The War of the Worlds (1953)

I have decided to take a break from K-dramas and the Green Bay Packers to revisit one of my favorite movies – George Pal’s 1953 adaptation of The War of the Worlds. This was a movie that made a huge impression on my seven-year self. As a kid, one of my jobs was to record programs for my dad on the VCR – he spent most of my childhood working third shift and always slept during day - which meantt, because of his sleep schedule, he would end up missing a lot of programs. When we bought our first VCR, it turned out to be a godsend for my dad– he would have me record the program and then watch it later.  One of these programs was The War of the Worlds.  My seven-year-old self was initially skeptical, “Did my dad expect me to sit through this boring old movie?”  My sister echoed my sentiments. I popped in the blank VHS tape (that my dad bought specifically for this purpose), pressed the record button on the VCR, and sat on the couch, fearing the absolute worst.  Now, you might ask, “Why couldn’t you just press record and walk away?” Well, my dad hated commercials, so we always cut them out of our recording. Our VCR had a slight defect, the remote control didn’t work, which meant that whenever a commercial break came up, I had to walk to the VCR and press the pause button (and then would have to hit the pause button again to continue recording).  Any ways, the movie started and within seconds I was hooked.  It begins with the voice of God (Cedric Hardwicke) narrating the plight of the Martians, as they decide on which planet to invade, and we are shown different alien landscapes. It is a visually striking montage and an effective way to open the movie.

One of the details that will be lost on modern audiences, but would have been mind-blowing to 1953 movie goers, is the use of the color.  In the 1950s, most studios viewed science fiction as B-movie fodder – they were made with a small budget and shot in black and white.  The studios were more interested in making a quick buck – they didn’t care about the overall quality of the film. The fact that many science fiction movies from this decade have become classics is due to the talent behind and front of the camera; the studios would have released them whether they were good or not. However, The War of the Worlds was different – Paramount studios didn’t think of it as merely a B movie and went all out to make the best film imaginable, including filming it in Three Strip Technicolor (this was reserved solely for their A pictures). However, since the studio would be pouring a lot of money into the more technical aspects of the movie, they had to settle for lesser-known actors in the lead roles. Gene Barry (as Dr. Clayton Forrester) would go on to find great success on television, but in 1953 but he was a relative unknown.  As for leading actress, Ann Robinson, The War of the World was the high point of her career – her filmography consists mostly of guest roles in various television shows (both Barry and her also have cameos in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation).

I rather like Gene Barry’s performance as Dr. Clayton Forrester – he is not the humorless stiff that often populated 1950s science fiction movies.  When the Martian invasion first begins, he is both terrified and excited about it – when he first sets eyes on the Martian Warships, he is unable to contain his excitement and exclaims, “THIS IS AMAZING!!!” This scientific half of his brain takes over and he cannot help but marvel at how more technologically advanced the Martians are.  Dr. Forrester has been alone his entire life – his parents died when he was a kid and there is no mention of siblings. He is a self-made man – he was able to get ahead in life due to his intellectual superiority and curiosity. When the farmhouse Sylvia and he have taken shelter in is surrounded by the Martian Warships, his curious nature takes over and he must get a good look at them. However, as the Martian threat becomes more serious, and all the military/scientific attempts to stop them prove to be futile, he can only take shelter in a church and hope for the best.  It is a humbling experience for Dr. Forrester – he begins the movie convinced of his intellectual superiority but by the movie’s end can only join the masses in praying for divine intervention.  

Ann Robinson is adequate as Forrester’s love interest, Sylvia Van Buren. I remember watching this movie in the 8^th grade (we read the novel and brought in my VHS copy of the film at the behest of our English teacher) and many of my classmates got annoyed at her hysterics.  Oddly enough there are only two brief scenes where Sylvia loses it, otherwise she is calm and collected – she even looks after an unconscious Forrester, after a cylinder crash lands into the farmhouse. Not to mention, Sylvia has every right to be hysterical – not only is the Earth being invaded by Martians, but she also witnessed her beloved uncle, Pastor Collins, get vaporized by a Martian Warship. Most people would be a bit unhinged after witnessing that.  It is pays to remember that this movie was released in 1953, which means that good number of men would have served in World War Two, and therefore would have experienced war firsthand. Sylvia, on the other hand, would have been a teenage girl during WWII, living a sheltered life in a small town, and wouldn’t be as equipped to handle this situation. Sylvia comes from a big family, and this is really the first time she has been alone. 

In H.G. Wells’ novel, the narrator gets separated from his wife and he spends most of the narrative trying to find her. It is episodic in nature - with our beleaguered narrator encountering various people and dangers on the way. In the movie, Dr. Forrester and Sylvia first meet at the crash site and have a pleasant exchange.  In a span of a few days, the two of them have gone through a lot, and it is perfectly believable that Dr. Forrester would risk his life at the end of the movie to find her.  In fact, Dr. Forrester has embraced his fate – he is convinced that this is the end times and wants to spend his final moments with the woman he loves. The romance in The War of the Worlds is hinted at – there is no declaration of love from Dr. Forrester or a long kissing scene – we immediately know their feelings just by the way they look at each other.   

The movie follows the basic outline of the H.G. Wells novel; in many ways, it is more indebted to Orson Welles 1938 radio adaptation than Wells’ novel. The novel was written in 1898 and set in the Victorian Era, which means that, in the novel, the world militaries were handcuffed by the artillery at time (their cannons and armed forces are no match for the Martian invasion). The movie raises the stakes of the novel – the walking tripods in the H.G. Wells novel are technical marvels, but they are vulnerable – the military does down a tripod. In the 1953 adaptation, the flying warships are indestructible – even the H-bomb proves to be useless against them (the warships protect themselves with a force field).  The most unnerving aspect of the 1953 version is that the Earth’s best efforts are just not good enough against the Martians.  Dr. Forrester rightly guesses that the only way to beat the Martians is by waging biological warfare against them, but their hopes are dashed after a violent mob hijacks Forrester’s truck that contains all the materials necessary to combat the Martians.  

There is fun reference to the Orson Welles’ 1938 radio adaptation – there is a scene where a reporter is interviewing scientists at the crash site and then we are shown a montage of random people listening to his broadcast on the radio.  The movie went into production in 1952 and while television was beginning to catch on with the masses, there was still a good chunk of the population that still listened to, and got their news from, the radio. I also think that, in 1952, the studios might have been hesitant to show television sets in their movies, out of fear that it might encourage moviegoers to go out and buy one. “Why am I sitting in this stuff theatre when I can be at home watching I Love Lucy?”

A recurring theme of many science fiction movies of the 1950s was science vs. the military. The good intentioned scientists often wanted to contact the extra-terrestrials, believing that such contact might be beneficial to mankind, while the military usually wanted to destroy the damn things.  In The Thing from Another World, Dr. Carrington wants to make contact the Thing, while ignoring its every growing body count, and Captain Hendry wants to destroy it. Captain Hendry is the movie's hero, and his intuitions prove to be correct. In The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu wants to deliver an important message to the world, but it is the military that stands in his way. His main allies are prominent scientists, who eagerly want to hear what he has to say. This conflict doesn’t exist in The War of the Worlds, instead the scientists are working with the military to stop the Martian invasion. Dr. Forrester is even good friends with Major General Mann – the implication is that the two served together in World War II.

The two attempts to contact the Martians don’t come from the scientific community, but by a few misguided civilians.  The first attempt is by three rubes who have been assigned o watch the cylinder (at this point the town believes it is a meteor) and when a hatch on the cylinder unscrews and a cobra-shaped periscope emerges, the three men unanimously decide to offer it their hand in friendship. When asked what they should say to the Martians, one of them quips, “Welcome to California.”  They walk towards the periscope brandishing a white flag and shout, “WE’RE FRIENDS!”  Unfortunately, the Martians reject their generous gift of friendship, and they are blasted into oblivion by the Martian's Death Ray.  A similar scene happens in the novel, but it doesn’t have the same impact – in the novel, everything is told in matter-of-fact manner (it’s told from a first-person perspective) and when the three men get vaporized, you don’t feel anything because they were so ill defined. In the novel, the narrator witnesses this violent act from a far, while in the movie we are in the middle of the horror. When the three rubes get blasted, the camera is stationed directly behind them. You learn just enough about these three men that when they meet their end it has an actual impact.  They are well-meaning morons who come to undeserved ends. They are also a progressive bunch (for 1953) – one of them is a Mexican who is a BFF to the two white dudes.  It’s really an inspirational moment – until they get turned to dust by those diabolical Martians.

The second attempt comes from Sylvia’s uncle, Pastor Collins, who walks towards the War Machines quoting Psalm 23:4 while hold out his bible. He is hoping to reach these invaders from the red planet but is also willing to give up his life. He ends up dying a martyr. A more modern take would be to turn Pastor Collins into an unhinged religious fanatic who believes the Martian invasion is God’s judgement on mankind. He would be doing everything he could to aid the Martians, like sabotaging all scientific and military attempts at ending the invasion. I like the fact that Pastor Collins is a genuinely decent man whose good intentions cost him his life. He also immediately takes a liking to Dr. Forrester, even though they inhabit two different worlds – again, a modern movie would strawman him into being anti-scene and labelling Dr. Forrester as a “servant of Satan.” 

The movie does an excellent job of building suspense – the first fifteen minutes (after the brief prologue) are lighthearted in tone– after the “meteor” crashes the meadow, the towns people talk about turning it into a tourist attraction – one of them suggests they should put up concession stands around it.  When Pastor Collins suggests they put up picnic tables, one of the ill-fated rubes interjects, “No! Then they will bring their own food.”  However, their dream of monetizing the meteor is dashed they learn it is radioactive.  Still, none of this really phases the townspeople and they go about their daily business – they even have a square dance (which is an accurate description, because these are some of the biggest squares you will ever see dancing). Dr. Forrester, however, enjoys himself and even cracks a few dad jokes.  It becomes deadly serious when the hatch on the cylinder unscrews, and the Death Ray emerges to lay waste to area. It isn’t until about twenty-five minutes in that we are given a good look at the Martian Warships.  In the novel, the Martian Warships were tripods that stomped across the countryside, in the movie, they are swan-shaped vehicles that eerily glide over the landscape, casually destroying anyone/anything that is in their path. There are a few prints out there where the wires suspending the Warships out noticeable – Joe Dante, in the commentary track, explains that the film was originally shot in Three Strip Technicolor, which gave the film a softer look and, as a result, the wires were invisible. In the lates 1960s, the film was reprinted in Eastman Color and the quality of the effects suffered as a result. The print that is currently available on Amazon Prime is of higher quality and the wires are only noticeable in a couple of shots.

In the novel the Martians look like octopuses and the Earth’s gravity affects their movements – they are reduced to having to crawl. The movie opts for a more unusual design – the Martians are shaped like a T, have a wormy texture, and their eye is in the middle of the shoulder area.  Their eye also has three lenses (red, blue, and green) and stereoscopic vision.  They also have long arms and suctions on their fingertips. The movie, wisely, only gives us a brief glimpse at the Martians – we see one of them briefly in the farmhouse after it grabs Sylvia by the shoulder (one of the most iconic moments in 1950s science fiction). A lady scientist aptly describes the Martians, they are mental giants, but physically still very primitive – they look like something that has just crawled out of the primordial ooze. It is interesting to note that Ray Harryhausen did test footage for his own adaptation of The War of the Worlds, and his Martian design was faithful to the novel.  The movie was scrapped but the test footage is readily available.  Three years later, Harryhausen got to make his own alien invasion movie with Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. 

One of the lost arts of movie is lighting – in The War of the Worlds, the filmmakers use a colorful palette to paint their canvas. The most efficient effect shot in the entire movie is a Martian’s death scene - after the Warship crashes into a building, the hatch on the bottom opens and we see a Martian’s arm reaching out for one last gasp.  The use of lighting in this moment is extraordinary – the Martian’s arm is initially bathed in red light and then the light turns green, signifying the Martian’s death. It’s a simple, and economical, shot but it is very effective. It is also quite a poignant moment – the Martian has mastered technology far beyond our understanding, and has traveled over 140 million miles, only to be killed by Earth’s bacteria. This is a huge oversight on their part – you would think that an advanced species would have included potential germs/viruses in their calculations and worn hazmat suits while walking on the surface. It’s like how in Independence Day, the aliens are technologically advanced but never created anti-virus software. 

The movie implies that it is not the bacteria that killed the Martians but, rather, divine intervention. It is no coincidence that Martian Warship crashes seconds after destroying a stained-glass church window. The movie even ends on an “AMEN!” Modern audiences might roll their eyes at this moment, but in 1953 the country was overwhelming Christian, so the spiritual aspect is not too surprising. Not to mention that Cecil B. DeMille was an uncredited producer on the film and his movies were often long-winded sermons. It never really bugged me because, to be honest, the divine intervention ending is no worse than “killed by bacteria.”  They both are cop outs.

It should be noted that, in 1988, there was a War of the Worlds television series that was a follow up to the 1953 movie. The TV series owes more to Invasion of the Body Snatchers than H.G. Wells; the aliens take over the bodies of human beings to further their agenda unnoticed.  The aliens were no longer from Mars but Mor-Tax. They also were given a catchphrase – whenever the greeted each other they would utter, “To life immortal.”  The show was gory for the time – there is one episode where an alien rips off a hockey player’s arm and then skates around the ice ring clutching the man’s arm. It was also a very bleak show – half of the cast’s members were killed off by the end of season one.  I was such a huge fan of the movie that when I learned they were making a spin-off TV series, I was elated.
“THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME,” I shouted seconds before the premiere. Then I watched the actual show and was disappointed. The design of the aliens was slightly modified – they now had one, demonic looking, red eye and there were no longer suctions on their fingertips. The Martian Warships only make an appearance at the end of the pilot episode – the main characters commodore one that is in storage and use it repel the invaders.  I haven’t seen it in over thirty years, so it could be one of the shows that improves with age. It could be, but I doubt it.

Cast: Gene Barry (Dr. Clayton Forrester), Ann Robinson (Sylvia Van Buren), Les Tremayne (Maj. Gen. Mann), Robert Cornthwaite (Dr. Pryor), Sandro Giglio (Dr. Bilderback), Lewis Martin (Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins), William Phipps (Wash Perry), Houseley Stevenson, Jr. (Gen. Mann’s Aide), Vernon Rich (Col. Ralph Heffner), Jack Kruschen (Salvatore), Paul Birch (Alonzo Hogue), Vernon Rich (Col. Ralph Heffner), Paul Frees (Second Radio Operator/Opening Announcer), Henry Brandon (Cop at Crash Site), Cedric Hardwicke (commentary  - voice). 

Director: Byron Haskin
Writers: Barre^’  Lyndon. Based off the novel by H.G. Wells
Running Time:  85 minutes.

Cheese in the Trap (2016)

 

WARNING: There are spoilers in this review. 

Cheese in the Trap is simultaneously one of more interesting and frustrating K-dramas I have watched – it is a well-acted and well directed drama, with a few interesting twists and turns, but it is also an overcrowded story.  A good chunk of the series’ running time is devoted to subplots that often nowhere and are ultimately forgotten. The other problem with the series is that it becomes a bit redundant – Jung gets angry at a certain person, proceeds to ruin their life and his girlfriend, Seol, is initially troubled by his actions but then rationalizes his behavior and gets back together with him.  The show wasn’t without controversy – fans of the webtoon hated how it diverged from the source material and placed a lot of its focus Baek In-ho, the second male lead. I am not familiar with the source material, so I don’t know how the series differs from the webtoon, but the relationship with Hong Seol and Baek In-ho can be tiresome at times. The writers seem to be setting up a love triangle between Yoo Jung, Hong Seol, and In-ho, but, again, nothing really comes of it. In-ho does confess his feelings to Seol, but she is too under the moon over Yoo Jung to ever really consider In-ho as a potential mate (even though he is a better match for her).  The other problem I have is that the victims of Jung’s wrath often deserve everything they get; it’s hard to feel sorry for Oh Young-gon (a stalker), Sang-chul (a bully and a free loader), and even Baek In-ha (a vapid, materialistic woman) when they finally get their comeuppance.  The show does such a good job of making them unsympathetic that when their world comes crashing down, you don’t feel any sympathy towards them. 

The biggest strength of Cheese in the Trap is its realistic depiction of college life – it accurately shows how stressful the university setting can be. It is a world inhabited by disparate characters who come from different backgrounds, have different work ethics, and different goals.  Without further do, let’s get to know the characters:

Hong Seol (Kim Go-eun)

Seol is the heart of the series – she is a normal girl who is just trying to survive the college experience. She is not really looking to make waves, she just wants to graduate and find a decent paying job, but she often becomes the subject of gossip among her classmates. She comes from an impoverished background, which means she is heavily dependent upon scholarships and working various jobs to help pay for her tuition.  When Yoo Jung, her senior, takes an interest in her, she is initially confused – in the past he often gave her the cold shoulder and she assumed that he didn’t like her.  Their relationship blossoms into romance, but it is not without its awkward moments. It doesn’t help that Jung’s childhood friends, siblings In-ho and In-ha, enter the picture and proceed to upend everything.  When Seol isn’t having to deal with Jung, the Baek siblings, and university life, she must put up with her dysfunctional family and, most creepily of all, a stalker. The stress of all these things would be enough to drive anyone insane, yet Seol never loses sight of her goals and manages to fight through it all.  She is a stark contrast to the other characters, all of whom suffer from victim mindsets. Kim Go-eun does an excellent job in the role of Seol - she runs the gamut of emotion and doesn't miss a beat. In many ways, she has the hardest job of the cast - Seol is the most normal character in the series, which often is stumbling block for actors, who want the showier roles.  Yet our eyes are always on Seol, even when she is surrounded by more eccentric characters.  

Yoo Jung (Park Hae-jin)

Yoo Jung is a senior at the university and the son of a wealthy CEO. He is also a psychopath – he can go through the motions of looking human but is completely lacking in empathy. When he feels someone has wronged him, he will ruin that person’s life often through duplicitous means. He is also willing to use other people to achieve his goals – when he goes after Seol’s stalker, Oh Young-gon, he receives help from In-ha. Jung exploits In-ha’s feelings for him to bring down Oh Young-gon, but once the job is done, he kicks her to the curb. It is this ruthless quality of his that rubs Seol the wrong way.

 Yet, Jung genuinely cares for Seol. At first, he is simply fascinated by her (the same way he is fascinated by an ant crawling on leaf) but as their relationship evolves, he becomes completely smitten with her.  Seol is often confused by Jung’s actions, but she tries to understand him. She recognizes his child-like nature: he was sheltered by his father his entire life and was never allowed to mature into an adult. Their first few dates are extremely awkward. Hell, even their first kiss is awkward, with neither one really knowing what to do.  Neither of them has been in a genuine relationship:  Jung has been dismissive of all his classmates up to this point, while Seol has been more focused on her studies. 

Baek In-ho (Seo Kang-joon)

In-ho is a childhood friend who had a falling about with Jung. His sister, In-ha, and him were taken in by Jung’s father when they were children – he hoped that having two other children around the house would help Jung to open up. They were also brought in to keep an eye on Jung and report all his movements to his father. When a group of classmates beat up on In-ho, he blamed Jung (with good reason, as it turns out).  The beating given to by his classmate also derailed his piano playing career – it badly injured his right hand and required him to get surgery.  He is also on the run from loan sharks and, while looking for a place to live, just happens to meet Seol. The relationship starts off on a bad note but the two of them grow close to one another, much to the annoyance of Jung.  Seol encourages In-ho to continue his education by taking his GED and offers to help him study for it. He also encounters one of his piano instructor’s assistants, who offers to give In-ho piano lessons. To further complicate matters, he ends up getting a job at a noodle shop owned by Seol’s mother. 

Baek In-ha (Lee Sung-kyung)

In-ha is In-ho’s older sister, who has spent most of her life living off the generosity of Jung’s father – when the series beginning, she lives in a lavish household and uses all her income to buy materialistic things.  When Jung urges his father to cut her off, she finds herself on the streets and is forced to move in with In-ho in his single bedroom apartment. Despite all of this, she is still in love with Jung and is even willing to help him get Oh Young-gon off Seol’s back. However, the closer Jung gets to Seol, the more resentful she becomes. Her anger is misplaced – she should be enraged at Jung for using her for his owns gain, but all her resentment is directed towards Seol.  The problem I have with this character is that she is so one dimensional, and detestable, that it’s hard to sympathize with her when shit hits the fan. In all honesty, she kind of gets let off the hook for her appalling actions. She is also extremely ungrateful – In-ho allows her to stay at his apartment (even though there is very little room) and she pays him back by constantly complaining and stealing his money to buy clothes.  There needed to be at least one scene where she shows some warmth and affection to her younger brother, but it never happens.

Kim Sang-chul (Moon Ji-yoon)

The most appalling character in the entire series – yes, he somehow manages to be even more detestable than Seol’s stalker. Sang-chul is Seol’s senior at college, he is also an extremely lazy student who copies and freeloads off the work of others. He is twice assigned to the same group as Seol and both times he fails to do his share of the work.  When Seol brings this up to him, he either makes an excuse or plays the victim card. When Seol, and the other members of the group, agree to kick him out and take his name off their report, he makes a huge scene in the classroom and tries to paint Seol as the villain. He is also aware that Young-gon is stalking Seol but doesn’t feel the need to say anything about it. In fact, he openly encourages Young-gon to carry on with his stalking. When Young-gon gets outed by Jung, Sang-chul immediately distances himself from Young-gon and pretends to be appalled. Again, when he finally gets his just desserts, it’s hard to sympathize with him because of how unlikable he is. It feels like the writers want you to have some empathy towards Sang-chul, especially after he gives his “heart breaking” back story but they, and the actor, have done such a good job making him so detestable that the scene falls flat.

Jang Bo-ra (Park Min-ja)/Kwon Eun-taek (Nam Joo-hyuk)

Bo-ra and Eun-taek are Seol’s two best friends. It is revealed that Eun-taek is love with Bo-ra and wants to take their relationship to the next level, but she dismisses the idea. Her reasoning for denying Eun-taek is not due to a lack of interest, but rather she fears that if they become an item (and potentially break up) it could ruin their friendship. It’s only when Eun-taek gets a job as a model, and gets close to his attractive boss, that Bo-ra is willing to admit her feelings for him. They are easily two of the more likable characters in the cast and, as a result, it is easy to root for them, especially when they finally decide to become a couple. They also offer a nice relief from all the drama in Seol’s life. 

Oh Young-gon (Ji Yoon-ho)

Young-gon is Seol’s creepy stalker, who was initially encouraged by Jung to pursue Seol. As the series progresses, he rhetoric and actions become increasingly more violent – to the point where he is threatening to kill Seol. He is also a guy who desperately wants to be popular – he tries to win over his classmates by buying them food and drinks. He also manages to persuade Da-young, a classmate of Seol’s, to go out with him. When he is outed, first on the internet then in public, as being a Seol’s stalker, he tries to play the innocent but to no avail. Seol’s initial plan is to get videos of Young-gon harassing her at school and then give them to the police, but In-ho constantly gets in the way by chasing after Young-gon and issuing threats (his intentions are good, but they ruin Seol’s plans). However, Jung recruits In-ha to help him take down Young-gon and she does this by feigning interest in him, and then getting pictures of him compromising positions.  Sadly, Seol often gets blamed for Young-gon’s insanity – when In-ho chases Young-gon out of the library, they blame Seol for the disturbance, and she gets fired from her job at the library. A good chunk of the series Young-gon, but after he gets exposed as Seol’s stalker, he is promptly forgotten about.  I just don’t think being publicly outed as stalker would be enough to stop someone as deranged Young-gon; he strikes me as a dude who would want to seek revenge on Seol for his public humiliation, but the writers seem to disagree, and they move onto the next storyline. 

Son Min-soo (Yoon Ji-won)

Min-soo is Seol’s shy, and dorky, classmate who desperately wants to make friends. She idolizes Seol and erroneously believes that by emulating Seol she will make new friends.  When they come back break from winter break, Min-soo has died her hair the same color as Seol’s (red), has stopped wearing glasses, and wears the same clothes.  As is normally the case, her admiration eventually turns into resentment, especially after she is gas lit by Young-gon into believing the Seol has copied her looks and is the source of all her problems.   Min-soo’s world comes crashing down when she is caught, plagiarizing Seol’s work on a report. This was completely unintentional; it was Jung who gave Min-soo the link to Seol’ s research. After class is over, Seol confronts Min-soo in the hallway and the two of them fight it out.

Unbeknownst to Min-soo, she has a crush on Seol’s younger brother, Joon. When he asks her for directions, she secretly takes his picture on her phone and makes it her wallpaper. She then proceeds to tell her classmates that Joon is her boyfriend. After, she is caught plagiarizing Seol’s work, Jung gives Seol’s brother a call and tells him to come down to the university. He arrives just in time to see Min-soo and Seol getting into a shouting match. Her classmates recognize Joon and it is then the truth is revealed and Min-soo’s world comes crashing down.  Min-soo is easily the most sympathetic out of Jung’s victims – there was no malice in her actions, she just wanted to belong. Seol even begins to feel sympathy towards Min-soo – she realizes that if she hadn’t blown off Min-soo in past and offered her a hand in friendship, this entire scene could have been avoided. Min-soo, however, is another casualty of the script – after her altercation with Seol, she is completely forgotten about. It would have been nice to have a scene where Seol forgives Min-soo, but that would stand in the way of Seol getting outraged by Jung’s latest hit job.  That’s why this show is so infuriating – the writers do a great job of developing characters but never offer them satisfying resolutions.

Hong Joon (Kim Hee-chan)

Hong Joon is Seol’s younger brother, who has been coddled by their parents his entire life. He is studying in the states, but is thinking about dropping out of college, much to the disapproval of his parents.  He is also in love with Seol’s friend, Ah-young, who is a freshman at the university she attends. Joon, despite his flaws, is an agreeable character, who genuinely cares about his older sister.  When Seol’s neighborhood is being victimized by a peeping tom, he becomes vigilant and initially suspects of In-ho of being the culprit. He also helps his parents run their noodle shop.

As I said before, Cheese in the Trap is its realistic depiction of the university of lifestyle – there are the haves and have nots, and Seol belongs in the latter character.  She is reliant on scholarships to pay for her tuition, but to qualify for the scholarship, she needs to get top marks in all her classes. Indeed, Cheese in the Trap maybe one of the few college dramas I have seen where money is an issue – this is something that is rarely brought up in American dramas.  Seol’s constant pursuit of perfection also puts her under a lot of stress. She gets very little sleep, often misses meals, and foregoes a social life because her mind is so fixated on her studies. In her Business Management class, she is forced to do a group project with Min-soo, Sang-chul, and Da-young, none of whom prove to be much help.  The day before their project is due, Seol asks them all for their part of the project, but all she gets all are nonstop excuses. This enrages her but, rather than create a scene, she decides to do the project all by herself – she simply cannot afford to fail this class. She stays up all night putting this project together and even prepares a script for the other members to read during their presentation. However, the presentation is a total trainwreck: Min-soo struggles with her part of the presentation – when the instructor, Professor Kang, presses Min-soo to define certain terms, she draws a blank. It is only too obvious that Seol did all the work, but since this was a group project she gives them all a D.  This means that Seol can kiss her scholarship goodbye, which means her only option is to work full time during the college break – she ends up getting a job as an office aide at the university – her boss is a fussy TA, Yoon-sub, who is never pleased no matter how hard she works.  During the second semester, she ends up working a part-time job at the school library.  She initially lives in a small, studio apartment in the city, but to help save money, she ends up moving back in with her parents, even though it is a four-hour commute. Every morning, she must get up and take the subway to the University – it’s during these long, tedious rides that she ends up bonding with In-ho.

Seol’s classmates often paint her as a villain – at one point she notices that Min-soo has a lion charm that is very similar to the one Jung bought her and has gone missing, so she naturally asks Min-soo where she got it from. It turned out that Min-soo picked it off the ground, and was initially going to return it to Seol, but decided to keep it for herself. So, when Seol confronts her about it, Min-soo turns the tables and makes it seem like she is being bullied – this has the desired effect, and their classmates can’t believe Seol is picking on poor Min-soo. When it is publicly revealed that Min-soo did steal the lion charm, and was copying Seol’s look, none of these classmates offer up an apology.

Later, Seol’s stalker, Young-gon, is dating Da-young and tells her that Seol is stalking him; even though there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Da-young, who already dislikes Seol, naturally believes him and publicly scolds Seol for harassing her boyfriend. Of course, Young-gon, like Min-soo, is publicly embarrassed when photos emerge of him stalking Seol and Da-young is caught with an egg on her face. Seol’s classmates constantly jumped to inaccurate conclusions about her and when they are proven wrong, time after time, none of them have the courage to admit they were wrong – they just shrug it off and move on with their lives. When she calls them out for their behavior, they pretend she is wrong.

The main reason Seol takes a liking to In-ho (despite his often-abrasive behavior) is that he is one of the people who is willing to listen to her and legitimately cares about her.  He ends up losing his job at a university for sticking up for Seol – Young-gon harasses Seol outside of a convenience store, In-ho sees this and beats up Young-gon. Later, Young-gon complains to In-ho’ superiors and they fire him (In-ho is a staff member and him beating up a student makes for bad optics).  Later, knowing that he won’t always be around to protect Seol, he buys her items she can defend herself with (pepper spray, a taser, and a nightstick). The pepper spray later comes in handy when Young-gon follows Seol home and attempts to assault her.  Their relationship isn't one sided – Seol wants to see In-ho get a head in a life and offers to help him study for the GED. When she learns that he was a pianist in his past, she encourages him to start playing the piano again, and even gives him sheet music he can practice with. 

A professor recognizes In-ho (he was assistant to In-ho’s piano teacher) and offers to give him lessons for free. The fans of the webtoon took issue with this subplot – so much of the show is devoted to Seol helping In-ho study for the GED and him training to be a pianist, but the payoff is almost anti-climactic. In-ho owes loan sharks $10,000 and he persuades them into giving him more time, because he is going compete in a piano concours and the top prize will be enough to cover his debts.  The writers have effectively set up the stakes and now it’s just a question as to whether In-ho can succeed in his goal. (SPOILERS) It doesn’t matter, Jung has a change of heart and pays off Seol’s debt. Even more disappointing is that all the studying he has done with Seol turns out to be a waste of time, he decides not to take the GED.   I also think the main reason the fans of the webtoon hated the second half of the series is that fact that there is significantly better chemistry between Seol and In-ho, then there is between Jung and Seol. They have a lot of in common – they are both fighters. Both have struggled to get by in life and often had to do it with very little help. They both support their families, though in different ways – after In-ha gets kicked out of her house, it is In-ho that takes her in and gives her money to live on.  In Seol’s family, she is the one everyone comes to with their problem – her mother constantly complains about her father and their financial situations.  Her brother whines to her about wanting to drop out of college and settling down with Ah-young.  They are both are humble people (despite In-ho boisterous exterior) – they are willing to work menial jobs to support themselves.  In-ho does janitorial work at a college and then later is willing to wait on table at the noodle shop owned by Seol’s mother.  Seol works multiple jobs throughout the series: a barista, an office aide, and librarian. Life has dealt both a rotten hand, but they never view themselves as victims and just roll with the punches.

This is a sharp contrast to all characters in Cheese in the Trap, who often justify their awful behavior by playing the victim card.  The worst out of the lost is Sang-chul, who often comes up with some sob story to rationalize his lazy personality. When he is kicked out of Seol’s group, and has his name taken off the final project, there is no self-reflection on is part, instead he goes into full victim mode – he just can’t believe Seol would screw him over so badly.  He was banking on Seol caving in and doing his work for him but when she finally stands her ground, he can’t believe and proceeds to cry like a baby.

In-ha is just as bad – Jung’s father has agreed to support her, but in exchange she was supposed to go to school for accounting. She constantly put this off and continues to spend his money on clothes and materialistic things. When Jung persuades his father to cut her off, she bitches and moans, but never once reflects on her actions. This is not to say that Jung and his father are saints, but In-ha could have easily prevented all of this had she shown some initiative. Hell, if she had enrolled in accounting classes and failed, Jung’s father probably would have still supported her – at least she would have given it a try. When she learns that Jung is in love with Seol, this really pushes her over the edge – she is convinced that Seol has stolen Jung away from her. Even though, she never had Jung to begin with. 

Jung claims that he hates people with a victim mindset, but he is just as guilty as the rest.  His main reason for ruining the lives of others (even though they deserve it) is not to seek justice, or protect his loved ones, but rather it’s because they annoyed him. If a classmate even has wronged him in the slightest, he immediately starts plotting their demise.  This also makes you wonder: How would he react if Seol rejected him? Would he have been okay with it? Or would he have plotted her demise?  Even worse is that he will deliberately ruin someone’s life and then pin the blame on someone else. In episode one, it is revealed that Sang-chul pocketed some of the nest egg money the students use at the end of the semester to throw a big party.  Jung notices this but rather than expose it himself, he brings it up to his fellow classmate, Jae-woo, who then exposes Sang-chul’s theft on the college message board. Sang-chul is convinced it was Seol who ratted him out, because she had witnessed him pocketing money. He does his whole “woe is me” act in front of his classmate and, even though he did steal the money, Seol’s classmates look down on her in disgust. Jung and Jae-woo could have stepped forward and clarified things, but they are content with letting Seol take the fall. In fact, in the end, it is Seol who ends having to pay for Jung’s sin – his cold treatment of In-ha has worked her up to a state of frenzy that, without thinking, she assaults Seol on the sidewalk and pushes her into the road and, predictably, Seol gets hit by car and is hospitalized. 

The biggest issue I have with Cheese in the Trap is how rushed the final episode is: I will not go into full details, but it feels like the writers realize they needed to wrap up multiple storylines and only had one episode left to do so, and half assed their way through it.  Though, it is interesting to note that two years later, there was a movie adaptation of Cheese in the Trap, and it is even less satisfying than the TV series. It is an example of things getting lost in adaptation – to condense the story into two hours, characters and storylines get thrown to the wayside. The character of Sang-chul is a glorified extra, while Min-soo, Joon, and Seol’s parents are nowhere to be seen.   The best way to describe the relationship between In-ho and Seol in the movie is friendly acquaintance. They have a few scenes together, but it never develops into full-fledged friendship. In-ha has even less screen time and her character arc is that she helps Jung take down Young-gon. A good chunk of the movie’s screen time is devoted to Young-gun and an out of place subplot about a sexual predator who rapes woman and then assaults them with a hammer.  The depiction of university life, which was so prevalent in the TV series, is only hinted at in the movie. It’s also interesting to note that Park Hae-jin reprised his role of Jung for the movie, but there is less nuance to his performance and its pretty one note.  In short, the movie was a complete mess. The TV series, while infuriating at time, is still worth a watch, largely due to the appealing cast and its top-notch direction.

Cast: Park Hae-jin (Yoo Jung), Kim Go-eun (Hong Seol), Seo Kang-joon (Baek In-ho), Lee Sung-kyung (Baek In-ha), Park Min-ja (Jang Bo-ra), Nam Joo-hyuk (Kwon Eun-taek), Kim Hee-chan (Hong Joon, Seol’s brother), Ahn Gil-kang (Hong Jin-tak, Seol’s father), Yoon Bok-in (Kim Young-hee, Seol’s mother), Ji Yoon-ho (Oh Young-gon), Moon Ji-yoon (Kim Sang-chul), Yoon Ji-won (Son Min-soo), Kim Hye-ji (Lee Da-young), Cha Joo-young (Nam Joo-yeon), Yoon Ye-joo (Kang Ah-young), Oh Hee-joon), Son Byong-ho (Yoo Young-soo, Jung’s father), Lee Woo-dong (Heo Yoon-sub), Kim Ki-bang  (Kong Joo-yong), Hwang Seok-jeong (Professor Kang).
Director: Lee Yoon-jung
Writer: Kim Nam-hee, Go Sun-hee. Based off the webtoon by Soonkki.
16 episodes ~ 60 minutes.

Top 25 Green Bay Packers Games (and 5 Most Painful Losses) from 2004-2024

I have decided to take a break from writing about movies and television shows to focus on another hobby of mine – THE GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! WOOOOOOO! GO GREEN BAY! The 2024 NFL season has officially started, and I couldn't be more excited.  Last season, the Packers got off to a rough start (they lost four consecutive games and were 3 – 6 at the midway point) but managed to turn things around, thanks to the improved play of quarterback, Jordan Love, and snuck into the playoffs with a 9-8 record. Can Jordan Love continue this upward trajectory, or if he will suffer from a sophomore slump?

Like most people in my generation, it was the Packers of the 1990s that made me into a fan. I was born in 1979 and throughout most of my childhood the Packers were kind of lame.  They only had two winning seasons in the 1980s – in 1982, thanks to a strike shortened season (they went 5-3-1 and won a playoff game against the Cardinals) and in 1989 (they went 10-6 and just missed the playoffs).  

The Packers’ fortunes changed in 1992 with the arrival of Mike Holmgren (the former offensive coordinator of the 49ers) and Brett Favre (a gun slinging QB from Mississippi).  On September 20, 1992 – the Packers were playing the Bengals at Lambeau Field. The Packers had begun the season 0-2 and things seemed to take a turn for the worst when Packers QB (and fan favorite), Don Majkowski, was knocked out of the game. ENTER BRETT FAVRE. It was a sloppy game, but in the closing seconds Favre connected with Kiltrick Taylor to tie the score.  The Chris Jacke extra point gave the Packers the win and thus began the Brett Favre Era. Holmgren and Favre would inevitably deliver a Super Bowl championship to the city of Green Bay.

However, if you noticed the title of this post is the “Top 25 Green Bay Packers Games (and 5 Most Painful Losses) from 2004 – 2024. I specifically limited my list to the last twenty years for two reasons:

1) The last twenty years are far better etched in my memory. I can recall where I was when I watched these games and the joy/misery I felt after witnessing them. The last twenty years have been one of hell of a roller coaster ride – there have been a lot of ups and downs, plenty of excitement, and a good deal of heartbreak.  I went to my first Packers game in 2006, against the Cardinals, and it was one of the most exciting moments in my life – I drove down to Lambeau with my friend, Brad, and we bought tickets from a scalper ($80 apiece).  The Packers dominated the Cardinals that day; they won 31 – 14 and we got to witness Brett Favre do his first, and only, Lambeau Leap. The Packers had two 100-yard rushers that day, Ahman Green and Vernand Morency.  I would attend numerous Packers games since, but that first one still holds a special place in my heart (I would also like to forget about the last one – the Packers epic choke job against the 49ers in 2021 NFC Divisional Round, but I will get to that later).

2) There have been many documentaries and books written about the Lambeau, Lombardi, and Holmgren Eras that there is really nothing more I can add. Do we really need another recap of the Ice Bowl?  While I greatly appreciate the Packers’ history, I am far removed from most of it – it is a different experience reading about a game and watching highlights than it is witnessing it live.  Most fans can tell you where they were during Super Bowls XXXI and Super Bowl XLV, but few will remember the details of when they first watched the highlights of The Ice Bowl. You didn’t go to school the next day, walk up to a classmate, and ask, “Did you watch the NFL Films’ highlights of the Ice Bow, eh? It had me at the edge of my seat, der!”

Before I get on with the top 25, there are ten games that deserve honorable mentions. These were all exciting games, but just fell short of the top 25 (though I’m sure many Packers fans will disagree with me):

 
October 29, 2007 – Green Bay Packers 19, Denver Broncos 13 (overtime)
October 24, 2010 – Green Bay Packers 28, Minnesota Vikings 24
September 8, 2011 – Green Bay Packers 42, New Orlean Saints 34
January 1, 2012 – Green Bay Packers 45, Detroit Lions 41
November 9, 2014 – Green Bay Packers 55, Chicago Bears 14 (“The Sunday Night Massacre”)
December 3, 2015 – Green Bay Packers 27, Detroit Lions 23
January 10, 2016 (NFC Wild Card) – Green Bay Packers 35, Washington Redskins 18
January 16, 2021 (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 32, Los Angeles Rams 18
November 13, 2022 – Green Bay Packers 31, Dallas Cowboys 28 (overtime)
September 10, 2023 – Green Bay Packers 38, Chicago Bears 20

Without further ado, here are my Top 25 Packers Games (and 5 Most Painful Losses) of the last twenty years:   

1.        January 4, 2004 (NFC Wild Card)- Green Bay Packers 33, Seattle Seahawks 27

“We want the ball and we’re going to score.”
The Packers finished the 2003 season with a 10-6 record. They were a hot team going into the postseason; they won their four last games by significant margins and seemed to be a team of destiny. The day before the Packers faced the Raiders on Monday Night Football (December 22, 2003) Brett Favre’s father, Irv, passed away and there was talk on whether he would start. Of course, there was never doubt in Brett Favre’s mind and he proceeded to have the game of his life (his stats for the game were: 22/30 399 yards and 4 touchdowns).
 
Their opponent in the Wild Card Round was the Seattle Seahawks, who had multiple ties to Green Bay, including two former head coaches (Mike Holmgren – Seattle’s head coach - and Ray Rhodes – Seattle’s defensive coordinator) and Brett Favre’s former back up, Matt Hasselbeck.  The game was an exciting back and forth between two determined teams and eventually went into overtime. It was during the overtime coin toss that Matt Hasselbeck famously declared, “WE WANT THE BALL AND WE’RE GOING TO SCORE!!!”

 
In Hasselbeck’s defense, he did throw the game winning touchdown…. just to the wrong team. With over ten minutes left in overtime, Matt Hasselback dropped back and was intercepted by cornerback, Al Harris, who took it to the house for the game winning touchdown.  The following week, it would be Brett Favre who would throw a game losing interception in overtime, against the Philadelphia Eagles. His boneheaded throw helped set up the game winning field goal for the Eagles.  The Packers’ Cinderella-type season came to a brutal end. Though, had the defense done their job in regulation and stopped the Eagles on 4^th& 26, Favre’ s boneheaded interception would have never happened.

I must confess that the Mike Sherman Era is a complete blur to me. It was during this time that I was attending UW-Milwaukee for Film Studies and the Packers were mostly background noise to me in the early 2000s.  However, I still vividly recall the Wildcard game against the Seahawks – I watched it at my friend’s townhouse in Grafton and, afterwards, we were all convinced the Packers would be returning to the Super Bowl. Boy, were we stupid.

2.        December 31, 2006 - Green Bay Packers 26, Chicago Bears 7

“Packers’ defense holds Rex Grossman to a zero-passer rating.”
It was during the 2006 season that I got back into the Packers. This was largely because I had graduated from UW-Milwaukee, which opened my schedule up significantly, and the fact that I attended two games that year (a preseason game against the Titans and the regular season game against the Cardinals). 

The Packers were coming off a 4-12 season, which resulted in the firing of Mike Sherman. In the offseason, it was announced that Mike McCarthy would be the Packers new head coach. The season got off to a disastrous start, with a 26-0 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Packers were wildly inconsistent throughout the season but managed to rattle off three consecutive wins in the month of December. If they could beat the Chicago Bears on New Year’s Eve, they would end the season with an 8-8 record and on a high note.

The Bears, with their dominant defense and special teams, were 13-2 going into the game and were favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.  Bears’ coach, Lovie Smith, announced before the game that all his starters would be playing (at least for the first half).
The Bears’ biggest weakness was quarterback, Rex Grossman, who played at a Jekyll and Hyde-like level. In the first month of the season, Grossman looked like a shoo-in for the Pro Bowl. It was during the month of October that “Bad Rex” began to show his ugly face – he was a turnover machine. If it wasn’t for the solid play of the Bears defense and special teams, their season might have ended earlier than expected. However, in the month of December, “Good Rex” had returned to the fold – he went three consecutive games without throwing an interception.

On the Packers opening drive, Brett Favre drove the Packers offense seventy yards for the first touchdown of the game (to Donald Driver). The Packers offense was efficient against the Bears defense, but the story of the game was the Packers defense and the reemergence of “Bad Rex.”  Grossman’s first half stats were: 2/12 33 yards and THREE interceptions. He also had a fumble that was recovered by the Packers defense. Two of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns by Nick Collins and Patrick Dendy.  At halftime the score was Packers 23, Bears 0. At that point, Lovie Smith threw in the towel and had the backup QB, Brian Griese, finish the game.  Griese fared slightly better than Grossman – he did throw a touchdown pass but he was also picked off twice.

Never had an 8-8 season been so satisfying. The Packers avoided consecutive losing seasons and had something they could build on for next season. The Bears, for their part, did end up representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, but they fell to the Indianapolis Colts. “Bad Rex” had, once again, shown up at the wrong time. 

3.        September 9, 2007 – Green Bay Packers 16, Philadelphia Eagles 13

“The Packers finally beat the Eagles.”
This will probably be the more baffling pick on my list – after all, the Packers offense was inefficient on this day (they only had 215 yards of total offense) and all the points came from special teams (the sole touchdown came from Tracy White recovering an Eagles fumble in the endzone). It requires some context: throughout the early 2000s, the Eagles were a constant thorn in the Packers side. The last time the Packers had beaten the Eagles was in 2000, in a low scoring 6 – 3 snoozefest. From 2003 to 2006, the Eagles had beaten the Packers five consecutive times (including the infamous “4^th & 26” Divisional playoff loss).

The Eagles fell behind 10-0 early on but managed to tie things up in the second quarter.  Midway in the third quarter, the Eagles took a 13 – 10 lead with a David Akers field goal. This is when Packers fans began to feel a bit uneasy. Was their team going to lose to Eagles, yet again? This set the stage for one of most memorable plays in Brett Favre’s long career, while driving down the field, it looked like Favre was about the get sacked by the Eagles defense, but at the last second, he dumped the ball off to running back, DeShawn Wynn, who then scrambled eighteen yards for the first down. This ridiculous play helped set up Mason Crosby’s game tying 37-yard field goal. The game looked like it might be headed into overtime but then, with 1:09 left in the game, Eagles player, J.R. Reed, muffed a punt, which was recovered by Jarrett Bush. This set up Mason Crosby’s 47-yard game winning field goal. The Packers had finally vanquished the dreaded Eagles!

4.        September 23, 2007 – Green Bay Packers 31, San Diego Chargers 24

“The Packers humble the San Diego Chargers.”
The Packers had begun the 2007 season with a 2-0 record. However, there were still many in the sports media who were skeptical of the Packers’ success.
“Just wait until they play REAL competition,” they all sneered, “then they will finally be exposed as the frauds they truly are. There is no way they will beat the Chargers.”
To be honest, their skepticism wasn’t entirely unfounded. The Packers beating the Eagles and Giants were nice, but the San Diego Chargers were a different beast.
In 2006, they finished with a 14-2 season, led the league in scoring, and had LaDainian Tomlinson, the league MVP (he scored a record 31 touchdowns).  This was going to be a tall order for the Packers defense.

The game lived up to the hyped – the two teams changed leads multiple times and with a little over two minutes left in game the Packers lead 24 – 21.  The Chargers took over at their own 21, with plenty of time left to either tie or win the game. However, their dreams of a comeback were short lived when, on the fourth play of the drive, Chargers QB, Phil Rivers, was picked off by the Packers linebacker, Nick Barnett, who returned the ball to the Chargers 2-yard line. Two plays later, Packers running back, Brandon Jackson, punched the ball into the endzone for the game winning down. The Chargers did add another field goal to their point total, but it came too little too late.  Brett Favre played an exception game, completing 28 out of 45 passes, throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns. It appeared that, after two subpar seasons, the Pack was Back.

5.        November 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving) – Packers 37, Detroit Lions 26

       “Brett Favre completes twenty consecutive passes.”
Going into the Thanksgiving Game, the Detroit Lions looked like they might be a formidable opponent: they were 6 – 4 and a win on Thanksgiving would only put them two games behind the Packers in the divisional standings. Unfortunately, for Jon Kitna and the Lions, they just couldn’t cool Brett Favre’s hot hand – at one point in the game, Favre completed twenty consecutive passes.  The Lions did manage to make it a one score game late in the 4^th quarter (34 – 26) but any chance of mounting a comeback was dashed by Favre and company putting together a five-minute drive which ended with a Mason Crosby field goal. Sadly, after a promising 6­-2 start, the Lions completely fell off the map and finished the season with a 7-9 record.

6.        January 12, 2008 (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 42, Seattle Seahawks 20

“Packers overcome a rough start and rout the Seahawks. Also, Favre’s last win with the Packers.”
The Packers had finished the 2007 season with a 13-3 record and were the number two seed. Their opponent in the NFC Divisional Round would, once again, be the Seattle Seahawks.  The Seahawks were coming off a 35-14 win against the Washington Redskins, in the Wild Card Round, and were looking to avenge the 2004 playoff loss against the Packers. 

The game got off to a disastrous start for the Packers, with two Ryan Grant fumbles being converted into touchdowns by the Seattle Seahawks.
“How would this Packers team respond?” asked Daryl “Moose” Johnston in the booth. The answer: brilliantly. Brett Favre calmly led his team down the length the field and found Greg Jennings for a touchdown to cut the deficit down to seven. The Packers defense began to assert itself and gave the ball back to their offense, who tied the game 14 – 14 with a Ryan Grant touchdown. In fact, the Packers offense would score on six consecutive drives and blow out the Seahawks 42 – 20. Ryan Grant went from being the goat of the game (with his two fumbles) to being the hero after rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Favre was also incredibly efficient:  18/23 173 yards and 3 touchdowns.  This would be Brett Favre’s last hurrah with the Green Bay Packers - after this dominating performance it seemed like the Packers were destined for the Super Bowl, but then the New York Giants happened (but more on that later).

7.        September 8, 2008 – Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 19

“The Aaron Rodgers Era officially begins with a win over the hated Vikings.”
After the overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, Brett Favre announced his retirement, and the Packers organization were ready to move onto Aaron Rodgers. Brett Favre gave a long, teary eyed press conference and all of Wisconsin wept, but then rumors began to swirl that Favre wanted to un-retire and come back. Finally, after weeks of speculation, Brett Favre announced that he, indeed, intended to come back into league. This created a huge rift between the Packers Organization (who wanted to move onto Aaron Rodgers) and the Favre Faithful in the fanbase. Finally, after months of bickering between both sides, the Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets for a conditional fourth round pick. This created a huge divide in the fanbase – many of whom migrated to the New York Jets to follow Favre while actively cheering against Aaron Rodgers.

It is important to remember how much pressure Rodgers was at the start of the 2008 season – the media and fanbase were scrutinizing his every move and one misstep on the field would immediately be used against him.  In week one, the Packers were slated to play their divisional rival, The Minnesota Vikings, at Lambeau Field. The Vikings had a legitimate superstar with running back, Adrian Peterson and had the best run defense in the league. However, their quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, was serviceable at best. 

Aaron Rodgers had a solid outing: 18/22 178 yards and one touchdown pass. He also had a rushing touchdown with six minutes in the 4^th quarter that gave the Packers a 24 – 12 edge. The most famous aspect of the broadcast was the announcer, Tony Kornheiser, making a Brett Favre reference every time Rodgers was on the field. When Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to Korey Hall, Kornheiser gushed, “OH MY GAWD!!! Doesn’t that remind you of Brett Favre?”
When Rodgers snuck the ball in for the touchdown, instead of referencing Bart Starr’s QB sneak in the Ice Bowl, he once again brought up Brett Favre. In fact, despite Aaron Rodger’s solid outing, he was still baffled as to why the Packers would choose him over Favre.
“How could you not want Brett Favre? HELLO! He said wanted to come back!”

With 2:30 left in the game, the Vikings managed to pull within five points of the Packers. However, their last chance at pulling off a miraculous comeback was thwarted by Atari Bigby, who picked off Tavaris Jackson’s pass with 1:08 left in the game. Aaron Rodgers took a couple of kneel downs and won his first start as an NFL QB. Unfortunately, the rest of the season wasn’t quite as memorable – the Packers finished with a 6 – 10 record, while the Vikings won the division with a 10-6 record. However, the 2008 season did prove that Rodgers could play in the league and, after he cleaned up a few things, could potentially be one of the best.

8.        November 15, 2009 – Green Bay Packers 17, Dallas Cowboys 7

“The Packers turn around their season by beating the hot Dallas Cowboys.”
Packers fans tend to engage in revisionist history regarding Aaron Rodgers. If you listened to the average Packers fan, you would believe that Aaron Rodgers was ALWAYS a Pro Bowl caliber QB. What they conveniently forget is that for his first season and a half as a starter, the Packers struggled (they had a 10 – 14 record).  In 2009, Packers fans’ worst nightmare came true when former Packers QB, Brett Favre, after another offseason contemplating retirement, signed with their hated rivals, The Minnesota Vikings.  The Packers began the season with a 4-4 record (two of those losses came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings).  It also didn’t help that their four wins came against opponent with losing records.  If the Packers were to make the playoffs, they would have to turn their season around, quickly. Their first test would come in the form of the Dallas Cowboys.

      This would be no easy test – the Cowboys entered into this week ten match up with a 6-2 record and four game winning streak.   The Packer’s defense was going to have to pressure Cowboys QB, Tony Romo – the NFL’s new golden boy, and contain the Cowboys running backs (Marion Barber III and Felix Jones).  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. The first three quarters were a defensive struggle (The Packers had a 3 -0 lead at the start of the 4^th).  The Packers offense finally came to life in the 4^th quarter and scored two touchdowns (a one-yard Aaron Rodgers run, and a two-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to tight end, Spencer Havner – that was set up by a strip sack of Tony Romo by Charles Woodson). The defense played their best game of the season; they sacked Tony Romo five times and forced three turnovers. The Dallas Cowboys scored a garbage time touchdown in the closing seconds of the game, which made the game look closer than it was. This game was significant for two reasons:
1. It turned around the Packers seasons – they would go 7-1 in their last eight games and quality for the postseason.
2. It was the game that kicked off the Packers dominance over the Cowboys. Since this game, the Packers are 10- 1 (including the playoffs) against the Cowboys. In fact, this is the first of five games against the Cowboys that appear on this list. They have played a lot of epic games against each other (though, I’m sure Cowboys fans will disagree with that statement).

 

9.        January 10, 2010 (NFC Wild Card) – Arizona Cardinals 51, Green Bay Packers 45

“Packers lose to the Cardinals in overtime in one of the most exciting games ever played.”
This is the only loss that appears on this list. There are postseasons losses that are so painful that, years later, they still hurt. All sorts of “What Ifs” go through your mind, especially when you realize how close your team was to playing in the Super Bowl.
Then there are playoffs losses you can live with and even, in hindsight, learn to appreciate – the 2009 NFC Wild Card loss against the Arizona Cardinals is one of these games. 

The game had all the makings of a blowout – at the start of the third quarter, the Cardinals led the Packers 31 – 10.  However, the Packers rallied back and were able to tie the game 45 – 45 and force it into overtime. Of course, Packers fans know what happened next – the Cardinals Michael Adams sacked Rodgers and forced a fumble, that ball was scooped by Karlos Dansby and returned for a seventeen-yard touchdown (though, the refs missed a blatant facemask on Aaron Rodgers). However, despite the rather anti-climactic ending, Aaron Rodgers played remarkably well in his first playoff game: 28/42 423 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. These are the kind of numbers that normally win games, but unfortunately for Aaron Rodgers, Cardinals’ QB, Kurt Warner, played a near perfect game; he had more touchdowns passes (five) than incompletions (four).  The game was a downer at the time, but there was no denying it was one of the most exciting games ever played; plus, even if the Packers would have beaten the Cardinals, they would have matched up poorly against the New Orlean Saints and Minnesota Vikings. It was, oddly enough, this game that sold me on Aaron Rodgers – despite the poor offensive start, he never gave up and played his heart out. If the defense could play better, then there was a good chance this team could win a championship. 

 

10.   January 9, 2011 (NFC Wild Card) – Green Bay Packers 21, Philadelphia Eagles 16

“Tramon Williams picks off Michael Vick to seal a Packers victory.”
Going into the 2010 season, the Packers were heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl; this was largely due to quality play of Aaron Rodgers. However, late in the season, the Packers were 8-6 and were on the outside looking in at the playoff hunt – injuries to key Packers’ players threatened to derail their season.  They would need to win their last two games to even hope to qualify for the sixth seed – the first opponent they faced was the dreaded New York Giants, who were also vying for the sixth seed and were coming off an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (they managed to blow a 21-point fourth quarter lead). The Packers humbled the Giants by beating them 45 – 17. Even worse for the Giants’ players is that they would be stuck in Wisconsin for an additional day due to the bad weather. 

The following week, the Packers faced their hated rivals, The Chicago Bears, who had already won the division and wrapped up the number two seed.  However, despite having everything wrapped up, Bears’ coach, Lovie Smith, announced he was going to play his starters and was determined to knock Green Bay out of the playoffs. What followed was an epic defensive battle – The Bears led 3-0 at the half.  I will admit that as a Packers’ fan, I always dreaded playing against the Lovie Smith Bears – he understood the importance of the rivalry and his teams ALWAYS gave the Packers a hard time. In 2007, two out of the three Packers’ losses came against the Chicago Bears.  There was rarely an easy win against the Bears when Lovie Smith was the coach. The Packers tied the game 3-3 late in the third quarter. Finally, early in the 4^th quarter, Aaron Rodgers was able to connect with Donald Lee for a one-yard touchdown, which gave the Packers a 10-3 lead. Late, in the 4^th quarter, the Bears were driving and threatening to tie the game, when Packers’ safety, Nick Collins, picked off Bear’s QB, Jay Cutler, at the Green Bay eleven-yard line to ice the game.  THE PACKERS WON AND WERE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!

The first team they would play in the 2010 postseason was the Philadelphia Eagles, led by the much-improved quarterback, Michael Vick. The Eagles were one of the more exciting teams in the league but limped into the plays by inexplicably losing their last two games to vastly inferior opponents (The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, both of whom finished the season with 6-10 records).  This was the Packers opportunity to avenge the “4^th & 26” loss to the Eagles in the 2003 Divisional Round. Which, at the time, was still the most EMBARRASSING postseason loss by Packers (boy, times have changed).  

Aaron Rodgers played a solid game (18/27 180 yards and 3 TD), but the story of the game was running back, James Starks, who rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries. In the regular season, Starks only had 29 carries for 101 yards, but on this day, he looked like a Pro Bowler.
However, despite the solid play by Rodgers and Stark, the Packers’ offense failed to put the game away (they led 21 – 16) and late in the game, The Eagles had the ball and were threatening to take the lead. Michael Vick had driven the Eagles to the Packers’ 27-yard line, with a minute left on the clock. Would the Packers suffer another humiliating loss to the Eagles? On the next play, Michael Vick made an ill-advised throw, intended for Riley Cooper, that was picked off by Packers’ cornerback, Tramon William, to seal the Packers’ victory. The Packers had won their first playoff game in the Rodgers Era, in a highly dramatic fashion, and now had to prepare for the Atlanta Falcons.

 

11.   January 15, 2011 (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 48, Atlanta Falcons 21

“Packers embarrass the top seeded Falcons in Atlanta. Aaron Rodgers plays a near perfect game.”

The Atlanta Falcons were the top seeded team in the NFC, they had amassed a 13-3 record and had beaten the Packers earlier in the season, 20 – 17.  The Falcons were an unremarkable team, but they managed to beat teams by playing mistake free football and controlling the time of position.  In their first matchup with the Falcons, the Packers had outgained Atlanta by 124 yards, but costly penalties (eight total) and an Aaron Rodgers fumble in the redzone had sealed their doom.  Falcons QB, Matt Ryan, had been given the nickname “Matty Ice” by the Atlanta fan base and media, because of his ability to come through in the clutch. Unfortunately, that ability which had served the Falcons well in the past, was nowhere to be found in the NFC Divisional Round. This was also another opportunity for the Packers to avenge a playoff loss in the past – in the 2002 postseason, Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons came to Lambeau Field and completely embarrassed the Packers 27-7. This game was significant because this would be the first home playoff loss suffered by the Packers. Prior to this game, the Packers had gone 13-0 in home playoff games. After this loss, they would go 7-7 in home playoff games – The Lambeau Mystique had been shattered. On January 15, 2011, the Green Bay Packers were looking to return the favor to the Falcons.

The game initially seemed to be going in Atlanta’s favor – the Falcons converted a Greg Jennings fumble into a touchdown (a twelve-yard rush by Michael Turner). Aaron Rodgers and company responded with a touchdown drive of their own (a six-yard pass from Rodgers to Jordy Nelson). The Packers’ celebration was short lived when, on the next play, Eric Weems returned the kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown. This is the type of play that could easily demoralize the team; in fact, the Packers special teams had demoralized the team a few times in the regular season. However, Aaron Rodgers kept a cool head and calmly led his team down the length of the field for the game tying touchdown. It would be all Packers from here on out.

The game was still competitive going into the half, the score was Packers 21, Falcons 14. Matt Ryan was attempting to get the Falcons in field goal range in the closing seconds of the first half, but his pass intended for Roddy White was picked off by Tramon Williams, who returned it for a touchdown. At half time, the score was 28 – 14 in favor of the Packers. In the second half, Rodgers and the offense did not let up and, when the final whistle blew, the Packers had thoroughly beaten the Falcons 48 – 21. Aaron Rodgers played a near perfect game:  31/36 366 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Falcons’ offense, who had played mistake free football all season long, turned the ball over four times and lost the time of possession battle (the Packers controlled the ball for 38:19 minutes to the Falcons 21:41).  Matty Ice had melted under the spotlight of the NFL postseason. Though, the Falcons would suffer a far more traumatizing loss six years later.   

12.   January 23, 2011 (NFC Championship Game) – Green Bay Packers 21, Chicago Bears 14

“Packers beat their most hated rivals for a trip to the Super Bowl.”
The Packers were only one game away from returning to the Super Bowl, the only team that stood in their way was the Chicago Bears. I was a bit hesitant to put this game on this list, because, in all honesty, it should have been a blow out for the Packers. The Packers jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead and Bears QB, Jay Cutler, was knocked out of the game (after having thrown two interceptions). The Bears put in their back up, Todd Collins, and it was a complete disaster. Lovie Smith had no choice but to put in the third stringer, Caleb Hanie.

 This should have been an easy win for the Packers but, as I mentioned before, there was no such thing as an easy win against Lovie Smith’s Bears.  Despite being down two scores and without their starting quarterback, the Bears defense stiffened in the second half.  A potential game ending drive by the Packers was thwarted by Bears’ middle linebacker, Brian Urlacher, who picked off an Aaron Rodgers pass and returned it to middle field (only an amazing tackle by Aaron Rodgers prevented Urlacher from taking it to the house). 
Much to the annoyance of Packers’ fans, at the start of the 4^th quarter, the Bears managed to make it a one score game after Bears running back, Chester Taylor, ran the ball in for a one-yard touchdown; the score was 14 – 7.  A few minutes later, the Packers’ faithful breathed a sigh of relief after the Packers’ nose tackle, B.J. Raji, picked off a Hanie pass and returned it for an 18-yard touchdown. 

However, their celebration was short lived when, less than two minutes later, Caleb Hanie and company drove the ball down the field in six plays and scored a touchdown to once again make it a one score game.  What in the hell was going on? The Packers offense, on their next drive, went three and out (a tendency that would plague the entire Aaron Rodgers Era) and it would be up to the Packers’ defense to win the game. The Bears offense drove all the way down to the Packers’ 27-yard line with 1:15 left on the clock.  It was 4^th & 5 and the Bears’ offense needed one more play to keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.  Unfortunately, for them, their dreams were dashed when Packers’ defensive back, Sam Shields, intercepted a Caleb Hanie pass that was intended for Johnny Knox. THE PACKERS WON!!!!! THEY WERE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!! 

13.   February 6, 2011 (Super Bowl XLV) – Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

“Packers win the Super Bowl.”
After thirteen years, the Packers were going back to the Super Bowl. Their last appearance (Super Bowl XXXII) ended in disappointment, with them falling to the underdog, Denver Broncos, 31 – 24. This loss would mark the beginning of the end of the Holmgren Era; the following season, they would go 11-5 and lose in the NFC Wild Card to the San Francisco 49ers. After this heartbreaking loss, Holmgren would leave for Seattle, Reggie White would briefly retire (before playing for the Panthers for one seasons) and the Packers would spend the next few seasons in limbo. The Packers would consistently make the postseason but were always denied that ticket to the Super Bowl.

In 2010 postseason, they finally punched that ticket to the Super Bowl by winning three straight road games. This still wasn’t good enough for the Favre Faithful/Aaron Rodgers skeptics, who would only be satisfied if, and ONLY IF, the Packers won the Super Bowl.
There were the usual rumblings for the anti-Rodgers pundits, “Brett Favre would have easily won multiple Super Bowls with this Packers team.”  Ignoring the fact that Favre failed to make it to the Super Bowl in 2007 (with the Packers) and 2009 (with the Vikings). In both NFC Championship Games, he threw a bone headed interception which cost both teams a trip to the big game. A Super Bowl win would finally allow Rodgers to step out of Brett Favre’s shadow and take his place among the elite quarterbacks.

The Packers’ opponents would be the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were already two-time Super Bowl champs (Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII). The Steelers had a franchise QB in Ben Roethlisberger but were defined by their hard-hitting defense (who were number one in scoring and number two in total defense).  In the 2005 postseason, the Steelers had become the first sixth seeded team to win the Super Bowl and now, five years later, they were facing an opponent looking to perform an identical feat.

In the first half, had all the makings of a rout after the Packers jumped up on the Steelers 21 – 3 (one those scores included a memorable pick six by Packers safety, Nick Collins). However, the Packers got bitten by the injury bug, with receiver, Donald Driver, and safety, Charles Woodson, getting knocked out of the game. Woodson would spend the entire second half watching from the sideline, with his arm in a sling. The Steelers, much like the Bears two weeks earlier, proved to be a resilient bunch and, at the start of the 3^rd quarter, managed to pull within four points of the Packers, making the score 21 – 17. The Packers offense stalled for the entire third quarter. Meanwhile, across the country, Packers fans were pulling their hair and screaming at their televisions, “DON’T F___ THIS UP! DO SOMETHING, PLEASE!!!!”  The Packers defense would hear their pleas and, at the start of the 4^th quarter, Packers linebacker, Clay Matthews, and defensive end, Ryan Picket, slammed into Steelers’ running back, Rashard Mendenhall, and forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Desmond Bishop, who returned the ball to the Green Bay 45. Eight plays later, Aaron Rodgers would find receiver, Greg Jennings, in the endzone for an eight-yard touchdown pass. The Packers were up 28-17 with 11:57 left in the game.
However, those pesky Steelers refused to give up and four minutes later, they pulled within three points, after Ben Roethlisberger connected with Mike Wallace for a 25-yard touchdown, and receiver, Antwaan Randle El, executed a perfect two-point conversion. 

There were seven and a half minutes left in Super Bowl XLV and the Packers offense desperately needed to step up and give the defense a breather.  The drive got off to a disastrous start after Rodgers was sacked by Steelers defense end, Evander Hood, for a loss of four yards.  On the next play, Rodgers found receiver Jordy Nelson for a nine-yard game, however, a false start penalty against left guard, Daryn Colledge, moved the offense back five yards. Aaron Rodgers was facing a 3^rd and 10 at his own 25-yard line, against one of the premier defenses, and with Ben Roethlisberger, a QB who frequently came up in the clutch, staring on from the sidelines; a three and out at this moment would be devastating.
Packers’ fans anxiously chewed on their nails and prayed to the heavens as the Packers’ offense broke the huddle – this was the moment of truth. Aaron Rodgers rewarded their faith by completing a 31-yard pass to Greg Jennings which kept the drive alive and, more importantly, kept the game clock ticking. The drive stalled at the Steelers’ five-yard line and the Packers were forced to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal. The score was Packers 31, Steelers 25. 

The Steelers had about two minutes left on the clock to put together a game winning drive. The Steelers were built for this type of scenario: in Super Bowl XLIII, with 2:37 remaining in the game, the Steelers were trailing the Arizona Cardinals 23 – 20.  Ben Roethlisberger and company took over at their own 22-yard line and, eight play later Big Ben found receiver, Santonio Holmes, in the corner of the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. The final score was Steelers 27, Cardinals 23.  However, history would not repeat itself for the Pittsburgh Steelers; the Packers defense stood its ground, and the Steelers offense would turn the ball over on downs at their own 33-yard line. THE PACKERS WERE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!! Aaron Rodgers was awarded the game MVP and Packers fans across the nation celebrated nonstop for the next 24 hours. It was a good time to be a Packers’ fan.

14.   December 15, 2013 – Green Bay Packers 37, Dallas Cowboys 36

“Packers overcome a 23-point deficit and beat the Cowboys, thanks to questionable coaching by Jason Garrett.”
The Green Bay Packers followed their Super Bowl victory with a 15-1 season and pulled off an epic choke job in the Divisional Round against the 9-7 New York Giant. They went 11-5 in the 2012 season, beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round, and then got humiliated by the 49ers in the Divisional Round (45 – 31).  49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, ran all over the hapless Green Bay defense and the Packers offense disappeared in the second half (they did manage to pad their stats by scoring a garbage touchdown in the final minutes of the game).

The Packers began the 2013 season with a 5-2 start. In week eight, they were facing the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. This was a different looking Chicago Bears team – Lovie Smith had been fired after the 2012 season after the Bears failed to make the postseason (despite having a 10-6 record).  The 2012 Bears got off to a 7-1 start, but fell apart in the second half, hence the reason for Lovie’s dismissal. The coach they hired to replace Lovie was Marc Trestman, who had spent the last five seasons coaching in the Canadian Football League. Trestman was an offensive minded coach and was hired to improve the Bears’ stagnant offense. In his first season, he succeeded in that goal – the Bears ended the season number two in scoring and eighth in total offense.  This Monday Night Matchup also had playoff ramifications – the Bears were 4-3 and were hoping to tie with Packers and Lions in the divisional standings. The Packers’ worst nightmare came true when, on the opening drive, Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a collarbone injury. He would not only miss the rest of the game but most of the season, as well. Despite a heroic effort from running back Eddie Lacy (who rushed for 150 yards), the Packers fell to the Bears 27 – 20. 

The Packers would lose their next two games – against the Eagles, Packers backup QB, Seneca Wallace, would get knocked out of the game with injury and be replaced with Scott Tolzien, who threw a nice deep ball but was also a turnover machine. After playing musical chairs at QB, the Packers finally brought back former back up, Matt Flynn (who had a set a Packers’ record for passing yards (480) and touchdowns (6) against the Lions on New Year’s Day, 2012). With Flynn at the helm, the Packers overcame a 16-point deficit against the Minnesota Vikings and tied the game, effectively keeping their playoff hopes alive.  Four days later, they were playing in Detroit for the Thanksgiving game.  The Lions destroyed the Packers, 40 – 10. This humiliating loss seemed to put a cork in the Packers playoff hopes. 
Ten days later, Flynn and company overcame an 11-point deficit and beat the Atlanta Falcons, 22 – 21 (I was at this game with my friends, and it was freezing. Also, it was snowing heavily, which led to bad driving conditions. The drive home was miserable, but the exciting come from behind win made it worthwhile).

This set up the stage for one of the most exciting, and improbable wins, in Green Bay Packers history. The Packers went into AT&T stadium as four-point underdogs. The Dallas Cowboys were a wildly inconsistent team, they were 7-6 going into this game and were coming off a 45-28 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Dallas Cowboys suffered from a porous defense (they would finish the season ranked 32 in total yards). This meant that a lot of pressure was put on Tony Romo to win games. Tony Romo was a statistical monster, but he also tended to turn the ball over at the most inopportune moments. Earlier in the season, he had played brilliantly against the high-flying Denver Broncos (he threw for over 500 yards and five touchdowns), but an interception late in the game helped set up a game winning field goal by Broncos kicker, Matt Prater.  Fair or not, the “Choker” label haunted Romo his entire NFL career. 

In the first half of the game, the Cowboys defense looked like an elite unit – they had stifled the Packers offense and held them to a field goal. At half time, the game appeared to be over, the Cowboys had a commanding 26 – 3 lead over the Packers. However, the Cowboys were experts in the art of “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”  The second half of the game was defined by Cowboys coach, Jason Garrett, making some of the most baffling calls in NFL history. Coming sense dictates that if your team is playing with a huge lead, you want to run the ball as much as possible and keep the clock running. Garrett did the exact opposite, he abandoned the run and kept on passing the ball. What makes this decision even more baffling is that Cowboys running back, Demarco Murray, was gashing the Packers defense (he had 134 yards on 18 carries). Yet, Garrett was hell bent on throwing the ball.  To shake things up a little bit, let’s look at the second half of the game from the point of view of a Dallas Cowboys fan:

When the Packers scored at the start of the third quarter, they probably shrugged it off.
“No worries, we got this game under the control. This is Matt Flynn we’re facing, not Aaron Rodgers.”
After the Cowboys kicked a field goal to make the score 29 – 10,
“THREE SCORE GAME!!! Yup! This game is in the bag.
After Matt Flynn found tight end, Andrew Quarless, in the endzone for a touchdown to pull within twelve points.
“It’s getting closer than I like, but we still got this. It’s not like Matt Flynn is going to turn into Aaron Rodgers.”
Less than three minutes later, after James Stark rushes in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown.
“WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON? ALSO, WHY AREN’T WE RUNNING THE BALL?”
A few minutes later, they breathe a sigh of relief after Tony Romo hits receiver Dez Bryant with a five-yard touchdown pass.
“PHEEWWWWW!!!!”
However, they soon realize their team is not out of danger yet, after Matt Flynn connects with receiver, James Jones, to pull within five points, making the score, Cowboys 36, Packers 31.
“OKAY! We just need to close out the game. Just hand the ball off to Demarco Murray a few times and we should be good. Wait!!!  WHY ARE WE STILL PASSING? What are you doing, Tony Romo?  SON OF A B_______!!!! Did he just throw an interception? HE DID!!! Unbelievable.”
A few minutes later, Eddie Lacy scores the go-ahead touchdown for the Packers, making the score, Packers 37, Cowboys 36.
“OKAY! There is still plenty of time on the clock. We just need a field goal to win this thing. Now, is the time for Tony Romo to………. DID HE JUST THROW ANOTHER INTERCEPTION?”

In all fairness to Tony Romo, the second interception by Tramon Williams was an incredible play – Romo’s pass looked like it was going to fall incomplete, but Williams dove at the ball and managed to snatch and secure it before it hit the ground. Matt Flynn then took a couple of kneel downs and the Packers had successfully completed their greatest come from behind win in franchise history. More importantly, this win over the Cowboys kept their playoff hopes alive.

15.   December 29, 2013 – Green Bay Packers 33, Chicago Bears 28

“Rodgers to Cobb on 4^th & 8.”
The Packers followed up their dramatic win against the Cowboys by falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in an exciting 38 – 31 slugfest. Despite this stumbling block, the Packers playoff hopes were still alive, thanks to a Detroit Lions late season collapse and the Chicago Bears getting blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, 54 – 11.

The Detroit Lions collapse was truly baffling – they had a 7-5 record going into the month of December and had a winnable schedule coming up – if they could win two of these games, the division would be theirs. However, it wasn’t to be, and the Lions lost all four games – their last three losses came by a grand total of six points. This late season collapse led to the firing of Lions’ head coach, Jim Schwartz, who in his five seasons as a head coach had only one winning season. 

Heading into this rematch against the Chicago Bears, there was a good reason for Packers’ fans to be optimistic – Aaron Rodgers was back. Matt Flynn’s solid leadership had saved the Packers season, and it was now up to Aaron to finish the job.  However, it was apparent from the get-go that Rodgers was a little bit rusty; the Packers offense struggled in the first quarter and the Bears jumped up to a 7-0 lead. The Packers offense came alive in the second quarter – in one memorable play, Packers receiver, Jarrett Boykin, scooped up an Aaron Rodgers fumble and ran it in for a touchdown, while the Bears defenders just stood there and watched him do it. The Bears assumed that Rodgers had thrown an incomplete pass, but the replay showed that Rodgers had, indeed, fumbled the ball, and then urged Boykin to pick up it and run it in for a touchdown. The Packers led 13 – 7 at the half.  

In the second half, there were three lead changes and late in the 4^th quarter, the Bears led the Packers, 28 – 27.  With 6:30 minutes left in the game, the Packers offense took over at their own thirteen-yard line, thus beginning one of the greatest drives in Packers’ history. Twice, the offense converted on fourth down to keep the drive alone, but it looked like it was about to hit a dead end at the Chicago Bears’ 48.  With 51 seconds left in the game, the Packers offense was facing a 4^th & 8. Aaron Rodgers snapped the ball, successfully evaded Bears defensive end, Julius Peppers, and found a wide-open Randall Cobb for a 48-yard touchdown pass.
A Hail Mary attempt by Jay Cutler was picked off by Packers cornerback, Sam Shields, and the game was over. Final score: Packers 33, Bears 28.

The Packers had won the NFC North for the third consecutive year and were going to the playoffs. The following week they lost to the 49ers in a 23 – 20 nail biter.  Still, 2013 was one of those seasons where making the playoffs was good enough; it had all the makings of a trainwreck, but the team had managed to keep it together and persevere.

16.   November 30, 2014 – Green Bay Packers 26, New England Patriots 21

“Packers frustrate the New England Patriots at home.”
In 2014, the Packers had gotten off to a slow start; they began the season with a 1 – 2 record and had lost to the Seahawks and Lions. However, after their week four matchup against the Chicago Bears, the offense began to heat up and Aaron Rodgers was back to MVP form.
After their bye week, the Packers had back-to-back games where they scored 50+ points (the Sunday Night Massacre against the Bears, where they lead 42 – 0 at the half, and a 53-20 beatdown of the Philadelphia Eagles). At Lambeau Field, they were completely unstoppable.

However, that homefield dominance was going to be tested in the week thirteen matchup against the New England Patriots. In fact, there were many pundits who considered this match a potential Super Bowl preview. The Patriots were coming into this game on a seven-game winning streak (their last four wins had been complete blow outs, including a 51 – 23 win over the Chicago Bears). This was also the first time that Aaron Rodgers would be starting against Tom Brady.  Rodgers saw brief action against the Patriots in 2006, in a game the Packers lost, 35 – 0.  In 2010, Rodgers was placed on injured reserve when the Packers played the Patriots in week fifteen. Matt Flynn was given starting duties and managed to make a game of it, but the Packers fell short and lost, 31 – 27.

The most famous image from this game is of Tom Brady cussing on the sidelines, after the Packers’ defense, once again, stifled a Patriots drive. The Packers offense jumped up on the Patriots early and never looked back – at halftime, they led 23 – 14.  The second half of the game turned into a defensive battle, with neither offense being able to generate anything in the third quarter.  In the fourth quarter, Tom Brady managed to hit receive, Brandon LeFell, for a fifteen-yard touchdown pass to pull the Patriots within two points of the Packers. The score was Packer 23, Patriots 21. Aaron Rodgers and the offense responded with a drive of their own, but it stalled at New England 10, and the Packers were forced to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal. This gave Tom Brady plenty of time (over eight minutes) to engineer his patented game winning drive. The Patriots drove all the way down to the Green Bay 20, but on third down, Brady was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Packers’ linebacker, Mike Neal, and defensive end, Mike Daniels. This set up a 47-yard field goal by Patriots kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, but the kick went wide right, and the Packers offense was able to run out the clock, thus securing the Packers victory. It was a game that had lived up to the hype and maybe, just maybe these two teams would be meeting again in February. Well, we all know what happened, but I will get to that later.

17.   December 28, 2014 – Green Bay Packers 30, Detroit Lions 20

“The Packers beat the Detroit Lions to clinch the NFC North and the number two seed.”
The Detroit Lions, with a new head coach in Jim Caldwell, were a formidable foe in 2014; they had beaten the Packers,19-7, in week two and both teams headed into the week 17 matchup with an 11-4 record. Whoever won this game would win the NFC North and the number two seed.

Despite having an offense that featured Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Calvin Johnson (Megatron) at wide receiver, the Lions biggest strength in 2014 was their defense (who were ranked third in scoring, number two in total yards, and number one against the run).  The other factor going into the Lions’ favor was that Aaron Rodgers was starting this game with a strained left calf. This would limit his ability to escape from the pocket and extend plays; it also meant the Packers would probably have to lean more on the rushing attack.  However, the Lions also suffered from a weird quirk – under Matthew Stafford, they were 0-15 on the road against teams with a winning record. This is stat that brought up multiple throughout the broadcast by commentators Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.
“That is just unbelievable, Joe!”   

On the Packers offense opening drive, they moved the ball effectively against the Lions’ defense; running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks rattled a few nice runs and it looked like it would be smooth sailing. However, once the Packers got near the Detroit goal line, the Lions defense stiffened. The Packers were denied a touchdown three times, but a holding penalty on the Detroit defense gave the Packers offense a new set of downs. The Lions defense didn’t budge a bit and on 4^th and goal, Packers coach, Mike McCarthy, took a roll of the dice and opted to go for it…..AND WAS DENIED!!! The Lions defense did their part, but their offense stalled.
 
The first points by the Packers were not scored by the offense, but by special teams when Micah returned a Lions punt for a touchdown. A few minutes later, a potential scoring drive by the Packers was thwarted by the Lions, when Packers running back, Eddie Lacy, was stripped of the ball and the Lions defense recovered the fumble. The Packers had dominated the first quarter, but only had seven points to show for it. 

Finally, late in the second quarter, the Packers offense got going and managed to go up 14 – 0, after Aaron Rodgers found Randall Cobb in the endzone for the touchdown. However, this celebration was short-lived when, to horror of the Packers faithful, Aaron Rodgers was lying on the ground in the pain. Rodgers had reaggravated his strained calf, when he scrambled to his right to find Cobb. It certainly didn’t improve morale when the cameras showed Rodgers being carted off the field. 

The Lion used this deflating moment to their advantage and managed to tie up the score 14-14 (on a pair of Calvin Johnson touchdowns). However, Packers fans breathed a huge sigh of relief when Rodgers walked back onto the field early in the third quarter. As good as the Lions’ defense had been, they were no match for Aaron Rodgers, who proceeded to pick apart the Detroit secondary, despite playing on an injured calf. The Packers scored sixteen unanswered points (on a Randall Cobb touchdown reception; an Aaron Rodgers quarterback sneak; and a safety).  The Lion scored a touchdown with 1:45 left on the clock, but their two-point conversion attempt came up short by inches. The Packers recovered on the onside kick and any chance of Lions comeback had been sufficiently squashed. 

The Packers won the NFC North for the four consecutive year and were the number two seed in the NFC Playoff picture. This game officially cemented Aaron Rodgers as the league MVP.  Though, even more impressive, was that the Packers offense was able to amass 152 rushing yards against the league’s number one run defense.  The number two seed also meant the Packers would have a week to rest. They could only watch and see who their opponent would be in the NFC Divisional Game.

18.   January 11, 2015 (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 26, Dallas Cowboys 21

“The ‘Dez Caught It’ game.”
This is probably the most controversial game on this list; one that still makes Cowboys fans’ blood boil. Under head coach, Jason Garrett, the Cowboys had been wildly inconsistent – they had finished the three previous seasons with an 8-8 record – but in 2014, they had pulled it together and had finished the regular season with a 12-4 record (but due to tiebreakers they were given the third seed). The Dallas Cowboys had their own little quirk, as well – they were 8-0 on the road. Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo, was having a MVP caliber season of his own: he led the league in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating. He also threw 34 touchdown passes to just nine interceptions.  In the Wild Card Round, the Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions by a score of 24 – 20. Though, even this game wasn’t without controversy – in the 4^th quarter, the Lions were driving down the field with a 20 – 17 lead, the Lions had reached midfield and on third down, Stafford threw a pass to Brandon Pettigrew that fell incomplete, but it looked like Cowboys linebacker, Anthony Hitchens, had face guarded Pettigrew, which is a form of pass interference. The refs initially thrown a penalty flag, but seconds later, the flag was picked up and the penalty was marked off. This, understandably, created all sorts of confusion on the Lions’ sideline, but their protests fell on deaf ears, and they were forced to punt the ball. On the next play, Lions’ punter, Sam Martin, shanked the punt and the Cowboys took over at midfield. The Cowboys offense capitalized on this Lions mistake and with 2:39 left in the game, Tony Romo found Terrance Williams in the endzone for an eight-yard touchdown pass.  The Cowboys had survived the Detroit Lions and now they were headed to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.

In the first quarter, the two teams exchanged touchdowns – Aaron Rodgers connected with Andrew Quarless for a touchdown and Tony Romo found Tyler Clutts for a one-yard touchdown pass.  Midway through the second quarter, Tony Romo threw a short pass to Terrance Williams, who evaded Green Bay defenders and took it to those to make the score Cowboys 14, Packers 7.  The Packers offense stalled on the next drive, and they were forced to punt the ball back to the Cowboys offense, who took over at their 19-yard line. The Cowboys drove all the way to the Green Bay 27, but a false start penalty on L.P. Ladouceur, drove the Cowboys back to the Green Bay 32-yard line. With 34 seconds left in the half, Dan Bailey attempted a 50-yard field goal, but it was blocked by Datone Jones. The Packers offense took over at their own 40-yard line, with 29 seconds on the clock and three times left. With 16 seconds left in the half, Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for 31-yard pass. This put the Packers in the field goal range and with three seconds left in the half, Mason Crosby trotted onto the field to attempt a 40-yard field goal. The kick was good, and the score was the Cowboys 14, Packer 10 at the half.  In the middle of the third quarter, the Packers would add another field goal to their point total. The Cowboys responded with a drive of their own that ended with a one-yard touchdown by DeMarco Murray. 

Aaron Rodgers, who struggled for most of the game, developed a hot hand late in the third quarter and pulled the Packers within one point when he completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. It was now up to the defense to make a stop, and they came through with flying colors – on the Cowboys next possession, Tony Romo was sacked on back-to-back plays, forcing the Cowboys to punt. On the Packers next drive, Aaron Rodgers completed seven consecutive passes in a drive the culminated with a thirteen-yard touchdown reception by tight end, Richard Rodgers. However, the Packers two-point attempt failed, and the Packers led with a narrow 26-21 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the game.

This sets up the most controversial call in the game; Tony Romo and friends took over at the own 19 and managed to drive the all the way down to the Green Bay 32-yard line. On 4^th & 2, the Cowboys opted to go for it, and it appeared that Dez Bryant had hauled in a Tony Romo pass, that would have put the Cowboys offense at the Green Bay one-yard line. Mike McCarthy challenged the play and after minutes of deliberation, the refs ruled the pass as incomplete. The replay showed the while Dez was going to the ground the ball had bobbled a bit, though it never actually hit the ground. Dez pled his case to the refs, but they remained firm in their ruling.  The Packers offense took over at their own 33-yard line and successfully ran out the clock (thanks to two clutch catches on third down by Davante Adams and Randall Cobb). This game also marked the end of the Tony Romo Era in Dallas; the rest of his career would be marked by injuries, and in 2016 the starting job was given to rookie quarterback, Dak Prescott (who I will get to later).

 The Green Bay Packers were on their way to the NFC Championship Game, where they would battle the Seattle Seahawks for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. It was their chance to make history – and they sure did make history, but not in a good way.

19.   January 15, 2017 – (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 34, Dallas Cowboys 31

“Rodgers to Cook.”
The Green Bay Packers had begun the 2016 season with a 4-6 record; they had lost four consecutive games and were trailing the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in the divisional standings. Yet, despite their struggles, Aaron Rodgers was convinced that this team could “run the table.” The bold declaration by Rodgers was laughed at by all the pundits. How could this team “run the table” with a historically awful defense?
Aaron Rodgers proceeded to silence his critics as the Packers won their last six games and the division. In the last six games, Aaron Rodgers played near perfect football, and the Packers defense, that had been so porous earlier in the season, had transformed into an opportunistic, turnover producing machine.  It was a remarkable turnaround. 

In the NFL Wild Card, the Green Packers faced their old foes the New York Giants, the team that had twice cost them a Super Bowl appearance. Would history repeat itself?

The game was a defensive battle for the first two quarters, but late in the 2^nd, the Packers offense came alive and managed to score two touchdowns in the final minutes (including a memorable touchdown catch by Randall Cobb on an Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary).  In the second half, the Green Bay offense took over the game and the Packers demolished the Giants, 38-13.  The Packers were now on their way to Arlington, Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round.

The Cowboys finished the 2016 season with a league best 13-3 record. Much like the 2010 Atlanta Falcons, the 2016 Cowboys were an underwhelming team, who won games by playing mistake free football and controlling the time of possession. They went into this game as 5.5 favorites. However, in the first half, the Packers offense looked to be unstoppable, as they jumped up to 21 – 3 on the home team. The Cowboys, unlike the 2010 Falcons, proved to be a resilient lot and by half time, they had climbed back into the game, making the score Packers 21, Cowboys 13. 

At the start of the third quarter, the Packers went up 28-13 after tight end, Jared Cook, hauled in a third yard pass from Aaron Rodgers. A Dak Prescott interception on the Cowboy’s next drive seemed to spell disaster for the Cowboys. If the Packers offense could capitalize on this turnover and go up another touchdown, that would be the end for Dallas. However, the Cowboys defense stood its ground and, on the eighth play of the Packers drive, Cowboy safety, Jeff Heath, intercepted an Aaron Rodger pass that was intended for Davante Adams. The Cowboys were still alive, and the offense took over at their own 41-yard line. Dak Prescott went 7/7 on the Cowboys next drive, that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end, Jason Witten.  The score: Packers 28, Cowboys 20.

The Packers following drive ended on a Barry Church sack of Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were forced to punt, and this gave the Cowboys offense over nine minutes to tie the score.
The Cowboys offense proceeded to do just that – Dak Prescott threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant and then successfully snuck the ball into the endzone for the two-point conversion. It was tied ball game: 28 – 28.

The Packers offense finally woke up from their slumber and managed to drive the ball to the Cowboys 38 yard-line to set up a 56-yard Mason Crosby field goal. The kick was good, and the Packers had a three-point lead with a 1:38 left on the clock. However, the Cowboys refused to go away, and they responded with a field goal of their own.  The score was tied, 31-31, and the Packers offense took over at their own 25-yard line with 35 seconds left on the clock. It appeared the game might go into overtime, when on first down, Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Jeff Heath for a ten-yard loss. On second down, a pass intended for Jared Cook fell incomplete. With twelve seconds left in regulation, and facing a 3^rd & 20, common sense dictates that the offense takes a kneel down and allows the game to go into overtime, but that type of logic does not apply to Aaron Rodgers (both to his credit and detriment). On 3^rd & 20, Aaron Rodgers rolled out to his left and threw the ball deep to Jared Cook, who made a tightrope catch on the sidelines that placed the ball on the Dallas Cowboys 32-yard line with three seconds left on the clock. Mason Crosby was trotted onto the field to attempt a 51-yard field goal attempt. Cowboys head coach, Jason Garrett, attempted to ice Crosby by calling a time out. After the timeout, Crosby regrouped and lined up to attempt the field goal - it was up and…. GOOD!!!!  The Packers won 34 – 31. This was the eighth consecutive win for Rodgers and company. 

Unfortunately, the following week, in the NFC Championship Game, they ran into a buzzsaw when they faced the top ranked Atlanta Falcons offense. It was a complete mismatch that favored the Falcons, and they handily beat the Packers 44 – 21.  It was disappointing end, to be sure, but this playoff loss doesn’t hurt like the other ones; Packers fans were treated to eight weeks of exciting Packers’ football. They also got to witness the Packers avenge their two playoff losses to Giants and upset the hated Cowboys on the road.  There were plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Or so they thought.

20.   September 9, 2018 – Green Bay Packers 24, Chicago Bears 23

“Packers overcome a 20-point deficit to beat the Bears in the season opener.”
The Packers entered the 2018 season on with an optimistic outlook; in the previous season, Aaron Rodgers missed most of the 2017 season with a fractured right collar bone, after being slammed into the ground by Vikings linebacker, Anthony Barr, in the week six matchup in Minnesota. The Packers finished the season with a 7-9 record. 
In the 2018 season opener, the Packers faced the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. This was a different looking Bears team, with a new head coach, Matt Nagy, and a new quarterback, Mitch Trubisky.  On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears had acquired linebacker, Khalil Mack, in free agency.

The Chicago Bears dominated the first half of the game; Mitch Trubisky rushed for a two-yard touchdown, Bears kicker, Cody Parker, made a 26-yard field goal, and Khalil Mack picked off an Aaron Rodgers pass and returned it for a 27-yard touchdown. The score was Bears 17, Packers 0 at the halftime. At the top of the third quarter, the two teams exchanged field goals to make the score, 20 – 3, in favor of the Bears. It looked like the Bears were finally going to claim victory over their long-time nemesis.

However, in the 4^th quarter, Rodgers began to heat up, at the Packers scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives (on a 39-yard pass from Rodgers to Geronimo Allison and a twelve-yard touchdown reception by Davante Adams).  The score was, 20 – 17, with over nine minutes left in the game. The Bears added another field goal to the point total and with 2:42 left on the clock, the Packers trailed by six. Thirteen seconds later, Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb on a short pass, but Cobb managed to shake off Bears defenders and ran it in for a 75-yard touchdown. The Mason Crosby extra point gave the Packers a 24-23 lead with 2:13 left in the game. The Packers defense stiffened at midfield and the Bears offense turned it over on downs after Mitch Trubisky was sacked by Nick Perry. Lambeau erupted as the Packers offense ran out the clock. The Green Bay Packers had won in an improbable fashion, and it was against their hated rivals, The Chicago Bears. 

Sadly, this game would prove to be one of rare highlights in an otherwise dismal season. The Packers finished the season with a 6-9-1 record. This led to the firing of Mike McCarthy after the week thirteen loss to the Arizona Cardinals; offensive coordinator, Joe Philbin, took over coaching duties in the final month of the season, but didn’t fare any better (he went 2-2). It was the first time in over a decade that the Packers looked to the future with uncertainty.

21.   January 12, 2020 (NFC Divisional) – Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23

“Packers avenge the 2014 NFCCG by beating the hated Seattle Seahawks.”
After the 2018 season, the Packers were in the need of a new head coach and, after months of searching, settled on Matt LaFleur. This hiring baffled the Packers’ faithful.
“Who is Matt LaFleur,” they asked out loud.  Would he get along with Aaron? Could he turn things around? Packers fans went into the 2019 with low expectations; hence it was genuine surprise when their team finished the season with a 13-3 record.

 Now, it needs to be said that the 2019 Packers maybe the worst 13-3 team in NFL history – they didn’t beat their opponents, they survived them. Both Packers’ victories against the Detroit Lions were marred by bad officiating – questionable calls against the Lions’ defense helped keep Packers drives alive. Their record may have been 13-3, but they looked and played more like a 9-7 team. Still, regardless of as to how they got there, the Packers had qualified for the playoffs and were the number two seed. In the Divisional Round, they would be facing the Seattle Seahawks, the same team that had stolen a trip to the Super Bowl away from the Packers five years earlier. This was a chance for revenge!

The Packers dominated the first half and jumped up on the Seahawks 21 – 3. Despite the three-score lead, there was still a lingering doubt in the minds of most Packers fans. After all, in 2014 NFC Championship Game, the Packers led 16 – 0 at the half.  Their worst fears seem to come true, when the Seahawks came roaring back in the second half; not even an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Davante Adams, midway through the third quarter, could alleviate these fears. It the fourth quarter, the Seahawks offense pulled within five points of the Packers, making score 28-23, with nine minutes left the game.

The following drive by the Packers offense stalled at the Seattle 48 yard-line and the Packers were forced to punt.  The Seahawks took over at their own 23-yard line with 4:54 left on the clock. However, the Packers defense finally stood their ground and on 3^rd & 5, Preston Smith sacked Seattle quarterback, Russell Wilson, for a six-yard loss.  The Seahawks punted and the Green Bay offense took over at their own 20 with 2:32 left in the game. The Packers offense successfully ran out the clock, thanks to two third down conversions by Davante Adams and Jimmy Graham.  The Packers were victorious! Davante Adams had the game of his career: he finished the game with 160 yards receiving and two touchdowns.  The Packers were, once again, advancing to the NFC Championship Game. Their opponent would be the San Francisco 49ers, who had thoroughly whooped the Packers in the regular season, 37 – 8. The NFC Championship Game would prove to be no different; the 49ers led 27 – 0 at half time and were generous enough to allow Aaron Rodgers to pad his stats in the second half, to make the final score: 49ers 37, Packers 20.  It was another disappointing end to a great season, but there were also plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Packers had greatly exceeded everyone’s expectations and the tandem of LaFleur/Rodgers just might work, after all.  

22.   September 27, 2020 – Green Bay Packers 37, New Orleans Saints 30

“The Packers beat the Saints in an exciting nail biter.”
The emergence of the New Orleans Saints and the resurgence of the Green Bay Packers coincided with one another. In 2006, both teams hired a new head coach: the Saints hired Sean Payton, and the Packers hired Mike McCarthy. Both head coaches would lead their teams to Super Bowl championships: the Saints won it all in 2009 and the Packers championship came the following year, in 2010.  Both franchises suffered heart breaking playoff losses in the last decade (the Saints lost to the Minnesota Vikings, twice, and to the Rams in the 2018 NFC Championship Game).  Both teams would end up losing, in their home stadiums, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 postseason.

In week three, two teams faced off against each other at Lambeau Field. They both had high flying offenses led by Hall of Fame QBs, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, but also highly questionable defenses.  Indeed, throughout most of their careers, both Rodgers and Brees had been plagued with porous defenses. Brees had missed the playoffs multiple times, largely due to the poor play of his defense. 

This was an exciting back and forth game, that featured great play from both quarterbacks, and late in the 3^rd quarter the score was tied, 27 – 27.  A Mason Crosby field goal in the 4^th quarter made the score, 30 – 27, with 8:52 left on the clock. The Saints went three and out on their next drive and the Packers offense had the ball on their own 36-yard line with 6:36 left to play. On the first play of the drive, Aaron Rodgers connected with Jace Sternberger for a 23-yard gain, which put the ball on the New Orleans 41-yard line. Packers running back, Aaron Jones, rushed for nineteen yards on the next play, and the Packers were now at the New Orleans 22-yard line. The Packers would cap off this drive with a one-yard touchdown reception by tight end, Robert Tonyan. The score was Packers 37, Saints 27 with two minutes left to play. The Saints added another field goal to their point total, but any hope of comeback was dashed when the Packers recovered the onside kick.

The Packers were now 3 – 0 and not only did their offense look unstoppable, but Aaron Rodgers was back in MVP form. The Packers finished the season with a 13-3 record (the Saints finished 12-4 and had to settle for the third seed). Aaron Rodgers had one of his best seasons, statistically: he completed seventy percent of passes and threw 48 touchdown passes to only five interceptions. The Packers ran all over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Game but fell short to the Buccaneers a week later.  Yet another disappointing end to a great season; this was becoming a broken record.  This would also prove to be Drew Brees NFL swansong; after the loss to Buccaneers, he announced his retirement.  Before the arrival of Drew Brees and Sean Payton, the Saints had only won in playoff win in their entire history. The tandem of Payton/Brees had transformed this hapless franchise into contenders and created one of the more exciting offenses in the league.

23.   November 23, 2023 (Thanksgiving) - Green Bay Packers 29, Detroit Lions 22

“Packers upset the Lions on Thanksgiving.”
The Packers finished the 2021 season with a 13-4 record. Rodgers, once again, won the MVP and, once again, the Packers blew it in the postseason, losing to the 49ers in the Divisional Game, 13 – 10 (a game I had the misfortune of witnessing in person).
The 2022 season, the Packers finished the season 8-9; their playoff hopes had been dashed by the surging Detroit Lions in the week eighteen match up.  There was plenty of drama in the offseason, which ultimately led to Aaron Rodgers being traded to the New York Jets.
It was officially the Jordan Love Era. Packers’ fans had no idea what to expect. When the Packers front office drafted Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, this led to many people scratching their heads. Why would you draft Jordon Love when you have Aaron Rodgers? Also, who was this Jordan Love? Why did the Packers waste such a high draft pick on him? They could have drafted a receiver instead.

The Jordan Love Era, seemingly, got off to a promising start after the Packers embarrassed the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field, 38 – 20. However, optimism quickly turned into cynicism when the Packers struggled the next month – they lost four consecutive games and had gone five straight games without scoring a touchdown in the first half. Jordan Love showed signs of promise, but he was also mistake prone – back-to-back games, against the Raiders and Broncos, ended with him throwing an interception on a potential game winning drive. A win against a banged-up Rams team didn’t do much to ease the fans’ skepticism. The following week, the Packers lost to Pittsburgh Steelers (despite outgaining them) when Jordan Love, once again, threw an interception on a potential game winning drive. The Packers were 3-6 and their season appeared to be over. In the week eleven match up against the Chargers, Jordan Love had played his best game of the season (throwing for over 300 yards) and had managed to engineer a game winning drive to make the final score: Packers 23, Chargers 20.  

It was a nice win, but now they would face their biggest challenge of the season when they played the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.  Under the leadership of head coach, Dan Campbell, and quarterback, Jared Goff, the Lions had successfully changed their fortunes and, going into the Thanksgiving matchup, they were on a three-game winning streak and had an 8-2 record. They had already beaten the Packers at Lambeau Field, 34-20. The Lions would also end the season on with a 12-5 record (tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the best record in the NFC).

However, their Thanksgiving match up against the Packers was characterized by mistakes and questionable play calling. The normally reliable Jared Goff fumbled the ball three times – one of which was returned for a touchdown by Packers safety, Jonathan Owens. The most baffling call came in the third quarter, when Dan Campbell, from the Lions’ own 23-yard line, attempted a fake punt that was immediately sniffed out by the Packers special teams unit and was well short of the first down marker.  The Packers offense took over with a short field and four plays later, the Packers made the Lions pay for this mistake, when receiver, Christian Watson, brought in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love. The Packers led 29 – 14 and never looked back. The Lions scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with 46 seconds left in the game. The Packers recovered the onside kick and had pulled off the upset. Jordan Love had a solid day: 22/32 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had a 37-yard run in the 4^th quarter that extended a Packers drive and took precious time off the clock.

24.   December 3, 2023 – Green Bay Packers 27, Kansas City Chiefs 19

“Packers upset the defending Super Bowl champs. Jordan Love outplays Patrick Mahomes.”
Now, it is one thing to upset the upstart Detroit Lions, but it is a different thing entirely to upset the defending Super Bowl champs. The Kansas City Chiefs rode into Lambeau Field with an 8-3 record and one of better defensive units in the league. The Chiefs’ offense was another story; except for their blow out win against the Chicago Bears, they had struggled throughout the first half of the season. Still, you could never rule out Chiefs’ superstar quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs were favored to win by five points. 

The Packers offense dictated the game from the get-go; on their opening drive, they marched down field on the thirteen plays that ended with Ben Sims hauling in a one-yard Jordan Love touchdown pass. The Chiefs responded with a thirteen-play drive of their own, but it at hits a brick wall at the Green Bay nine-yard; after Patrick Mahomes was sacked on 3^rd &9 by Preston Smith. The Chiefs were forced to settle for a field goal and the first quarter ended, Packers 7 Chiefs 3.

The Packers second drive also ended on a touchdown, with Jordan Love completing a nine-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson. This baffled the NBC Sunday Night Crew, who couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “What is going on with the Kansas City Chiefs?” asked Cris Collinsworth. The Chiefs added another field goal to their point total to make the score, 14 – 6, at the half. 

The Chiefs began the third quarter with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown by running back, Isiah Pacheco. However, their two-point attempt was denied, and the score was, 14 – 12.  
“It is time for the Chiefs defense to make a step,” opined Cris Collinsworth.
However, they didn’t take his advice to heart and Jordan Love calmly drove the Packers down the field, which included Love completing a 33-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on 4^th & 1. 
“THAT’S JUST UNBELIEVABLE!” screamed a bewildered Collinsworth.
Two plays later, Christian Watson brought in another Jordan Love touchdown pass.
The score was now Packers 21, Chiefs 12.
However, the Chiefs weren’t going to go away that easy and they responded with a touchdown drive of their own – Mahomes completed a two-yard pass to Noah Grey.
The Chiefs had pulled within two points of the Packers, with 14:51 remaining in the game.
The two teams exchanged punts on their next two drives.
“This has been an exciting game,” laughed Cris Collinsworth.

The Packers next drive ended in a 40-yard field goal by Anders Carlson. The score was now 24-19, in favor of the Packers with 6:07 left in the game. This is usually when Patrick Mahomes performed his magic. In the previous six seasons, it would be hard to name a more clutch quarterback. However, it was not meant to be and, on the third play of the Chiefs’ next drive, Packers cornerback, Keisean Nixon intercepted a Mahomes pass that was intended for Skyy Moore. The Packers offense effectively bled the clock and, with 1:09 left in the game, settled for a 48-yard Anders Carlson field goal. The score was Packers 27, Chiefs 19.  A last gasp effort by the Chiefs to tie the game ended in futility. Chiefs’ fans bemoaned the missed pass interference call on Marquez Valdes-Scantling by Packers’ CB, Corey Ballentine, but they also conveniently overlooked the bogus unnecessary roughing call on Jonathan Owens that helped keep the Chiefs final drive alive. In the end, the Packers were victorious.  They also overlooked that Jordan Love completely outplayed Patrick Mahomes.
Here are the two stats side by side:
Jordan Love   25/36   267 yards 3 TD
Patrick Mahomes: 21/33 210 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Still, this game would only prove to be a slight inconvenience for the Chiefs; they still won their division and, more importantly, won their third Super Bowl championship. But for one glorious night, the Green Bay Packers were the better team.

25.   January 14, 2024 (NFC Wild Card) – Green Bay Packers 48, Dallas Cowboys 32

“Packers become the first 7^th seed (and youngest) team to ever win a playoff game. They embarrass the Dallas Cowboys who were seven-point favorites.”
After their exhilarating Sunday night win against the Chiefs, the Packers stumbled against the New York Giants and Tampa Buccaneers. Joe Barry’s defense had allowed for flash-in-the pan Giants QB, Tommy DeVito, to run all over them and had surrendered a perfect passer rating to Buccaneers QB, Baker Mayfield. After these two embarrassing defensive performances, many were calling for Joe Barry’s job. The defense didn’t do much to silence the critics after they gave up 30 points to the one-win, Carolina Panthers (who also were the bottom ranked offense in the league). The Packers were 7 – 8 and would need to win their next two games to qualify for the postseason. 

Their dominant 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings brought their record up to .500. They just had to beat the Chicago Bears, and they would be in the playoffs. The Bears had already been eliminated from the playoffs but were hoping to play spoiler for the Packers (just like the Detroit Lions had done the previous season).  The Bears had won four out of their last five games (including an impressive win over the Lions), thanks to their much-improved defense. This game all the makings of a potential upset……NOT!!!!!   The Bears, improved defense and all, were still not match for the Packers and Jordan Love had a field day, by completing 27 out of 32 passes, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears offense could only muster up nine measly points. The Packers had finished the regular season 9-8, but more importantly qualified for the playoffs as the 7^th seed. Their opponent in the NFC Wild Card would be a familiar foe, The Dallas Cowboys.

On paper, this was a statistical matchup that heavily favored the Dallas Cowboys; they had a top five offense and defense, led the league in scoring, had won sixteen consecutive home games, had seven players voted to the Pro Bowl (the Packers had zero), and a MVP caliber season from quarterback, Dak Prescott. The Cowboys head coach was a familiar face, Mike McCarthy.  Dak Prescott had greatly reduced his number of interceptions in 2023, thanks to Mike McCarthy’s newly installed offense. The Dallas Cowboys were seven-point favorites and practically every analyst predicted them to curb stomp the lowly Green Bay Packers. Indeed, many pundits predicted that the Cowboys would finally return to the NFC Championship Game after a 28-year drought. This Cowboys team was different…..then the actual game happened. 

Things went awry for the Cowboys from the very start, after the Packers offense efficiently drove the ball down the field, on their opening drive, which ended with a three-yard touchdown run by Aaron Jones. The Dallas Cowboys opening drive stalled at midfield after receiver, CeeDee Lamb, dropped a Dak Prescott pass on third down. The Cowboys defense managed to make a stop on the Packer’s next drive and Green Bay was forced to punt; this gave the Cowboys the ball at their own eight-yard line. On 3^rd & 5, Dak Prescott dropped back to pass and was intercepted by cornerback, Jaire Alexander. The Packers offense had the ball as the Dallas 18. Even a holding penalty on tight end, Tucker Craft, couldn’t stop the Packers offense and two plays later, Aaron Jones added another rushing touchdown to his postseason career. The Packers led 14 – 0. 

The following Cowboys drive stalled at midfield (again) after Dak Prescott took an unnecessary sack on 3^rd & 5. The Cowboys punted and the Packers offense had the ball at their own 7.  Jordan Love cooly drove the Packers 93-yards on ten plays and connected with Dontayvion Wicks for a twenty-yard touchdown pass. A missed Anders Carlson extra point made the score Packers 20, Cowboys 0.  It was now time for the Cowboys offense to respond – they desperately needed points before the half.  A twenty-point deficit in the modern NFL was not necessarily a death sentence, especially for a big play offense like the Dallas Cowboys. A touchdown here would make it a two-score game, which was easily doable. The Cowboys drive began promisingly enough, with Dak driving his offense to the Green Bay 48, with 2:06 left in the half.  On 2^nd & 2, Dak Prescott dropped back to pass and was picked off by Darnell Savage, who returned it for a touchdown. This was essentially the game! The Cowboys would score a touchdown before the half and begin the third quarter with a field goal, but their defense couldn’t stop the avalanche of Green Bay points. By the start of the 4^th quarter, the Packers led 48-16. The Cowboys would score two garbage time touchdowns, which made the score look closer than it was and allowed for Dak Prescott to pad his stats, but neither of these could gloss over this embarrassing loss at home (to a 7^th seed team). 

Jordan Love had played the game of his career: 16/21 272 yards 3 touchdowns. Aaron Jones had the best game of his postseason career, he rushed for 118 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns. This was also the most impressive win of the Matt LaFleur Era. He had weathered the storm early in the season and had molded the youngest team in the league into postseason contenders. Very few expected the Packers to make the playoffs, let alone win a playoff game. 

5 Most Painful Losses

This is the part of the article that most Packers fans will want to skip, and Packers’ haters will relish. The reason I included the five most painful losses in this article is to show that being a football fan is not all sunshine and lollipops, it is also marked by frustration and disappointment. Part of being a fan is that you must take the bad with the good. It is easy to cheer for your team when they are winning championships, but it’s a bit different when each season ends in disappointment. The better your team does in the regular season, the higher the expectations. When they fall short of their goal, it is often easy to ignore the regular season and focus on the postseason losses.  Packers’ fans have actually been fortunate, in the last twenty years the Packers have only suffered four losing seasons (2005, 2008, 2017, 2018), but if you talk to average fan, they will bring up the “What Ifs.”  I will keep this section as short possible.

1.        January 20, 2008 (NFC Championship Game) Giants 23, Packers 20 (overtime)

After dominating the Seattle Seahawks in the 2007 Divisional Game, everyone was expecting a rematch between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. The two teams met up in week thirteen and the Cowboys won 37 – 27. However, the game offered Packers’ fans a glimpse of Aaron Rodgers’ potential after he took over for an injured Brett Favre. Rodgers played remarkably well and managed to make it a competitive game (despite facing a 17-point deficit when he entered the game).  The prospect of facing the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game made Packers’ fans nervous, because Brett Favre had never won in Texas Stadium. However, this dreaded rematch was not to be after the one seeded Cowboys fell to fifth seeded, New York Giants, 17 – 14.  Packers fans rejoiced!  This meant that the NFC Championship Game would be hosted at Lambeau Field. All the Pack had to do was beat the Giants and they would be going to the Super Bowl.

Well, that didn’t happen. The game went into overtime and on 2^nd & 8, Brett Favre threw a bone headed interception, on pass intended for Donald Driver. Even worse was that Brett Favre missed a wide-open Ryan Grant in the middle of the field. The Giants capitalized on this massive boner by Favre with a 47-yard game winning field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The final score: Giants 23, Packers 20. This would also prove to be Brett Favre’s final game with the Green Bay Packers.

2.        January 15, 2012 (NFC Divisional Round) Giants 37, Packers 20 

The 2011 Packers had set team records for most wins in a season (15) and most points scored in a season (560).  Aaron Rodgers would win his first league MVP by lighting up the league with 45 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions. It was truly a remarkable regular season. 
In the NFC Divisional Game, their opponent would, once again, be the New York Giants, who were arguably one of the worst teams to ever make the postseason – they had a 9-7 record and were negative six in point differential.  
“This should be a cake walk for the Packers,” the fans told themselves. However, the 2007 NFC Championship Game still haunted the memories of the Green and Gold faithful, and though they appeared to have confidence in their team, inwardly they were feeling uneasy. 
“What if we lose to the Giants again?”

Let me relate a personal story: In the week fourteen matchup against the Oakland Raiders, I was watching the game at a bar in Madison, with my friend Brad. While everyone was celebrating the Packers beatdown of the Raiders, we were fixated on the Sunday Night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Next York Giants. The Cowboys had a twelve-point lead late in the 4^th quarter.  Brad and I were rooting for the Cowboys to win, because it would have, essentially, ended the New York Giants season. The other Packers’ fans in the bar were foolishly rooting for the Giants, and when quarterback, Eli Manning, was able to engineer a come from behind, the bar erupted in applause. Little did these Packers’ fan know they had just cheered on their team’s own demise. 

The Giants came into Lambeau on January 15^th and thoroughly embarrassed the Packers, 37 - 20. The Green Bay Packers made history as the first 15-1 team that failed to win a single playoff game. 

3.        January 18, 2015 (NFC Championship Game) Seahawks 28, Packer 22 (overtime)

Two words: Brandon Bostick. His bobbling the onside kick into the arms of a Seattle player perfectly sums up the postseason futility of the Green Bay Packers.

4.        January 24, 2021(NFC Championship Game) Buccaneers 31, Packers 26

Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady for a trip to the Super Bowl? Well, let’s just say that was a battle between the greatest QB to wear number twelve and Aaron Rodgers. Tom Brady did everything in his power to give this game to the Packers, by throwing three interceptions in the second half, but Aaron Rodgers refused this generous gift and opted to go three and out on multiple possessions. However, this was a team loss - the defense played poorly in the first half and the Packers' offense disappeared in the 4th quarter.  

5.        January 22, 2022 (NFC Divisional Round) 49ers 13, Packers 10

The Packers were, once again, the number one seed. Rodgers was, once again, the league MVP and, once again, the Packers lost at home to a dark horse, wild card team. The defense did their job by holding the San Francisco 49ers to just two field goals, it was the offense and special teams who screwed the pooch. Late in the 4^th quarter, the defense dug in their heels and stuffed the 49ers on 4^th& 1. This was a golden opportunity for the Aaron Rodgers and offense to win the game – a couple of first downs and the game was theirs. This is the type of scenario that the league MVP should excel in. Isn’t this why Aaron Rodgers is paid huge sums of money? For moments like this. Instead, Rodgers and the offense went three and out, and even worse, was the fact that Rodgers took a sack. This helped set up a block punt by the 49ers, which Talanoa Hufanga scooped up the touchdown. The score was 10 – 10.  

However, despite this unfortunate event, Aaron Rodgers was in a prime position to win the game. It was time to prove to the world why he was the league MVP.  All he needed to do was get the Packers in field goal and give Mason Crosby a shot at the game winning field goal. However, the moment proved to be too big for Aaron Rodgers and he went three and out, yet again. On third down, he ignored a wide-open Allen Lazard and tried to force the ball to Davante Adams in double coverage.  49ers quarterback, Jimmy Garopollo, did what Rodgers couldn’t do and drove his team into field goal range.  Robbie Gould connected on a 45-yard field goal and the 49ers had beaten the hapless Green Bay Packers. In true fashion, Packers’ fans blamed everyone except Aaron Rodgers. The league MVP could only muster up ten points and, when his team needed him most, he folded.  This would be the final playoff game Aaron Rodgers would start for the Green Bay Packers. The following season, the Packers would go 8-9 and Aaron would be traded to the Jets in the offseason.

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