Records & History - NFL.com

PACKERS NFL TITLE GAMES & PLAYOFFSCOMMUNITYADMIN. &COACHESVETERANSDRAFT &FREE AGENTS2012 REVIEWPLAYOFFHISTORYLAMBEAUFIELDMISC.PACKERS 23, SAN FRANCISCO 101997 NFC ChampionshipJan. 11, 1998, at 3Com Park, San FranciscoGreen Bay, in its third straight NFCChampionship, never allowed the 49ers toget started and advanced to a second consecutiveSuper Bowl. In the process, thePackers purged San Francisco for a thirdstraight year, the second time at 3Com.From the outset, on a rain-swept afternoon,the Packers were able to pick on SanFrancisco’s cornerbacks, moving 76 yards on their first possession.Early in the second quarter, Eugene Robinson stepped in frontof a Steve Young pass and weaved across the field 58 yards tothe 49ers’ 28. Two plays later, Antonio Freeman caught a shortslant from Brett Favre, cut back against the grain and broke severaltackles for a 27-yard touchdown, and a 10-0 Green Bay lead.Late in the opening half, the 49ers had to settle for a field goalafter three straight incompletions from the Green Bay 10. Then, inthe waning seconds, Favre connected with Freeman on a 40-yardbomb, to set up the half’s final play, Ryan Longwell’s 43-yard fieldgoal, against a difficult wind.Longwell, who attended nearby Cal one season earlier and hadbeen released by the 49ers just before training camp, added histhird field goal midway through the fourth quarter, giving Green Baya more comfortable 13-point lead.The Packers’ defense, which held San Francisco to just 33 rushingyards on 18 overall carries, sacked Young in the fourth quarterfour times, twice by Keith McKenzie. When Green Bay sackedYoung on fourth down at his own 11 with just under four minutesremaining, the Packers quickly capitalized, scoring after two DorseyLevens runs.Levens broke his own, week-old (then) franchise playoff recordwith 114 rushing yards – the first 100-yard effort allowed by the49ers during the ’97 season – and again did much of his work in thesecond half. Freeman totaled 107 yards on four catches, and punterCraig Hentrich helped Green Bay to handily win the field-positionbattle, depositing all five of his punts inside the 49ers’ 20.Following Levens’ score, the Niners’ Chuck Levy returned thekickoff 95 yards for San Francisco’s lone touchdown, with 2:52 leftin the game.On the field after the game, with a smattering of fans remaining,the George S. Halas Trophy, representative of the National FootballConference Championship, was handed over to the rain-soakedtrio of President Bob Harlan, General Manager Ron Wolf and HeadCoach Mike Holmgren.Packers . . . . . . . . . . 3 10 0 10 — 23San Francisco . . . . 0 3 0 7 — 10GB — FG Longwell 19GB — Freeman 27 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)SF — FG Anderson 28GB — FG Longwell 43GB — FG Longwell 25GB — Levens 5 run (Longwell kick)SF — Levy 95 kickoff return (Anderson kick)478SAN FRANCISCO 30, PACKERS 271998 NFC Wild Card PlayoffJan. 3, 1999, at 3Com Park, San FranciscoSteve Young’s touchdown pass to TerrellOwens, in between four defenders with threeseconds remaining, ended the Packers’ season.The 49ers ended their five-game GreenBay losing streak, a stretch that covered fouryears, including elimination from the 1995-97 playoffs. The Packers, in the postseasonfor a team-record sixth consecutive year,went winless in the playoffs for the first time in the span.After a critical interception, Brett Favre got the ball at his own 11,trailing 23-20 with 4:19 left. His 47-yard bomb up the left sidelineto rookie Corey Bradford put the Packers in scoring range at the 31.Then, four plays later, Favre saw the 49ers stack eight men at theline, audibled and found Antonio Freeman on a sprint-and-go patternfor a 15-yard TD and a 27-23 lead with 1:56 left.But Young drove 76 yards in the final two minutes, culminatingin his game-winning, 25-yard bullet to Owens, who had droppedseveral passes. Earlier during the controversial drive, rookie ScottMcGarrahan appeared to strip Jerry Rice at the Green Bay 41, andBernardo Harris recovered, but officials ruled Rice down.Strong running games bolstered both teams. Garrison Hearst ranfor 128 of the 49ers’ 178 rushing yards, while Dorsey Levens brokehis own (then) team playoff rushing mark with 116 yards. GregClark’s two TD catches each came after Green Bay turnovers. Favrethrew for 292 yards and two touchdowns, both to Freeman.Two Packers icons – all-time sacks leader and future Hall of FamerReggie White, and head coach Mike Holmgren – saw their Green Baycareers end. Holmgren, 84-42 overall in seven Packers seasons,became the Seahawks’ executive VP of football operations/generalmanager and head coach five days later.Packers . . . . . . . . . . 3 14 0 10 — 27San Francisco . . . . 7 3 10 10 — 30GB — FG Longwell 23SF — Clark 1 pass from Young (Richey kick)GB — Freeman 2 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)SF — FG Richey 34GB — Levens 2 run (Longwell kick)SF — Clark 8 pass from Young (Richey kick)SF — FG Richey 48GB — FG Longwell 37SF — FG Richey 40GB — Freeman 15 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)SF — Owens 25 pass from Young (Richey kick)PACKERS 25, SAN FRANCISCO 152001 NFC Wild Card PlayoffJan. 13, 2002, at Lambeau Field, Green BayBrett Favre orchestrated four second-halfscoring drives, while Mike McKenzie andTyrone Williams collaborated on a gameturningfourth-quarter interception as GreenBay ended the 49ers’ season, 25-15. Thewin improved Green Bay’s all-time record inhome postseason contests to 13-0, including11-0 at Lambeau Field.PACKERS HISTORY IN PLAYOFF TIEBREAKERSYear Record Tied with At Stake Winner Tiebreaker2010 10-6-0 . . . . NYG, TB. . . . . . . No. 6 seed (final wild card) . . . . . GB.. . . . . . Strength of victory (GB .475, NYG .400, TB .344)2009 11-5-0 . . . . Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GB.. . . . . . Common opponents (GB 4-1, Phi. 3-2)2007 13-3-0 . . . . DalC . . . . . . . . . . No. 1 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DalC . . . . . Head-Head (DalC reg. season win)2006 8-8-0 . . . . NYG, Car., StLR. . No. 6 seed (final wild card) . . . . .NYG Strength of victory (NYG .422, GB .383)Conf. record in tied group (NYG 7-5, GB 7-5, Car. 6-6, StLR 6-6)2002 12-4-0 . . . . Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phi.. . . . . . Conference record (Phi. 11-1, GB 9-3)TB . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TB . . . . . . Head-Head (TB reg. season win)2001 12-4-0 . . . . SF . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4 seed (top wild card) . . . . . . GB . . . . . . Conference record (GB 9-3, SF 8-4)1997 13-3-0 . . . . SF . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SF . . . . . . Conference record (SF 11-1, GB 10-2)1995 11-5-0 . . . . SF . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2 seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SF . . . . . . Conference record (SF 8-4, GB 7-5)1994 9-7-0 . . . . Det., ChiB . . . . . No. 4 seed (top wild card) . . . . . . GB . . . . . . Head-Head in tied group (GB 3-1, Det. 2-2, ChiB 1-3)NYG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conference record (GB 8-4, NYG 6-6)1993 9-7-0 . . . . Min. . . . . . . . . . . No. 5 seed (No. 2 wild card) . . . .Min. . . . . . Head-Head (Min. 2-0 sweep)1992 9-7-0 . . . . Was. . . . . . . . . . . No. 6 seed (final wild card) . . . . Was. . . . . . Conference record (Was. 7-5, GB 6-6)1989 10-6-0 . . . . Min. . . . . . . . . . . NFC Central Division title . . . . . .Min. . . . . . Division record (Min. 6-2, GB 5-3)1978 8-7-1 . . . . Min. . . . . . . . . . . NFC Central Division title . . . . . .Min. . . . . . Head-Head (Min. 1-0-1)Before the 1970 merger expanded the playoff system, NFL teams tied atop their division were pitted in single games for rights to attendthe league championship. The Packers played two such games, losing to the Bears in 1941 and defeating the Colts in 1965.