Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Road to the Super Bowl won’t be a stroll
Editor’s note: This story was published Dec. 23, 1996.
Green Bay — A great reward is supposed to await the team that captures home-field advantage for the playoffs, but for the Green Bay Packers, it could mean a series of Super Bowls before they get to the Super Bowl.
The Packers gained the right to play all of their National Football Conference playoff games at Lambeau Field, but there’s a chance they’ll be playing those games against San Francisco and Dallas, the last two Super Bowl champions.
If favorites Dallas and San Francisco were to win their opening-round playoff games this weekend, the 49ers would travel to Green Bay for a second-round game. With a victory, Green Bay will play host to Dallas in the NFC Championship Game if the Cowboys are still alive.
“No matter who comes in here, they’re going to be a top-quality team,” defensive tackle Santana Dotson said of the prospect of facing the two powerhouses. “Whether it’s Dallas, Carolina, Minnesota, San Francisco . . . .
“It’s a two-game tournament. It doesn’t matter if you’ve beaten them before or not, you lose one and you’re out. That’s why it’s great to have home-field advantage.”
The Packers took a huge step toward making a trip to Super Bowl XXXI with a 38-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Green Bay finished with the National Football Conference’s best record (13-3) and thus the top seeding in the playoffs.
Since 1975, 13 of the 21 NFC teams with home-field advantage have made it to the Super Bowl. The story is similar in the American conference, where more than 50% of its Super Bowl representatives had home-field advantage in that time.
As one of the top two division winners in the conference, the Packers secured a playoff bye and won’t return to action until Jan. 4 or 5. They will watch the first round of the playoffs with interest to find out the identity of their first
opponent.
“We know we’re going to play one of them,” safety LeRoy Butler said about San Francisco and Dallas. “We’ve got to get it done.”
In addition to Green Bay, Carolina will also receive a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the second round. The Panthers (12-4) clinched the West Division title and the No. 2 seeding with an 18-14 victory over Pittsburgh.
Third-seeded Dallas (10-6), the East Division winner, does not receive a firstround bye and will play at home Saturday against the Vikings (9-7), who are seeded sixth in the conference.
Fourth-seeded San Francisco (11-4), meanwhile, qualifies as the top wildcard team in the NFC and will play host to the 10-6 Eagles on Sunday. Philadelphia secured fifth seeding as a result of its victory over Arizona.
The only thing the Packers know about their opponent in two weeks is that it won’t be Dallas or Carolina. As division winners, it is impossible for either
team to play Green Bay in the second round.
There was a sentiment in the Packers’ locker room to get the Cowboys in Green Bay, since the last seven meetings between the teams — all Packers losses — have been at Texas Stadium. But the Packers aren’t dumb enough to look ahead to a matchup with the Cowboys, which couldn’t take place until the NFC Championship Game.
“I’m having a lot of fun and I want Dallas and I’m cheering for Dallas and things like that but we don’t really care,” safety LeRoy Butler said. “We just know they have to come up here and we’ll be very fresh and very ready, regardless of who it is.”
The Packers’ likely first opponent will be San Francisco, which is heavily favored to beat the Eagles at 3Com Park. The 49ers, who play Detroit tonight to finish the regular season, are 5-2 at home with losses to Dallas and Carolina.
The 49ers would be coming to Green Bay for the second time this season, having lost, 23-20 in overtime, in a hard-fought game on Oct. 14. San Francisco played without starting quarterback Steve Young in that game and still almost won.
But the 49ers would be playing their third game in 14 days if they have to play in Green Bay. And they would be playing in unfavorable conditions at a place where the Packers haven’t lost in 16 games.
“I am not trying to downplay its importance but things happen,” Packers coach Mike Holmgren said, warning about assuming that his team would win its first playoff game. “Last year we went into San Francisco and won.
“The only thing home field guarantees is that you have your people yelling for you. But the players are very excited about having it. We really didn’t want to travel any place.”
A big issue for the Packers will be restarting after a two-week hiatus from the football field. The players will be off three days this week before returning to practice on Friday.
Holmgren will be walking a fine line in giving his players rest and also preventing them from losing focus. The big concern for teams with the bye is not losing momentum.
“Experience is something you can’t buy,” defensive end Sean Jones said. “I think we learned a good lesson playing in Dallas this year (a 21-6 loss) and refocusing ourselves to accomplish the things we accomplished.
“I think we’ll be ready. Once we find out who we’re going to play, we’ll be ready to go.”
And if it means having to focus for consecutive games against the 49ers and the Cowboys, the Packers don’t seem to mind.
“I wouldn’t care,” Dotson said of the prospect of facing the powerhouses. “To me, it’s just another jersey. I wouldn’t care if it was Dallas or Philadelphia.
“We have goals that are attainable. We have home-field advantage and we can’t be so short-sighted and say, ‘OK, we want Dallas up here so we can beat them.’ It doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is getting to New Orleans.”