, with the Packers (in true 2015 style) failing to gel on offense and never really meeting their potential. But that final play… that was one for the ages. One of the few games ever where I was watching in a bar instead of at home, and I’ll never forget the eruption in that room.
View full game here.
View highlights here.
22. New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers, 2014 (26-21)
Overall score: 7.31/10 (22/55)
Significance: 6.02/10 (32/55)
Entertainment value: 8.25/10 (16/55)
Intensity: 7.65/10 (22/55)
This first, rare meeting between the Brady Patriots and the Rodgers Packers lived up to the hype and then some, and in my opinion is one of the greatest regular season games of football this team has played in my lifetime. For four quarters these teams exchanged blow for blow. Mike McCarthy added some wrinkles by unexpectedly featuring rookie Davante Adams in the passing game and, out of nowhere, using Randall Cobb in the backfield. On a more humorous note, the game is often remembered for featuring Tom Brady on a leash on the sideline. This was a hard-fought contest, and afterward, the greatest coach of his era, Bill Belichick, referred to McCarthy as one of the game’s finest coaches and gave him his respect for the game plan he put together.
View full game here.
View highlights here.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers, 1995 (GB 24, PIT 19)
Overall score: 7.31 (21/55)
Significance: 6.85/10 (22/55)
Entertainment value: 7.45/10 (35/55)
Intensity: 7.64/10 (23/55)
Another critical regular season contest, but this one more significant for the franchise. In the 1995 season, the Packers were plucky upstarts who were preparing to take the next step forward as a franchise. In taking down the Steelers to earn a divisional championship (the same Steelers who would eventually represent the AFC in the Super Bowl), the Packers proved they were, indeed, back and ready to mix it up with the league’s elite. The game is remembered for an inexplicable Yancey Thigpen dropped pass in the endzone that sealed the victory for Green Bay.
View full game here.
View highlights here.
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CURRENT RANKINGS:
Honorable Mentions:
55. Denver at Green Bay, 2003
54. Seattle at Green Bay, 2012
53. Packers at Vikings, 1997
52. Packers at Broncos, 2007
51. Packers at Patriots, 1997
Countdown:
50. Detroit at Green Bay, 2011
49. Tennessee at Green Bay, 2020
48. Baltimore at Green Bay, 2001
47. Green Bay at Miami, 2014
46. Chicago at Green Bay, 2014
45. Atlanta at Green Bay, 1994
44. LA Raiders at Green Bay, 1993
43. Tampa Bay at Green Bay, 1999
42. Seattle at Green Bay, 2016
41. San Francisco at Green Bay, 2013-2014 Wild Card
40. Green Bay at Dallas, 2007
39. Minnesota at Green Bay, 1999
38. Green Bay at Chicago, 2021
37. New Orleans at Green Bay, 2011
36. Green Bay at Minnesota, 2019
35. Seattle at Green Bay, 2007 divisional playoffs
34. Minnesota at Green Bay, 2010
33. Detroit at Green Bay, 1994 wild card
32. Dallas at Green Bay, 2022
31. Green Bay at Arizona, 2021
30. San Francisco at Green Bay, 1996
29. Super Bowl XXXII
28. Dallas at Green Bay, 1997
27. Green Bay at Dallas, 2017
26. Green Bay at Arizona, 2015-2016 NFL Divisional Playoffs
25. Green Bay at Dallas, 2013
24. Green Bay at San Francisco, 1998 Wild Cards
23. Green Bay at Detroit, 2015
22. New England at Green Bay, 2014
21. Pittsburgh at Green Bay, 1995
METHODOLOGY:
- Fans had the opportunity to submit games they loved into a Google form
- The 55 most-mentioned games were chosen to be in this poll
- Fans voted in the poll, giving a 1-10 rating for each game in three categories:
- SIGNIFICANCE: How important or significant is the game to the franchise?
- ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: How entertaining do you find the game?
- INTENSITY: How intense was the action or atmosphere for the game?
- With all votes in, I created averages in each of these categories for each games. Their overall ranking is the mean value of the averages for each of those categories using the formula: (SIG + ENT + INT)/3
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Tim Backes is a lifelong Packer fan and a contributor to CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter @timbackes for his Packer takes, random musings and Untappd beer check-ins.
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Comments (6)
NickPerry
June 06, 2024 at 06:31 am
Number 24 still pisses me off. They'll show it every once in a while on the NFL Network. My TV is programmed to record ANY Packers game they may play on the channel this time of year. And still, every time the TV records that 1998 playoff loss I fast forward to the Rice OBVIOUS fumble, cuss out my TV, and delete the game.
I should say I do the same thing when they play then 2009 playoff game vs the Cardinals when the Packers come all the way back, get the ball in OT, only to have a Cardinals defender doing a f###ing pull up on Aaron Rodgers facemask while he's fumbling the ball (no flag thrown) and the Cardinals return it for a game winning TD.
Don't even get me started on the 2014 NFCCG...
Three games I REFUSE to watch. Too painful.
Johnblood27
June 06, 2024 at 08:42 am
dont look now Nick, but I bet that those 3 games will all be on the remaining list here...
NickPerry
June 06, 2024 at 04:23 pm
UGH!!
Starrbrite
June 06, 2024 at 11:41 pm
Yep Nicky—all on my list. The worst for me however is the loss to the Broncos in the SB. We were 14 point favorites. I still throw rocks at my neighbors when I think of that game.
LLCHESTY
June 06, 2024 at 03:26 pm
I was away from home for 4 of those games which is kind of weird. The Dallas game I was working in Northern WI and had given up on the game. I happened to go to a Culver's that had a TV in it and ended up staying there for the whole 2nd half to watch the comeback with a bunch of strangers that gradually congregated around the TV. The NE game I was working nights at a refinery in Minnesota and had to leave for work before the end. The Detroit game I had just landed in San Francisco on vacation, our 1st flight was cancelled so we had to scramble to get the rental car and check in before the game started. Hectic day that ended up being a great way to start a vacation.
Starrbrite
June 06, 2024 at 11:43 pm
LL—thumbs up—it wouldn’t allow me to do so on the screen.