The 50 Greatest Games of the Favre-Rodgers Era: #10-#6

We start today with the final loss on the list for the Packers, and continue with a series of extremely memorable contests for much more positive reasons. We’re now talking about some of the very greatest games in recent Packer history. Let’s go!

#10 to #6

10. Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals, 2009 Wild Cards (AZ 51, GB 45 in OT)

Overall score: 8.13/10 (10/55)

Significance: 6.75/10 (24/55)

Entertainment value: 9.00/10 (7/55)

Intensity: 8.65/10 (6/55)

One of the wildest playoff games in NFL history. A ton of high-powered offense, with Aaron Rodgers just coming into his own matching Hall of Famer Kurt Warner playing at the top of his game up (despite being in his final season) up and down the field. This game had it all; crazy offense, huge momentum swings, overtime… and, unfortunately, an extremely controversial ending. The missed facemask on Aaron Rodgers on the game’s final play prevented the Packers from potentially moving on to potentially face either the New Orleans Saints or Minnesota Brett Favre Vikings in the postseason. But this game doesn’t have many soul-crushing memories, unlike other games on this list; it was the first year we saw Rodgers’ full potential, and ultimately, the season ended with a sense of real promise for the future.

View full game here.

View highlights here.
 

9. Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers, 1996-97 NFC Championship Game (GB 30, CAR 13)

Overall score: 8.21/10 (9/55)

Significance: 9.18/10 (4/55)

Entertainment value: 7.91/10 (23/55)

Intensity: 7.53/10 (26/55)

“Oh! Walked into the endzone! Edgar Bennett! With a hole on the right side that you could drive a truck to the Super Bowl through!” The call by Jim Irwin is ingrained in my memory all these years later. Finally, FINALLY the Packers made it back to the Super Bowl, thanks to home field in frigid conditions over the upstart Panthers, in just their second year in the league. Dorsey Levens had a career game and the Packer defense showed the respected and tenacious Panther defense exactly why they were the league’s #1 ranked unit. Even to a kid who didn’t have the full context of just how long it had been since the Packers were relevant, this was a game that felt absolutely massive in its importance. 

View highlights here.

8. Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, 1995-96 Divisional Playoffs (GB 27, SF 17)

Overall score: 8.30/10 (8/55)

Significance: 8.56/10 (7/55)

Entertainment value: 8.29/10 (13/55)

Intensity: 8.04/10 (11/55)

If the aforementioned Panther/Packer NFC Championship was about the Packers finally returning to the promised land, this game was about the Packers announcing that they were, indeed, back. In an absolutely massive upset, the Packers took down the defending champions, littered with Hall of Fame talent, on their home turf, starting a string of major Packer victories over this 49er team. Nobody gave the Packers much of a shot coming into this one, despite having the league’s MVP. However, the Packers played a gritty game of football and announced their presence as true contenders. The win was especially sweet for Mike Holmgren, who had previously served as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator.

View full game here.

View highlights here. 

7. Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers, 2003-04 Wild Card Round (GB 33, SEA 27 in OT)

Overall score: 8.31/10 (7/55)

Significance: 7.21/10 (16/55)

Entertainment value: 9.12/10 (5/55)

Intensity: 8.61/10 (7/55)

The Seahawks joined the NFC in 2002, meaning the Packers would more frequently begin to match against their former coach, Mike Holmgren. This back-and-forth contest showed just how well Holmgren had built this Seahawks team. But with homefield, the Packers were tenacious and held their ground thanks to a balanced offensive attack that had served them well the whole year. When overtime hit and Seattle won the toss, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck’s pronouncement of “We want the ball and we’re going to score!” became an instant classic; he would go on to promptly throw an interception to cornerback Al Harris, who returned it to the house for the walk off victory.

View full game here.

View highlights here.

6. Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons, 2010-11 Divisional Playoffs (GB 48, ATL 21)

Overall score: 8.43 (6/55)

Significance: 8.7/10 (15/55)

Entertainment value: 8.9/10 (9/55)

Intensity: 7.69/10 (19/55)

After beating the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in the wild card round, the Packers were presumed dead on arrival in Atlanta when they took on the number one seeded Falcons, who had already beaten them earlier in the season. But this was the game that made the Packers favorites, and began a run of quarterback play by Aaron Rodgers that entered a whole new atmosphere. This game in particular was perhaps the finest quarterbacked game of football in NFL history. Rodgers was simply miraculous; he was insanely accurate, escaped numerous sacks and pressures, and had an answer for absolutely everything. The game remained at least somewhat close until right before halftime, when an ill-advised sideline pass by Matt Ryan intended to get the Falcons closer to field goal range was hawked by corner Tramon Williams and returned for a touchdown. After that, it was all over.

View full game here.

View highlights here.

_______

 

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

20. New York Giants at Green Bay, 2007 NFC Championship

19. Cincinnati at Green Bay, 1992

18. Green Bay at Seattle, 2014 NFC Championship

17. San Francisco at Green Bay, 1996 Divisional Playoffs

16. Minnesota at Green Bay, 2000

15. Green Bay at Oakland, 2003

14. Green Bay at San Francisco, 1997-98 NFC Championship

13. Green Bay at Detroit, 1993-94 Wild Card

12. Chicago at Green Bay, 2018

11. Dallas at Green Bay, 2014-15 Divisional Playoffs

10. Green Bay at Arizona, 2009-10 Wild Card

9. Carolina at Green Bay, 1996-97 NFC Championship

8. Green Bay at San Francisco, 1995-96 Divisional Playoffs

7. Seattle at Green Bay, 2003-04 Wild Card

6. Green Bay at Atlanta, 2010-11 Divisional Playoffs

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