The Falcons step into a quick turnaround this week, with a Thursday Night Football matchup coming at storied Lambeau Field for a meeting with a franchise which has been immensely more successful in their respective history, although that doesn’t quite reflect in the all time series history.
The Green Bay Packers, one of the NFL’s blue bloods and VIP members, lead the all time series against the Falcons 19-17. Atlanta has also dealt some devastatingly painful defeats to the Pack in their matchups.
Arguably the most memorable of those came in Atlanta’s dream season of 2016 when, for once, they were the buzzsaw to be feared in the NFC. Behind MVP Matt Ryan, the Birds won 44-21 in an NFC Championship game which was even more of a blowout than the scoreline indicated. Another was Michael Vick’s coming out party in their 27-7 victory in the 2002 Wildcard round, handing their opponents their first ever playoff loss at Lambeau Field.
That’s not to say that the Packers haven’t inflicted their own post season damage, the worst of which came in the 2010 Divisional Round against a 1-seed Matt Ryan led Atlanta team, where Aaron Rodgers absolutely dissected the overmatched defense to the tune of a 48-21 scoreline en route to a Super Bowl victory.
Green Bay is also the team who saw Brett Favre’s potential which was being wasted away by Jerry Glanville and, after an infamous trade, watched him blossom into a Hall of Famer and three time MVP. The first of those times came in 1995, when he also disposed of the Falcons in the Wildcard Round.
When these teams met last
The excitement at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was palpable when the Falcons and Packers met early in the season, after the Desmond Ridder era in Atlanta got off to a success with a Week 1 victory over the Panthers. Green Bay brought Jordan Love to the table, in his third year but first season as a full time starter.
Both offenses scored a field goal and a touchdown in the first half with the difference being a Younghoe Koo missed extra point as the Packers to a 10-9 lead into the break. Love then came to life with back to back drives culminating in touchdown passes in the third quarter to take a 24-12 lead heading into the fourth.
From there, Atlanta’s defense absolutely cranked all the way up to 100, stifling three consecutive Packer drives in the last period, not even allowing Love and company to get to their own 30-yard-line. Ridder, meanwhile, showcased the clutch gene that Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot were so excited about when they put the franchise in his hands, leading three scoring drives and scoring 13 unanswered points to secure a 25-24 victory.
