The Long Way to Dallas

It’s been more than fifteen years since the Packers last lifted the Lombardi Trophy, so let’s go back to February 6, 2011. That team almost didn’t make the playoffs. It finished 10-6, grabbed the NFC’s sixth seed, and then won three straight on the road: 21-16 at Philadelphia, 48-21 at top-seeded Atlanta, and 21-14 at Chicago in the NFC Championship. They were the first sixth seed from the NFC to reach the Super Bowl, and they met the Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in front of 103,219 fans.

Green Bay came out firing. Aaron Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson for the first touchdown, and just 24 seconds later Nick Collins jumped a Ben Roethlisberger pass and took it back 37 yards for a 14-0 lead. Rodgers found Greg Jennings before halftime, and the Packers went into the break up 21-10. It came at a cost, though. Charles Woodson broke his collarbone, Donald Driver hurt his ankle, and neither one made it back onto the field.

Rodgers Seals It

Pittsburgh pulled within 21-17 early in the third quarter, and it felt like the game was slipping. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Clay Matthews forced a Rashard Mendenhall fumble that Desmond Bishop recovered, and Rodgers turned it into another touchdown pass to Jennings. The Steelers got within 28-25, but Rodgers answered with a 31-yard strike to Jennings on third and 10, Mason Crosby kicked a 23-yard field goal with 2:07 left, and the defense shut down Pittsburgh’s final drive.

Rodgers finished 24 of 39 for 304 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to win MVP, and Nelson caught nine passes for 140 yards. It was the Packers’ fourth Super Bowl win and 13th league championship, the most in NFL history. That August, the team was honored at the White House, where Woodson handed President Obama a share of Packers stock. At 1-2 this season, it’s a good reminder of what a team can do when it gets hot at the right time.

Sources: Wikipedia, Super Bowl XLV.

Featured photo: Chuck Kennedy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.