1995 DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
GREEN BAY 27, SAN FRANCISCO 17
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White (92) congratulates coach Mike Holmgren ... [+]
(Note: The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers meet in the NFC Championship Game Sunday. These two storied franchises have a history of memorable playoff games. Throughout the week, we’ll take a look back at some of those thrilling games.)
Every great team has a breakthrough moment they always point back to. That time they went from being an up-and-comer to a legitimate contender.
For the Green Bay Packers of the 1990s, that time was Jan. 6, 1996.
The Packers went to San Francisco that day for an NFC Divisional playoff game.
Green Bay was coming off an 11-win regular season, its best since 1966, but was still lightly regarded. The 49ers were the defending Super Bowl champions, the league’s dominant franchise and a 10 1/2–point favorites that day.
“No one gave us a chance,” Packers safety LeRoy Butler said. “Everything we read they said we didn't have a chance. If no one is going to give you respect than you have nothing to lose.”
The Packers certainly played that way. And when Green Bay exited with a 27-17 win, it marked their biggest win in nearly 30 years.
“This is the culmination of a lot of work by an entire team that completely believed in itself,” Packers general manager Ron Wolf said afterwards. “We had to show this, that we are indeed a real football team. By God, I think we've done that.”
On a gorgeous afternoon at 3Com Park, the Packers dominated the 49ers physically. League MVP Brett Favre threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
And when the game ended, there had been a changing of the guard in the NFC.
“For some reason they took us for granted,” Green Bay linebacker George Koonce said. “We've got a quarterback that's hot and we have a defense.”
Both were on full display in this landmark win.
On San Francisco’s first offensive play, quarterback Steve Young threw a swing pass to fullback Adam Walker. Linebacker Wayne Simmons — who had one of the more memorable games by a Packer defender in years — forced a fumble and cornerback Craig Newsome returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.
Before the first quarter was over, Favre led a 62-yard scoring drive in which he hit Keith Jackson for a 3-yard touchdown. And early in the second quarter, the capacity crowd was completely silenced after Favre’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Mark Chmura made it 21-0.
“The way we started out playing, that set the tempo for the game,” said Packers defensive end Reggie White. “This is the biggest game of my career. It's the farthest I've ever been.”
Once the Packers got the lead, the 49ers became one-dimensional and had to throw. And that played right into the hands of Green Bay defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur.
The Packers sacked Young three times and knocked him to the ground several others. Green Bay’s cornerbacks — Doug Evans and Newsome — were terrific against San Francisco star wideouts Jerry Rice and John Taylor.
But the defensive star undoubtedly was Simmons, who battered tight end Brent Jones throughout the game and set the physical tone the Packers wanted to play with.
“He was very physical, and he's an outstanding player,” Jones said of Simmons. “You can take any couple of plays and make what you want out of it. I think they made it a point to be physical.”
The Packers lost in the NFC Championship game at Dallas the following week. But their destruction of the mighty 49ers laid the groundwork for big things to come.
Green Bay won the NFC in both 1996 and ’97, and won Super Bowl XXXI, as well. And the Packers could all agree it began with their surprising win in San Francisco.
“It's not like a regular season game,” Favre said. “It's a playoff game against the defending Super Bowl champions. It's hard to explain, it's hard to imagine what we've just done.”
What they did was lay the foundation for future greatness.
