1997: Packers Defeat Patriots with Big Plays in Super Bowl XXXI

The Green Bay Packers had won a record 11 NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls, when it was a contest between the champions of rival leagues and not yet the NFL Championship game. But three decades had gone by since the last title was achieved as the Packers met the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI on January 26, 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Under Head Coach Mike Holmgren, the Packers were in the postseason for the fourth straight year in 1996. They had gone 13-3 to win the NFC Central and blasted past the 49ers and upstart Panthers in the playoffs to win the conference title. QB Brett Favre (pictured above) was the consensus league MVP as he led the NFL in touchdown passes (39) and ranked second in passing (95.8 rating). He had Pro Bowl TE Keith Jackson to throw to, as well as wide receivers Antonio Freeman and Robert Brooks, and when injuries struck them veteran WR Andre Rison was obtained with good results. Running backs Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens combined for 1465 rushing yards and caught 31 passes apiece. The defense featured 35-year old Pro Bowl DE Reggie White, on the downside of his great career but still effective, tackles Gilbert Brown and Santana Dotson, cornerbacks Craig Newsome and Doug Evans, and All-Pro SS LeRoy Butler.

The Patriots were coached by Bill Parcells, who had twice led the New York Giants to championships. They had won the AFC East with an 11-5 record and gave up a total of nine points in postseason wins over Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. The offense had Pro Bowl QB Drew Bledsoe, who in his fourth season led the league in pass attempts (623) and completions (373) while accumulating 4086 yards and 27 TD passes. It also had WR Terry Glenn, who set a then-rookie record with 90 catches, and Pro Bowl TE Ben Coates, with 9 touchdowns among his 62 receptions. Second-year RB Curtis Martin rushed for 1152 yards and 14 TDs. The defensive line, anchored by DE Willie McGinest, solidified over the course of the season, and other key performers on defense included LB Chris Slade, CB Ty Law, and SS Lawyer Milloy.

Before a crowd of 72,301 inside the domed stadium, New England got the ball first and had to punt. WR Desmond Howard, another contributor to the team’s success throughout the year with his kick returns, brought this one back 32 yards to the Green Bay 45. Two plays later, Favre threw to Rison for a 54-yard touchdown and the Packers were ahead, 7-0.

On the second play of the Patriots’ next possession, Bledsoe was intercepted by Evans, giving the Packers the ball at the New England 28 yard line. Green Bay advanced to the 19, from where Chris Jacke kicked a 37-yard field goal.

Now down 10-0, the Patriots responded with a six-play, 79-yard drive that included pass completions by Bledsoe of 32 yards to RB Keith Byars and 20 to Martin, a 26-yard gain on a pass interference call on the Packers, and concluded with a one-yard TD pass to Byars.

Green Bay went three-and-out, with Favre nearly intercepted on a third down pass, and punted. New England moved 57 yards down the field in four plays, one of them a 44-yard pass from Bledsoe to Glenn. Bledsoe threw to Coates for a four-yard touchdown and the Patriots took the lead at 14-10.

Both teams punted on each of their next two possessions, but in the first minute of the second quarter, with Green Bay at its own 19, Favre connected with Freeman, who caught the ball at the 45 and continued on for an 81-yard touchdown. The big play put the Packers back in front at 17-14.

Following another New England punt that Howard returned 34 yards to near midfield, Favre threw to Rison for 23 yards into Patriots territory. Levens ran 12 yards on a draw play and, four plays later, Jacke kicked another field goal, this time from 31 yards.

Bledsoe was intercepted again on the next series and the Packers once more capitalized on the turnover. Favre completed two passes and Levens ran for 31 yards on four carries as Green Bay went 74 yards in 9 plays, with Favre running the ball in from two yards out for a TD. The score was 27-14 at halftime.


The Packers, with the first possession of the second half, drove to the New England 37, but on fourth-and-one, Levens was stopped for a seven-yard loss. The teams traded punts and the Patriots scored another TD with an 18-yard run by Martin on a draw play to pull to six points behind. However, the situation changed quickly as Howard returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown (pictured at left). Favre passed to TE Mark Chmura for a two-point conversion and Green Bay was back ahead by two touchdowns. It proved to be more than enough.

The kickoff return seemed to take all the air out of the Patriots, who went three-and-out upon getting the ball again, with Bledsoe sacked twice consecutively by Reggie White. The teams continued to trade punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter until Bledsoe was intercepted by Craig Newsome. The Packers held onto the ball for 11 plays, and while they came up empty when Jacke was wide on a 47-yard field goal attempt, there were now just under four minutes left to play. The Patriots went quietly, never getting out of their own territory the last two times they had the ball, and Green Bay came away the winner by a final score of 35-21.

Both teams had 14 first downs while the Packers outgained New England by 323 yards to 257. Both quarterbacks were sacked five times. However, while Green Bay suffered no turnovers, the Patriots turned the ball over four times.


Brett Favre completed just 14 of 27 passes, but for 246 yards with two long touchdowns and no interceptions. Dorsey Levens (pictured at right) led the Packers in rushing with 61 yards on 14 carries and also caught three passes for 23 yards. Antonio Freeman gained 105 yards and scored the longer TD on his three receptions. Desmond Howard, the game’s MVP, returned four kickoffs for 154 yards, including the TD that put the game away, plus 6 punts for 90 more yards (a 15.0 avg.).

For the Patriots, Drew Bledsoe went to the air 48 times and had 25 completions for 253 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted four times. Ben Coates caught 6 passes for 67 yards and a TD. The club ran the ball just 13 times for 43 yards (and only six times after the first quarter), with Curtis Martin accounting for 42 yards on 11 carries and a TD.

“I thought we might have them rocking a little bit,” said Bill Parcells regarding the third quarter score that briefly pulled New England to just six points behind. “It's 27-21, we
had a lot of momentum. But (Howard) made the big play and I credit him for it.”

“Big plays did kill us,” said Ty Law of the Patriots, speaking more to the two long touchdown passes than the kickoff return. “You never want to go into a game and give up plays like that. If a team beats you, you want to make it hard for them.”

In the victorious Green Bay locker room, Mike Holmgren said, “This trophy, men, it was named after Vince Lombardi. As important as it is to every player in the league, it's more important to us. This is where it belongs.”

Desmond Howard departed the Packers via free agency in the offseason, but Green Bay repeated as NFC Champions, losing the Super Bowl to Denver. In New England, Parcells quit as head coach as a result of ongoing disputes on personnel matters with owner Robert Kraft. The Patriots reached the playoffs in the next two seasons under Pete Carroll, but didn’t get past the Divisional round – they would next reach the Super Bowl in 2001, under Carroll’s successor, Bill Belichick.

2004: Eagles Convert 4th-and-26, Force Overtime, and Beat Packers

The NFC Divisional playoff game on January 11, 2004 was the first to be played at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field as the host Eagles, NFC East champions in 2003 with a 12-4 record, took on the 10-6 Green Bay Packers, who had finished atop the NFC North.

The Eagles, under fifth-year Head Coach Andy Reid (a former Green Bay assistant), had won the division title and made it to the conference title game in each of the previous two seasons, but had struggled early in ’03. They were badly beaten in their first two contests and had a 2-3 record before reeling off nine straight wins. QB Donovan McNabb (pictured below right) suffered from a bruised thumb to start the year and was ineffective through the first six games, but came on strong in the second half along with the rest of the club. The three-headed running attack of Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook (who would be out for the playoffs due to an arm injury suffered in the season finale), and Correll Buckhalter was effective, combining for 1618 yards rushing and 83 pass receptions, although the wide receivers were average, at best. Defensively, star FS Brian Dawkins had missed nine games with a foot injury, but was healthy for the playoffs, while DT Corey Simon and CB Troy Vincent turned in Pro Bowl seasons.

Green Bay was coached for the fourth year by Mike Sherman and, as had been the case since 1992, featured 34-year-old QB Brett Favre, who passed for 3361 yards and a league-leading 32 touchdowns, but also 21 interceptions. WR Donald Driver and Pro Bowl TE Bubba Franks led the receiving corps, while RB Ahman Green ran for an NFC-leading 1883 yards.


It was a cold night in the teens with 67,707 fans in attendance at the new stadium. Neither club was able to generate much offense initially, with the Eagles failing to get a first down on any of their first three possessions. The Packers got a break when McNabb fumbled and LB Nick Barnett recovered. On the next play, Favre threw to WR Robert Ferguson for a 40-yard touchdown.

Eagles WR James Thrash returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards and McNabb took off on a 41-yard run down to the Green Bay 15 on Philadelphia’s first play. However, the drive stalled and David Akers missed on a 33-yard field goal attempt. The Packers responded with an eight-play, 86-yard drive that included a 26-yard run by Green. Favre again hit Ferguson with a scoring pass, this time of 17 yards, and Green Bay had a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.

The teams traded punts as the game moved into the second quarter. McNabb hit on five passes in a six-play drive that covered 77 yards and included a 45-yard completion to WR Todd Pinkston that in turn set up a seven-yard TD pass to Staley.

Green Bay came back with a drive deep into Eagles territory, but after getting a first-and-goal at the four yard line, the defense held and, when Green was stopped for no gain on a fourth down play at the one, Philadelphia regained possession. The first half ended with the Packers leading by 14-7.

Both offenses bogged down again in the third quarter, but as the period was winding down the Eagles, starting at their 11 yard line, began to drive. McNabb was successful on passes of 23 yards to TE L.J. Smith, 10 yards to Pinkston, and 15 to Staley. The fifth-year quarterback had started the drive with a 13-yard carry and he ran again, for 24 yards down to the Green Bay 36, as the period came to an end. On the first play of the fourth quarter, McNabb, barely scrambling out of trouble, threw to Pinkston for a 12-yard touchdown and, with the successful PAT by Akers, the game was tied at 14-14.

The teams traded punts before Favre completed a pass to WR Javon Walker for a 44-yard gain to the Philadelphia seven. The Packers had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell, but had regained the lead at 17-14. The Eagles punted again following their next possession, and Green Bay put together a drive that burned over six minutes off the clock. But with fourth-and-one at the Philadelphia 41, Coach Sherman elected to punt rather than risk another failure to convert a fourth down.

Following Josh Bidwell’s kick, the Eagles got the ball on their own 20 with 2:21 remaining in regulation. Staley took off on a 22-yard run, but then McNabb threw an incomplete pass, was sacked for a 16-yard loss, and tossed another incompletion. With the ball on the Philadelphia 26 and facing a fourth-and-26 situation, it appeared that the Eagles’ season was practically over. However, McNabb completed a pass to WR Freddie Mitchell, in the midst of two defenders, for a 28-yard gain and an improbable first down (pictured at top).

The Eagles continued their drive to the Green Bay 19, and with five seconds remaining Akers booted a 37-yard field goal to tie the contest at 17-17 and send it into overtime.

Philadelphia received the kickoff in the sudden death period and went three-and-out. But Favre threw a long, high pass that was intercepted by Dawkins and returned 35 yards to the Green Bay 34. Six plays later, Akers kicked a 31-yard field goal and the Eagles came away with a 20-17 win.

For the most part, the team statistics reflected the closeness of the outcome. The Packers had the most yards (381 to 363) while Philadelphia had the edge in first downs (19 to 16). Both teams turned the ball over once. But the Packers sacked McNabb eight times, while the Eagles got to Favre only once.

Despite the punishing pass rush, Donovan McNabb completed 21 of 39 passes for 248 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and also ran for 107 yards on 11 carries, a NFL playoff-record rushing performance for a quarterback. Todd Pinkston caught 7 passes for 95 yards and a TD. Duce Staley led the running backs with 45 yards on five attempts and also caught three passes for 26 yards and a score.


Brett Favre was successful on 15 of 28 passes for 180 yards and two TDs against the one big interception. Ahman Green (pictured at left) ran for 156 yards on 25 carries, although the yard he failed to get on the fourth down play at the goal line in the second quarter had a profound effect on the outcome. Robert Ferguson led Green Bay’s receivers with 4 catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns.

“I tried to beat my man across from me and just go deep, and I went deep,” Mitchell said of the fourth-and-26 pass play. “I didn't see the guy on top of me but Donovan read that and threw a back shoulder to me and I saw it in the air and I made a play.”

“That shouldn't have happened,” Green Bay DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said. “But it did.”

The dramatic win didn’t translate into success the following week for the Eagles, however, as they lost their third consecutive NFC Championship game, this time to the Carolina Panthers.

For Freddie Mitchell, the big catch against the Packers was the highlight of an otherwise-disappointing career in Philadelphia. The Eagles’ first round draft pick in 2001 out of UCLA, he ended up with a total of 90 receptions for 1263 yards and five touchdowns, and was released following the 2004 season, effectively ending his NFL career. But for one play, he reached the heights that had been expected of him.

2004: Jaguars Overcome Cold and Favre to Beat Packers

It was frigid at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field on December 19, 2004, with temperatures in the single digits and a wind chill of minus 12. Such conditions often proved too much for visiting teams from warm-weather parts of the country, and the Packers’ opponent on this day was the Jacksonville Jaguars. Moreover, Green Bay was 31-3 in home games after December 1 with Brett Favre at quarterback.

The Packers, under Head Coach Mike Sherman, were 8-5 coming into the game, and had won seven of their last eight. The key to the offense was the 35-year-old Favre, as had been the case since he took over as starting quarterback in 1992. WR Javon Walker provided a productive target for the veteran passer to throw to while RB Ahman Green was a solid runner, although occasionally fumble-prone and nicked by injuries. Defense was a nagging problem.

Head Coach Jack Del Rio’s Jaguars came into the contest at 7-6. They had gotten off to a 5-2 start but then lost four of five before beating the Bears at home the week before. Jacksonville had a second-year starting quarterback in big (6’5”, 245 pounds) Byron Leftwich, and he had an outstanding veteran target in WR Jimmy Smith. Explosive seventh-year RB Fred Taylor (pictured above) handled the bulk of the rushing. The team had run into problems with scoring, however – in the six previous games, they had reached 20 points in only two of them.

The Jaguars quickly scored first in the opening period. On the second play from scrimmage, Taylor ran 46 yards to the Green Bay 31 yard line, and from there Leftwich threw a touchdown pass to Smith.

Neither team was able to move the ball effectively for the remainder of the first quarter, but early in the second quarter Ryan Longwell put the Packers on the board with a 35-yard field goal. It was Longwell’s 45th consecutive field goal from within 40 yards, but the string was broken on the next Green Bay possession when, following an 11-play drive, the placekicker missed from 31 yards.

Green Bay went ahead thanks to a heads-up defensive play by safety Darren Sharper. Having been sacked on the previous play, Leftwich was hit and fumbled, but several players on both sides thought it was an incomplete pass and didn’t try to recover the ball. Jacksonville G Vic Manuwai picked it up, but Sharper alertly knocked it out of his hand, recovered, and ran 15 yards for a touchdown. The Packers took a 10-7 lead.

The Jaguars came right back, however, going 68 yards in four plays that culminated in Leftwich again tossing a TD pass to Smith, this time of 16 yards. Green Bay had an opportunity to score again before halftime, but after driving to the Jacksonville 23, Favre fumbled and LB Daryl Smith recovered to snuff out the threat. The Jaguars held a 14-10 lead at the intermission.

The Packers put together a six-play, 76-yard drive to start the third quarter that ended with Favre tossing a 32-yard touchdown pass to WR Donald Driver. But once again Jacksonville responded in kind as Taylor ran 37 yards for a TD that put the Jaguars back in front at 21-17.

Favre completed four passes in the next Green Bay drive, but after getting to the Jacksonville three he was intercepted by CB Rashean Mathis in the end zone. Again the teams traded punts, but in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars culminated a 10-play drive that covered 58 yards with RB Greg Jones scoring from a yard out on a fourth-and-goal play to increase the lead to 28-17.

Favre was intercepted twice more, including once deep in Jacksonville territory, before finally hitting WR Antonio Chatman for a seven-yard TD. The Packers narrowed the Jaguar lead to three points by successfully tacking on a two-point conversion on a Favre-to-Driver pass. But there was now just over a minute left to play, and an attempted onside kick was recovered by Jacksonville safety Nick Sorensen; the Jaguars were able to run out the clock and came away with a 28-25 upset win.

Green Bay outgained the Jaguars (444 yards to 312) and had 26 first downs to Jacksonville’s 19. But they were undone by five turnovers (to two by the Jaguars) and 12 penalties that cost 101 yards, as opposed to 7 for 85 yards against the visitors.

Both quarterbacks came away battered, although they made it all the way through, and there was a scary moment in the fourth quarter when Green Bay WR Robert Ferguson was clotheslined by Jaguars safety Donovin Darius (who was ejected) and suffered a sprained neck.

Jacksonville ran the ball especially well, gaining 197 yards overall on the ground. Fred Taylor led the way with 165 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Byron Leftwich completed 9 of 20 passes for 121 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Jimmy Smith caught 4 passes for 87 yards and both scoring passes.

Brett Favre (pictured below) filled the air with passes, throwing 44 times and completing 30 for 367 yards. However, while two of them were good for touchdowns, three were intercepted (two by Rashean Mathis). Javon Walker caught 11 passes for 152 yards while Donald Driver had 4 receptions for 74 yards and a TD and Antonio Chatman also pulled in 4 passes, for 48 yards and a score. Ahman Green ran for 94 yards on 17 attempts.


“A team that plays in Florida in the 80s and 70s, you just can't condition your body for the temperatures you are going to feel,” Coach Del Rio said afterward. “But you can condition your mind and I felt we were ready from that standpoint.”

Mike Sherman complimented the Jaguars by saying, “They have the talent to play in any conditions.”

Despite falling to 8-6, the Packers clinched a spot in the postseason because the Bears, Cowboys, Panthers, and Giants all lost on the same weekend. Green Bay finished strong to win the NFC North with a 10-6 record, but lost to Minnesota in the Wild Card playoff. Jacksonville lost the following week and ended up at 9-7; it was an improvement and good enough for second place in the AFC South, but the Jaguars failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Fred Taylor rushed for over a thousand yards for the third straight year, and the fifth of an eventual seven seasons. He gained 1224 yards on 260 carries (4.7 avg.) with two touchdowns and caught 36 passes for another 345 yards and a TD. However, he missed the last two games in ’04 due to a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

Brett Favre ranked fifth in the NFL with 4088 yards passing and fourth with 30 touchdown passes. He also tied for fifth by tossing 17 interceptions.


Favre wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in four years, but Javon Walker (pictured at left) was after catching 89 passes for 1382 yards (third in the NFL) and 12 touchdowns. However, he appeared in only one game in 2005 before going on injured reserve with a knee injury and ended an acrimonious relationship with the team when dealt to Denver in ’06.

1998: Terrell Davis Runs Broncos Past Packers in Super Bowl XXXII

In four appearances in the Super Bowl prior to the 1997 season, the Denver Broncos had experienced only disappointment. In three of them, John Elway had been the quarterback and had taken criticism for coming up short in the biggest game. He was 37 years old and in his 15th season in ’97, and time was running short. Head Coach Mike Shanahan’s team had gone 13-3 in 1996, only to lose in the Divisional round of the playoffs, but came back with a 12-4 record that was good enough for second place in the AFC West and a wild card spot. Elway had a typically outstanding year, throwing for 3635 yards and a career-high 27 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. WR Rod Smith (70 receptions, 1180 yards) and TE Shannon Sharpe (72 catches, 1107 yards) provided reliable targets. Third-year RB Terrell Davis (pictured), with 1750 rushing yards and a league-leading 15 TDs on the ground, supplied a key ingredient to the offense.

Denver easily got past Jacksonville in the Wild Card playoff and then defeated Kansas City in the next round (the team they had finished behind in the division) and Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.

The NFC’s representative in Super Bowl XXXII was the Green Bay Packers, who were the defending champions. Under Head Coach Mike Holmgren, they had matched their 13-3 record of ’96 in winning the NFC Central. They featured QB Brett Favre (pictured below), who was the Associated Press NFL MVP for the third consecutive year (tied, this time, with Detroit RB Barry Sanders). Favre had led the NFL with 35 TD passes, 12 of them to WR Antonio Freeman (81 receptions, 1243 yards) and 7 more to WR Robert Brooks (60 catches, 1010 yards). Pro Bowl RB Dorsey Levens ran for 1435 yards and caught 53 passes as well. The solid defense featured DE Reggie White and SS LeRoy Butler.


The Packers defeated the Buccaneers in the Divisional round and San Francisco to repeat as conference champions. They were 12-point favorites entering Super Bowl XXXII, and the NFC had won the previous 13 straight NFL championships.

There were 68,912 fans on hand at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium for the game on January 25, 1998. Favre wasted no time, driving the Packers to the first score of the game in a four-minute opening possession that included three passes for 48 yards to Freeman, including a 22-yard TD pass. Denver responded in kind, featuring Davis carrying the ball five times for 42 yards; he capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Elway completed no passes on the possession, but had a 10-yard scramble to set up first-and-goal. The score stood at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Broncos took advantage of Green Bay turnovers to score 10 more points in the second quarter. First, DE Neil Smith recovered a Favre fumble that set up a 51-yard field goal by Jason Elam. Then SS Tyrone Braxton intercepted a pass that resulted in Denver’s offense going 45 yards in eight plays, ending with a two-yard run by Elway.

Down 17-7, the Packers fought back with a long drive of 17 plays that used up over seven minutes and ended in a Favre touchdown pass to TE Mark Chmura with twelve seconds left in the half.

Denver had missed the running of Terrell Davis for much of the second quarter, due to his taking a kick in the head, after rushing for 62 yards on 9 carries. He fumbled on the first play of the second half, with CB Tyrone Williams recovering for Green Bay. Ryan Longwell followed up with a 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 17-17.

The Broncos came back as Elway and Davis, making up for the fumble and having shaken off the effects of the injury, keyed a 13-play, 92-yard scoring drive. Eight of the plays were runs by Davis, including the one-yard touchdown that put Denver back in the lead at 24-17. Elway completed a 36-yard pass to WR Ed McCaffrey and, in a third-and-six situation, ran for eight yards that included a dive at the end to give the Broncos a first-and-goal.

After FS Eugene Robinson intercepted an Elway pass in the end zone, it was Brett Favre’s turn. The Packers again tied the score early in the fourth quarter, once more on a Favre pass to Freeman of 13 yards. Neither team was able to move the ball in its next possession as they traded punts. With 3:27 remaining, Denver took over just inside Green Bay territory. Thanks to a 15-yard face mask penalty and an Elway screen pass to FB Howard Griffith that covered 23 yards, the Broncos had first-and-goal at the eight yard line. They were backed up by holding penalty, but Davis responded with a 17-yard run to the one, and scored his third TD of the game untouched from there.

With time running out, the Packers charged down the field into Denver territory. However, a fourth-down pass by Favre was batted away by LB John Mobley and the Broncos were champions by a 31-24 score.


Terrell Davis was the game’s MVP, having run the ball 30 times for 157 yards with the three touchdowns. John Elway (pictured at right) had modest statistics, as he completed 12 of 22 passes for 123 yards with an interception, but made key runs (including a score) among his 17 yards on five carries and guided the offense well. Shannon Sharpe caught the most passes for the Broncos, with 5 (for 38 yards), while Ed McCaffrey was the leader in receiving yards with 45 on two catches.

For Green Bay, Brett Favre had 25 completions in 42 passing attempts for 256 yards and three TDs along with an interception. Antonio Freeman (pictured at bottom) caught 9 passes for 126 yards and two scores. Dorsey Levens ran effectively, with 90 yards on 19 carries; he also caught 6 passes for another 56 yards.

Denver repeated as champion in 1998 with an even stronger season in what was Elway’s last year; after all the Super Bowl disappointments in his Hall of Fame career, he capped it with two titles. The Packers were back in the playoffs in ’98, but as a wild card team that lost in the first round. They would not be back in the postseason until 2001.