It has been said many times over that a football season is a marathon, not a sprint. The long four-month grind has many ups and downs; those teams that remain standing after 17 games basically win a battle of attrition, persevering through injuries, slumps, and any other form of bad luck that surfaces. For the Packers to be in a position to make the playoffs in a “win and you’re in” game 17 against the Detroit Lions after a 4-8 start, one that included a five-game losing streak, is nothing short of remarkable. However, the situation Green Bay finds itself in is not without recent precedent.
DECEMBER 27, 1992: MINNESOTA 27, GREEN BAY 7
After reeling off six straight wins to bolster their record to 9-6 entering the final game of the season, the Packers were poised to enter the post-season tournament for the first time since the strike-shortened 1982 season. It was simple: a win at Minnesota and the Packers would be playing playoff football. However, it was not meant to be.
The Packers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after a Harry Sydney touchdown, but it was all Vikings after that. Two Sean Salisbury touchdown passes were part of 27 unanswered points, and the Green Bay players and coaches were forced to watch the playoffs from their living rooms yet again. But, the wait would only last until the following season.
JANUARY 2, 1994: DETROIT 30, GREEN BAY 20
Technically, the Packers already clinched a playoff spot entering the final game of the 1993 season at Detroit. What made this game more interesting was that these two teams were slotted to play each other in the wild-card round the following week; the winner of this game at the Pontiac Silverdome would host the post-season game six days later.
For the second year in a row, the Packers wilted in the second half of the biggest game of the season. Leading 20-16 entering the fourth quarter, the Packers gave up 14 points to the Lions in that final stanza, thereby sealing their return trip to Michigan the following weekend. However, Green Bay exacted revenge upon Detroit with a last-minute Brett Favre to Sterling Sharpe touchdown pass to win a playoff game for the first time in 11 years.
JANUARY 2, 2011: GREEN BAY 10, CHICAGO 3
The 2010 Packers found themselves in an eerily similar situation to the current squad. They need to win the final two games of the season–both home games–to limp into the playoffs. Having dispatched the Giants in game 15, the Packers needed to beat their archrival, the Chicago Bears, in the final game to avoid missing the tournament.
On a bitterly cold day in Green Bay, both defenses reigned. The only scoring in the first half was courtesy of a Chicago field goal, but that would be all the points the Bears would muster on this day. Donald Lee caught a short touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers early in the fourth quarter for the deciding score, and the Packers’ defense held the rest of the way. Once in the playoffs, Green Bay ran the table, winning Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25.
Previous experiences are not a guarantee of future success. What happened in the past has no bearing on what will transpire on Sunday against the Lions. However, one cannot help but feel a small pang of hope that the 2022 version of the Packers can find a way to replicate the winning streak through December and January of the 2010 team and carry this momentum into February.
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