Rank the Packer playoff losses (which hurt the most)?

[paulpressey25]

The loss yesterday was bad, but thinking about it, I'm not sure it ranks in my top five. These are all from the modern Favre era.

1. Super Bowl loss to Denver -- We were 14 point favorites. Favre, Chewy, Winters and company were reportedly seen in the Gaslamp district of San Diego at 4am the day of the game. That one still kills. Favre over-throwing Chewy in the fourth reminded me of that missed Rodgers bomb in OT yesterday.

2. 2nd round loss to Philly in 2003. The 4th and 26th. I thought that year we had the offensive line/running game dominance to make it to the Super Bowl. So many opportunities to close that game out. And we didn't.

3. 1995 NFC Championship game to Dallas. We took so much abuse from Dallas those years. They were the better team, but to lead in the fourth in Texas Stadium.....uggh.

4. The San Francisco loss in 1998. The Rice non-fumble. The TO miracle catch. This was Holmgren and Reggie's last hurrah. And it hurt.

5. 2002 wild-card game at Lambeau against the Falcons. Mike Vick runs all over us in the snow. And the first playoff loss at Lambeau.

6. The 2004 wild card game with the Moss goal post incident. Losing to a divisional rival....again at home in the cold.

So yesterday's loss for me would rank #7. Not that it makes me feel any better, but I didn't think we had a Super Bowl caliber team this year, and I mentally started to write off the game after the terrible start. This season was all about building for the Super Bowl next year.

[trwi7]

How is the NFC Championship game a couple years ago not on here?

1. Super Bowl XXXII.
2. NFC Championship 2007.
3. San Francisco Loss in 1998.
4. Loss in Philly. 4th and 26.
5. 2004 Vikings loss.
6. 2002 Falcons loss.
7. 1995 NFC Championship game. Because I barely remember anything about it.

[Max Green]

I wouldn't even rank this lost as high as #7. I would put the lost to the Giants a few years ago where Favre mentally checked out because he was to cold ahead of this one. I'm not to down on this lost even though we had a chance to win in OT and it was blown, since we didn't deserve to win the game. The Cardinals were the better team, pretty much lead more then a touchdown the whole game, and there defense stepped up and made a play at the end.

[chuckleslove]

This loss is definitely low on the list because I know next year we can come back and be an even better team. Let me try and put it together:

1) Super Bowl XXXII
2) 2007 NFC Championship
3) 4th & 26
4) San Francisco 98
5) 2004 Vikings Loss
6) 2002 Falcons loss
7) 1995 Dallas loss(time heals all wounds, plus I was relatively young in 1995 though it was my first painful big loss of memory)
8) 2010 Arizona

I'd have to put this at 8th I guess. After this loss as painful as it was I can only feel optimistic for next year and I hope the guys come back with a fire. A healthy Finley for an entire season, Rodgers back with vengeance, Driver/Woodson/Harris wanting to get to the Super Bowl towards the latter part of their careers. We should have a very hungry and motivated team next year and I can't wait.

[Bernman]

I'm more frustrated by losing games we should have won based on what transpired in the contest itself, than the magnitude of the contest itself. With that in mind....

1. '99 WC Loss to 49ers - All they had to do was defend the end zone on one play from like 35 yards away. And of course we have to feel wronged by Rice's non fumble which essentially got replay re-instituted in the league.

2. '04 Divisional Loss to Eagles - Everybody focuses on 4th and 26, and while that sucked, not going for it on 4th and 1 when we had a dominant running game, but instead electing to kick it into the end zone was the most egregious error. Favre also got absolved because we should have won before that point, but that didn't excuse him from just giving away the game when we were still in pole position to win.

3. '97 Super Bowl - Biggest magnitude of a loss seeing as though we were close to the pinnacle. But at no point could you say we should have won the ballgame.

4. Last Night's game - We were lucky to get the game into overtime, but at that point we controlled our own destiny on offense, which is what we wanted, but still couldn't execute. Rodgers should have at least hit Jennings with air under the ball to put the team near field goal range. Give your receiver a chance to catch the ball. The defense put him and the rest of the offense in a bad position all game, though.

We've definitely had a heart wrenching recent playoff history as Packers' fans, but I'd rather that than be irrelevant for the most part, like the Bucks and Crew.

[LUKE23]

I'd have all four of Bern's + 2007 NFCC, and seriously, it would be hard to rank them because they all suck ass.

[bucks2281]

1. 2007 NFC Championship
2. 4th and 26
3. Super Bowl XXXII
4. 2002 Falcons game
5. 1998 49ers game
6. 2009 Arizona game
7. 2004 Vikings game

[MickeyDavis]

Have to rank the SB loss number 1. Winning the SB is what it's all about and to get that close and lose hurts bad.

[ReasonablySober]

I didn't care about the Packers in '97 the way I do now. That was before message boards and blogs and 24/7 coverage and texting on cell phones. When you lost a game in '97 you could avoid re-living it by just not turning on the local news or Sports Center. But now, if you're anything like me, you can't avoid it. All my favorite websites are abuzz about the game. My friends are/were constantly sending me texts. Facebook statuses, twitter, email...you just got so much more emotionally invested into these games than you did a decade ago.

My list would be:

1 - 2007 NFC Championship
2 - 4th and 26
3 - 2009 NFC Wildcard
4 - 2004 Vikings game (in college with loads of Viking fans made it especially painful)
5 - Denver Superbowl

[an_also]

NFL Championship
4th and 26
Elway's swan song
Owens Catch
Moss Mooning

[an_also]

Last nights game doesn't hurt so much because when i step back and look at it, Rodgers is just entering his prime and we'll most certainly plenty of shots in the playoffs the next few years

[Thunder Muscle]

I didn't care about the Packers in '97 the way I do now. That was before message boards and blogs and 24/7 coverage and texting on cell phones. When you lost a game in '97 you could avoid re-living it by just not turning on the local news or Sports Center. But now, if you're anything like me, you can't avoid it. All my favorite websites are abuzz about the game. My friends are/were constantly sending me texts. Facebook statuses, twitter, email...you just got so much more emotionally invested into these games than you did a decade ago.

My list would be:

1 - 2007 NFC Championship
2 - 4th and 26
3 - 2009 NFC Wildcard
4 - 2004 Vikings game (in college with loads of Viking fans made it especially painful)
5 - Denver Superbowl

I agree with your rational as it was truly a different era, not much for sports radio, I personally was only in like jr high, no texting, etc. HOWEVER everytime I see that Super Bowl I wanna throw up, especially when Favre missed a WIDE OPEN Freeman across the middle. If I could change one loss in my lifetime that would probably be my choice b/c that would've brought the Packers into the dynasty talk and would've put Favre into the elite elite company (which I could careless about now). So that one hurt the most to me. The Packers were the better team and were right there for back to back.

My others w/o thinking in depth would include (edit: have some non playoff games, oops):
2. NFC Championship 2007 - although I don't think they beat NE, I had my Super Bowl ticket punched
3. 4th and 26 - had them beat and I believed this was a team of destiny
4. Owens catch - very tough one to swallow, ended Holmgren era, etc
5. Yesterday - a comeback win would've really put Rodgers over the top w/everybody. Stupidly many fans still aren't sold on this guy or critique him.
6. NFC Championship 1995
7. Favre coming to Lambeau and beating the Pack this year.
8. Losing to Atlanta - first playoff loss at Lambeau
9. Losing WC to Viking in 2004
10. Holmgren coming back to Lambeau and stomping us on MNF

[Flames24Rulz]

I was 9 when we lost in the Super Bowl and I cried like a baby. I have to go with that one at number one.

4th and 26 is number two on my list. That was the biggest punch in the gut I've ever witnessed. The NFC Title loss is a close 3rd, followed by the 49ers Wild Card defeat. I'll list this one at number five as well.

[El Duderino]

It's hard for me to rank prior losses because the pain levels fade with time in my memory bank, but the loss yesterday is still so fresh. All i can say is i thought i'd wake up and feel better, but as i ate lunch i read the paper and that first pass in overtime to Jennings for what would have been an easy TD came right back and i honestly felt a bit nauseous. I just can't shake this loss yet.

We should have won what was an epic NFL playoff game. A game that would long be remembered by Packer fans as one of the greatest in history given the amazing comeback.

Man, Rodgers was so damn good, if only he had put some loft on that pass to Jennings, just imagine the celebration. Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg.

[Scoops]

This one's definitely up there. In a year where the NFC is wide open, where we're picked to make the SB by a handful of experts, where we have a chance to knock Favre out of the playoffs and we lose like that. A blowout would have been easy to handle. But we had the onside kick, the missed FG, and won the coin toss. Everything was going our way.

It's hard to say our offense choked with the way they played, but we somehow had the ball with a chance to win and laid an egg. Our offense vs the Arizona defense only needing a FG.

I wasn't even 10 during the Super Bowl years so the Denver loss doesn't hurt that much. A lot of the losses hurt a little bit less since Favre stabbed us in the back and you can say hey remember when Brent threw 6 picks against the Rams, or threw up that lame duck against Philly in OT, or gave away the Giants game.

[Mags FTW]

1) Super Bowl - It's the effin Super Bowl
2) 4th and 26 - That team would've won the Super Bowl. Could run on people at will.
3) NFC Championship vs. Dallas - We were winning in the 4th and would've won the SB
4) 1998 vs. the Niners - Last hurrah of the SB team and Rice fumbled.
5) NFC Championship vs NYG - The Pats would've beat us anyway

[paulpressey25]

How is the NFC Championship game a couple years ago not on here?.

Because I purged it from my mind while trying to post this during lunch....maybe the pain of thinking of these other games forced me to forget it...I'd probably put that one fourth, after the SB loss, 4-26, and 1995 NFC championship game.

That 2007 game sucked but I felt like we were beat by the better team and would have gotten our heads kicked in by the Pats.

That 1995 game sucked because we had all these Dallas Cowboy fans and the media saying that the Packers were wusses who would never defeat the Cowboys. And losing to them in the playoffs three straight years was hard to take.