Packers vs. 49ers The top moments from one of the NFLs throwback rivalries ahead of Saturdays playoff game
Packers vs. 49ers The top moments from one of the NFLs throwback rivalries ahead of Saturdays playoff game
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The NFL has never been devoid of compelling rivalries. The Bears-Packers rivalry goes back to the 1920s when Curley Lambeau's dueled against the and their legendary coach, George Halas. Since then, the NFL has enjoyed a slew of compelling rivalries, from the Packers-Cowboys clashes in the late '60s to the Steelers-Raiders duels in the '70s to the ' late '80s/early '90s matchups against the and . More recently, Peyton Manning's battles against captivated the football world while increasing the NFL's popularity in the proce s.The NFL has also birthed rivalries that transcend time. No matter who is on the opposing sidelines, it seems that every team in the NFC East, AFC North, and NFL North are bitter rivals who would do anything to gain the upper hand. The AFC West also includes the fabled ' rivalries with the and , two rivalries that date to the old AFL.A rivalry that is often forgotten is the one that was created in the 1990s between the 49ers and Packers, two teams with future Hall of Fame quarterbacks that were trying to take the mantle from the Cowboys as the NFC's top team. In the proce s, Green Bay and San Francisco developed their own rivalry that, like many rivalries before and after it, added to the pomp and pageantry of the NFL while helping increase the popularity of the sport. The two teams rekindled their rivalry in 2019, as the 49ers defeated the Packers to reach Super Bowl LIV.With the 49ers and Packers preparing to square off in Saturday's NFC divisional round playoff game, we decided to look back at the four playoff meetings between these two teams during the '90s, and how those games helped rewrite NFL history as we know it. The NFC (and NFL's pecking order, for that matter) was pretty concrete heading into the 1995 season: Dallas, San Francisco, and everyone else.After ruling the NFL during the 1980s, the 49ers' reign atop the pro football food chain was halted by the Cowboys in the 1992 NFC Championship Game. Despite capturing his first of two league MVP awards during the '92 season, 49ers quarterback Steve Young was unable to lead San Francisco past a loaded Dallas team that would again defeat the 49ers in the '93 NFC title game. The 49ers, however, would deny the Cowboys a shot at a third consecutive Super Bowl win after defeating them in the '94 NFC Championship Game 38-27. The 49ers, with Young at the peak of his powers, would dismantle the in the Super Bowl to become the first franchise with five Lombardi Trophies.Despite losing cornerback Deion Sanders to the Cowboys and running back Ricky Watters to the , the 49ers were again the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl entering the 1995 playoffs, especially after their convincing win against the Cowboys in Dallas during the regular season. The Packers, their divisional round playoff opponent, was supposed to be the appetizer San Francisco would devour before feasting on the Cowboys in the NFC title game. The Packers, however, had other plans in mind. While Green Bay was armed with league MVP Brett Favre, they also had an advantage in head coach Mike Holmgren, who had served as the 49ers' quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during the later portions of their dynasty. Holmgren's familiarity with his former team would play a major -- albeit unappreciated -- role in the outcome of the Packers' playoff succe s against the 49ers during the '90s.Green Bay quickly jumped on the Packers, with cornerback Craig Newsome's 31-yard fumble return giving Green Bay an early lead. The lead swelled to 21-0 after Favre connected on a pair of touchdown pa ses to tight ends and Mark Chmura. While Young and the 49ers fought back, they could not overcome Favre, who led the Packers on two more scoring drives in the second half to lead Green Bay to a 27-17 victory. While Young attempted a playoff record 65 pa s attempts, it was Favre who enjoyed the better day, going Julius Honka Men Jersey 21 of 28 for 299 yards and two touchdowns with a 132.9 pa ser rating. Today in 1996: Packers score 27-17 upset of defending champion 49ers in Divisional Playoffs. Craig Newsome's 31-yard fumble return TD keys Green Bay's 21-0 onslaught to open the game, while defense closes out San Francisco with three fourth-quarter takeaways. Packers History (@HistoricPackers) Favre, despite his best efforts, was unable to lead the Packers to an upset the following week in Dallas, as the Cowboys edged the Packers en route to their third (and final) Super Bowl win during the decade. It's not an overstatement to say that the 1996 Packers when healthy were unstoppable. That season, the Packers boasted the league's top-ranked offense and defense along with the league's best player in Favre, who won his second consecutive league MVP award. Green Bay went 13-3 during the regular season while enjoying a larger average margin of victory than any of the 30 Super Bowl champions before them. Green Bay's succe s during the '96 regular season included a thrilling overtime win over the 49ers in Week 7.The Packers raced out to an early 21-0 lead that began with Desmond Howard's 71-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the first punt return for a score during the '96 season for Howard, who returned three kickoff returns for touchdowns during the regular season. 49ers vs Packers playoff history thread continued:January 4, 1997 - Radek Faksa Kids Jersey lose to 35-14 in divisional round. 49ers special teams struggle and Steve Young saw limited action due to rib injury. Packers would win that year. #Random49ers (@Random49ers) But with the Packers ahead 21-7 at the intermi sion and set to receive the second-half kickoff, a mind-boggling mistake by Howard threatened to change the complexion of the game. Instead of being on the field for the second-half kickoff, Howard had yet to come out of the locker room. The i sue was that no one, Holmgren included, realized that Howard wasn't on the field by the time the 49ers kicked off, leaving an empty spot on the field where Howard was supposed to be. The result was a recovered kickoff by the 49ers, who pounced on the ball deep inside Packers territory. The 49ers scored on the game's next play, as the Packers were in jeopardy of blowing a 21-point lead. Green Bay responded with gusto on their ensuing drive. After running back Edgar Bennett got things going with a 13-yard run, an 18-yard completion from Favre to Freeman set up Freeman's recovery of a fumble by Bennett near the goal line that gave the Packers a 28-14 lead. The Packers would never again be threatened by the 49ers, who played the majority of the game without Young, who was dealing with a serious rib injury. After forcing a punt on San Francisco's ensuing po se sion following Freeman's score, linebacker Brian Williams' forced/recovered fumble of running back William Floyd set up Bennett's 11-yard touchdown run. Green Bay's 34-14 win was just the start of the Packers' postseason run, as Green Bay would go onto defeat the and Patriots to win their first Super Bowl in 29 years. Holmgren, years later, wasn't on the field for the start of Green Bay's playoff game against the Packers. "He goes, 'Coach, my jersey, I was all dirty, I had to change my clothes,'" Holmgren said during an NFL Films documentary when he recalled confronting Howard on the sideline. "I said, 'Well good, I'm really happy that I'm feeling better about how you look.' That's not exactly what I said." Howard didn't make the same mistake three weeks later in Super Bowl XXXI, returning a kickoff 99 yards for a score while earning MVP honors in Green Bay's 35-21 win over the Patriots. For the first time ever, both visiting teams were underdogs heading into the weekend's conference championship games. After John Elway, Terrell Davis and the rest of the Broncos took care of busine s in Pittsburgh, the Packers followed suit in San Francisco, defeating the 49ers at a rain-soaked Candlestick Park 23-10. As they had the two previous playoff meetings, the Packers jumped out to an early lead, as two Ryan Longwell field goals and a 27-yard touchdown pa s from Favre to Freeman gave Green Bay a 13-3 halftime lead. Running back Dorsey Levens, who rushed for a career-high 1,435 yards during the regular season, gave the Packers a 23-3 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run with just under four minutes remaining. Fittingly, the game's last big play was turned in by Green Bay's defense, as defensive end Keith McKenzie recording a sack/forced fumble that was recovered by the Packers. Despite allowing 49ers' receivers Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes to catch a combined 12 pa ses for 187 yards, Green Bay's defense, led by defensive end Reggie White and safety LeRoy Butler, kept the 49ers' offense out of the end zone while forcing three turnovers and allowing just 33 rushing yards. The Packers, meanwhile, enjoyed a succe sful ground attack led by Levens, who rushed for 114 yards while leading the Packers to their second consecutive Super Bowl. : The defeated the 49ers, 23-10, in the 1997 NFC Championship Game in San Francisco. Green Bay Packers (@packers) Unfortunately for the Packers, their brief reign atop the NFL mountaintop came to an end two weeks later in Super Bowl XXXII. Despite jumping out to an early lead, two first-half turnovers from Favre and 157 yards and three touchdowns by Davis propelled the Broncos to a 31- Tyler Seguin Jersey 24 win in one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played. Most fans and sportswriters expected another Packers playoff win over the 49ers when the two teams faced each other in the 1998 wild-card round. While Green Bay wasn't as strong as they were the previous three years, they still had Favre (who threw 31 touchdown pa ses that season), Freeman (14 touchdown receptions in '98) and White (16 sacks in '98) at the height of their powers. The 49ers still boasted the talents of Young (36 touchdown pa ses), Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice (1,157 yards, nine touchdowns) Pro Bowl running back Garrison Hearst (1,570 yards), and future Hall of Fame pa s rusher Chris Doleman (15 sacks). They also had a young receiver named Terrell Owens, who ended up having one of the most remarkable games of his colorful career. As expected, the Packers took an early lead before the 49ers rallied back to take the lead with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. Six carries for 38 yards by Hearst, along with a 15-yard pa s interference call on a third and 15 play, set up Wade Richey's go-ahead field goal.Both teams then traded field goals before a drop by Owens -- who dropped several pa ses throughout the course of the game -- forced the 49ers to punt with 4:19 left. Trailing 23-20, Favre quickly drove the Packers 89 yards in just over two minutes, completing three pa ses for 62 yards on the drive before hitting Freeman for the go-ahead touchdown. At that moment, it seemed that the Packers were on their way to a fourth straight postseason win over the 49ers.The 49ers, with their season -- and that era's Super Bowl window -- on the line, took over at their own 41-yard-line with 1:50 left. Two completions to receiver J.J. Stokes, and a terribly mi sed call on what should have been ruled a fumble by Rice (the NFL did not have instant replay at this time), the 49ers had the ball on the Packers' 25-yard line with eight seconds left. It was at this point that Owens, who had had a terrible game up until then, made the play that is still known on the West Coast as "The Catch, Part II". The 1998 NFC Wild Card game between the 49ers and Packers became an instant cla sic and the game winning 25-yard Steve Young to TD was known as The Catch II. Only 8 more Sundays until takes over the day Armchair NFL (@ArmchairNFL) This epic duel served as the fourth and final playoff game between the two teams during this time. While the 49ers -- who lost a tightly contested game the following week to the -- would lose the remaining stars of their championship teams in the coming years, the Packers would lose Holmgren during the '99 offseason, as Holmgren began the second phase of his head coaching career in Seattle.While it isn't as remembered as some of the NFL's other rivalries, the 49ers-Packers rivalry during the 1990s should be remembered as one of the greatest rivalries of its time, a rivalry that included big plays, season-changing moments and some of the greatest players in NFL history.
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