Packers-49ers rivalry dates back quarter century
Brett Favre vs. Steve Young. Aaron Rodgers dueling with Colin Kaepernick.
The catch by Terrell Owens, electrifying returns from Desmond Howard and breathtaking runs by Kaepernick.
Few franchises have been as intertwined over the last quarter-century as the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, with coaches getting groomed in one spot and ending up in the other, seven previous playoff meetings, and a regrettable draft decision that sent Rodgers packing for Green Bay instead of staying close to home and reviving the 49ers.
The teams that have combined for nine Super Bowl titles will meet with a spot in the championship game on the line once again when the 49ers (14-3) host the Packers (14-3) in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
No matchup has occurred as frequently in the past 25 years, with the eighth meeting this week putting Green BaySan Francisco three games ahead of any other rivalry. In fact, the only teams to play more than eight times in the postseason in the Super Bowl era are the Rams and Cowboys, who met for the ninth time last January.
The Packers have won four of those previous seven meetings, going 4-1 with Favre at quarterback and losing both meetings with Rodgers as starter in the 2012-13 seasons when he was outdueled by Kaepernick.
It all started back in 1992 when Mike Holmgren left a job as offensive coordinator in San Francisco to take over the Packers. The man who tutored Young in both college and the pros set out to groom the untested Favre, who was acquired in a trade from Atlanta that same year.
With Favre and Holmgren at the helm, along with free agent acquisition Reggie White, the Packers set out to challenge the Cowboys and 49ers for dominance in the NFC. After getting knocked out of the 1993 and ‘94 playoffs by Dallas, Green Bay got its shot against San Francisco the following year and jumped all over the Niners.
Adam Walker fumbled on San Francisco’s first play from scrimmage and Craig Newsome returned it for a TD and Favre followed with two quick touchdown passes as the Packers rolled to a 27-17 win that established them as true contenders — even though they lost the following week against Dallas.
The teams met again the following year when Howard returned a punt 71 yards for a TD after San Francisco’s opening possession. Young was knocked out later in the
SANTA CLARA, Calif. —
first quarter with an injury and the Packers won 3514 on the way to a Super Bowl title.
“There was a time that you could just say, ‘Hey, no matter, the 49ers are a better team than Green Bay,’” Packers defensive end Sean Jones said after that game. “There was a time where they could make mistakes, and still not play their best and you knew and they knew they were going to win. Well, those days are over. At worst, we are even with them in talent. So, then you throw in mistakes and there you have it — that’s the difference.”
The Packers dominance of the series led to George Seifert resigning as coach and former Packers assistant Steve Mariucci taking over.
Green Bay won the first playoff matchup against Mariucci the following year as the frustration mounted in San Francisco.
“It’s getting pretty obvious,” Young said at the time. “We have to find a way to beat the Packers. They are the team standing in the way of all our progress.”
The breakthrough came the following year thanks to one of the most memorable plays of the series in San Francisco’s only playoff win over Favre. On Jan. 3, 1999, Owens lost a fumble and dropped a potential TD pass early before delivering late.
With 8 seconds left and the Niners trailing by four, Young stumbled dropping back from center and then threaded a 25-yard pass between a phalanx of Packers to Owens, who somehow managed to hold onto it despite being hit by two defenders.
“I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for that play, to be honest,” Owens said years later. “If you take that one catch, that one touchdown away from me, I don’t know where I would be. It was a play that really catapulted my career.”
Favre won his final playoff meeting against the Niners three years later, and the next really meaningful link between the franchises came in 2005 when San Francisco drafted Alex Smith with the No. 1 overall pick instead of local boy Rodgers.
Rodgers fell to No. 24, only adding fuel to his motivation.
“Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me,” Rodgers said at the draft about his disappointment at being passed over by San Francisco.
That proved prophetic as Rodgers and former Niners offensive coordinator Mike Mccarthy built a powerhouse that won the Super Bowl following the 2010 season and then went 15-1 the next year before losing to the Giants one game before a potential showdown with San Francisco. 49ers receiver Terrell Owens (center) pulls in a touchdown pass from Steve Young as the Packers’ Pat Terrell (40) and Darren Sharper defend in a 1999 NFC wild-card game.
AUBURN, Ala. — The Auburn Tigers haven’t missed a step — or lost a game — after losing their three best players from last season’s Final Four team.
The fourth-ranked Tigers have ascended 20 spots in the AP Top 25 since the season began, won their first 15 games and sailed through the opening games of Southeastern Conference play.
Even with a relatively friendly early schedule, it’s an impressive start for a team that had to reload following the program’s first Final Four appearance.
Led by guard Samir Doughty, center Austin Wiley and freshman Isaac Okoro, the Tigers (15-0, 3-0 SEC) are one of two unbeaten teams in Division I, along with No. 7 San Diego State. Auburn visits rival Alabama (8-7, 1-2) on Wednesday night.
“Auburn is a tremendous team, one of the best in our league, probably one of the best in the country,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said after the Bulldogs’ 82-60 defeat last weekend. “Any conversation that comes up in the next few months about who could win it all should have Auburn in it.”
It was far from a foregone conclusion that the Tigers, who have often struggled to sustain success from season to season, would still be generating
COLLEGE FOOTBALL|LOOKAHEAD
Six story lines that will define 2020:
TREVOR VS. JUSTIN
The first meeting between Georgia natives Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Justin Fields of Ohio State produced a classic College Football Playoff semifinal. Both are entering their junior years, which most likely will be their final college seasons. If they play again it will have to be in the playoff.
But make no mistake: They will be competing. Fields and Lawrence will enter next season as the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. And if there is anybody who might be able to challenge Lawrence to be the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft it is Fields, who grew up 20 miles away from Lawrence outside Atlanta and uses the same personal quarterback coach.
ALABAMA VS. LSU
The Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, vanquishing their nemesis en route to a national championship.
There is no reason to believe Alabama is in decline. Now fans will be watching to see if the Tigers’ perfect season was a one-off for LSU with a generational quarterback in Joe Burrow or if this is the beginning of a new dynamic where the rivals are really rivals.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (left) greets Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields after the Fiesta Bowl.
TRANSFER QBS
This season the transfer quarterback trend reached a new peak; three of the four playoff teams started QBS who began their careers elsewhere.
Which quarterbacks will be passing through the portal this offseason and playing prominent roles in 2020? Jamie Newman from Wake Forest has said he is heading to Georgia. Former South Carolina starter Jake Bentley has already landed at Utah, and Kentucky has signed former Auburn quarterback Joey Gatewood.
Still on the market are K.J. Costello from Stanford, Anthony Brown from Boston College and D’eriq King of Houston, all with extensive starting experience. Phil Jurkovec from Notre Dame and Justin Rogers from TCU are intriguing former four-star
prospects. Jurkovec appears on the way to BC.
Expect a few more to come available after spring practice competitions play out — the way Burrow did in 2018 after losing out on the starting job at Ohio State.
SIX DEGREES OF HOT SEAT
Several coaches have various levels of something to prove in 2020.
Clay Helton, USC — His last last chance. And the season starts against Alabama.
Manny Diaz, Miami — Diaz quickly burned through his hometown cred with Hurricanes fans, and firing a coach after two seasons is no longer a rarity.
Scott Frost, Nebraska — Progress has been measured so far in baby steps. It’s time for a breakout.
Tom Herman, Texas — The Year 2 turnaround turned out to be more of a mirage