After beating the brakes off of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card, the Green Bay Packers find themselves matched up once again with the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. Since their 25-15 win over the 49ers in the 2001 NFC Wild Card, San Francisco has rattled off four straight postseason victories against the Packers. Even after their dominating performance, almost all analysts are picking the 49ers to win.
With nothing to lose and plenty of confidence, the Packers are looking to exact revenge on the 49ers for all the seasons lost at the hands of San Francisco. With revenge in mind, let’s take a look back at some of the greatest Green Bay Packers playoff revenge games of all time.
Greatest Green Bay Packers Playoff Games
2001 NFC Wild Card: Packers 25, 49ers 15
From 1995-97, the Packers beat San Francisco in the playoffs each season, on their way to two Super Bowl appearances. In 1998, the 49ers got the last laugh with a 30-27 win that is more commonly remembered as “The Catch II.” The last-second loss was tough enough as is, and on top of that was the fact that a Jerry Rice fumble on the final drive could not be reviewed thanks to the lack of instant replay in the NFL at the time.
After two straight years of missing the playoffs, Green Bay finally got the chance to exact revenge. Both teams came into frigid Lambeau Field with 12-4 records, making it tied for the best Wild Card matchup by a combined record of all time.
Green Bay allowed just 53 yards total on San Francisco’s first four drives, but a Garrison Hearst two-yard touchdown gave the 49ers a 7-6 lead heading into halftime. It was the first time the Packers trailed in the playoffs at halftime at Lambeau since the Ice Bowl in 1967.
In the second half, Brett Favre was magical, leading four scoring drives while completing 16/21 passes for 226 yards. Although San Francisco tied the game at 15 thanks to a Tai Streets 14-yard touchdown reception, the Packers responded with a Ryan Longwell field goal of their own before a Tyrone Williams interception gave Green Bay the ball back on their own seven-yard line.
On their final drive, the Packers converted on two huge third downs, including a bullet from Favre to receiver Antonio Freeman with just over three minutes to play. With 1:55 left in the game, an Ahman Green nine-yard touchdown run sealed the game for the Packers. It remains the last time the Packers beat the 49ers in the playoffs.
2016 NFC Wild Card: Packers 38 Giants 13
After falling to 4-6 in the 2016 NFL season, all hope looked lost. Then came the infamous line from quarterback Aaron Rodgers saying: “I think we can run the table.” The Pack rattled off six straight wins on their way to the playoffs. There, they matched up with the New York Giants who had ruined their Super Bowl aspirations at home in 2007 and 2011.
After being held to just seven net yards in the first quarter, the Giants holding a 6-0 lead and leading receiver Jordy Nelson leaving the game due to injury, it looked as if history might just repeat itself yet again. Instead, the Packers’ erupted for 14 points in the final 2:20 of the second quarter, capped by another infamous Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary to end the half.
Although the Giants pulled to within one thanks to a 41-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Tavarres King, the damage was already done. Rodgers scorched the Giants for 24 points in the second half, finishing with 364 yards and four touchdowns. The Packers’ defense held firm, allowing just seven points in the second half on their way to a win that set them up for a playoff date with the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round.
2019 Divisional Round: Packers 28 Seahawks 23
It was 19-7 with just over two minutes left in the 2014 NFC Championship when everything went wrong. If you know someone who is a Packers fan, you know how much that game changed them for the rest of their life. Although the Packers faced off against the Seattle Seahawks three times before their meeting in 2019, the sting of the “Fail Mary” and the 2014 NFC Championship still had Packers fans looking for blood.
Packers fans got their wish in a near-flawless first half that saw Green Bay race out to a 21-3 halftime lead. With their first drive in the second half, quarterback Russell Wilson led a 10-play touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 11. Rodgers responded with a touchdown in just five plays, capped off by a sensational 40-yard touchdown by receiver Davante Adams.
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks would not go away, as they put together two straight touchdown drives to cut the deficit to just five points. With 2:41 to go, the Seahawks were stopped by Green Bay’s defense and had to punt. That was the last time they had the ball.
Rodgers and the Packers faced two huge third downs but converted on both. First, Rodgers threw a picture-perfect pass to Adams for 32 yards before a nine-yard completion to tight end Jimmy Graham sealed Seattle’s fate. Davante Adams racked up a Packers playoff record 160 yards and two touchdowns on just eight catches as the Packers advanced to the NFC Championship.
