History hook: Playoff rivalry stretches back
Packers-49ers battles helped define franchises last 25 years
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — 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 Packers and 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 Sunday.
No matchup has occurred as frequently in the last 25 years, with the eighth meeting this week putting the Packers-49ers 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 49ers offensive coordinator 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 the Falcons 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 the Cowboys, the Packers got their shot against the 49ers the following year and rolled to a 27-17 win that established them as true contenders.
The teams met again the following year when the Packers won 35-14 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. “... Well, those days are over.”
The Packers dominance of the series led to George Seifert resigning as coach and former Packers assistant Steve Mariucci taking over.
The Packers won the first playoff matchup against Mariucci the following year as the frustration mounted in San Francisco.
The following year thanks to one of the most memorable plays of the series in the 49ers’ only playoff win over Favre. On Jan. 3, 1999, Owens lost a fumble and dropped a potential TD pass before delivering late.
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With 8 seconds left and the 49ers 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.
Favre won his final playoff meeting against the 49ers three years later, and the next really meaningful link between the franchises came in 2005 when the 49ers 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 being passed over.
That proved prophetic as Rodgers and former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy built a powerhouse that won the Super Bowl following the 2010 season.
The teams finally met again in the playoffs the following two seasons, with Kaepernick running for a quarterbackrecord 181 yards and two scores and throwing for 263 yards and two TDs in a 45-31 49ers win that ushered in a new era of dual-threat quarterbacks.
Kaepernick braved the Green Bay cold the following year to lead a late winning drive that knocked the Packers out again.
But the 49ers soon fell off from there and hadn’t been back to the playoffs again until this season, when once again a familiar foe is in the way.