The 2007 Green Bay Packers: A Championship Season Intercepted
Think back to the year 2007 for a moment.
You probably have fond memories of family, friends, school, and hearing Paralyzer by Finger Eleven on your iPod or the radio. Good song, overplayed a lot at the time though. It doesn’t feel like it’s been 15 years since then.
Now think back to that season in the NFL. Jamarcus Russell is drafted first overall by the Oakland Raiders, followed by a player by the name of Calvin Johnson (you may know him) by the Detroit Lions.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers are celebrating their 75th season, looking to claim their second championship in three seasons.
What could have been for the Packers
The New England Patriots were the unstoppable juggernaut, led by a strong defense and the record-breaking duo of Tom Brady and Randy Moss, the latter of which was acquired via a trade from the aforementioned Raiders for a 4th(!) round pick.
But that scenario could have been a whole lot different if the Green Bay Packers had got their way, and Aaron Rodgers could potentially be without a ring (and possibly paired with Megatron!).
A long-standing rumor, although denied by Green Bay’s front office, the Packers were looking to acquire the disgruntled wide receiver after spending two tumultuous years in the Bay Area.
Part of the deal would have seen the future four-time MVP of the NFL go back to his home state, while an aging veteran quarterback would have arguably his best target since Sterling Sharpe in the early-mid 1990s.
Oh yeah, that aging veteran quarterback? His name is Brett Favre. Imagine him with Randy Moss…oh wait, that happened in 2010 for a few weeks…but imagine that happening in 2007!
The Last Dance
Coming off a 4-12 campaign in 2005 (the year Rodgers fell to them at Pick 24) and an 8-8 campaign in 2006, the retirement rumors began to ramp up during the offseason, but Favre decided that he would give it one more go.
He said: “I am so excited about coming back, We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year and that’s encouraging.”
This offense featured the return of long time WR Donald Driver, one of Favre’s favorite targets. Second year player Greg Jennings is looking for a breakout year, newcomer James Jones, drafted by the team in the 3rd round, Tight End Bubba Franks, another Favre favorite, and an offensive line that consisted of LT Chad Clifton, RT Mark Tauscher, and LG Daryn College.
On the defense, Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins captained the defensive line, with Nick Barnett and 2006 first rounder AJ Hawk behind them at Linebacker. In the secondary, Charles Woodson and Al Harris continued to lead a budding secondary that also featured Nick Collins and Atari Bigby. Oh, and their kicker? A rookie by name of Mason Crosby, who was drafted by the organization in the 6th round that year.
Record Breaker
With Favre back at the helm, the biggest storyline going into the year, other than returning to the playoffs after missing them in the previous two seasons, was him breaking Dan Marino’s record for most passing touchdowns (and passing yards) in league history. He needed seven more TDs to achieve the feat.
After throwing none in a 16-13 Week 1 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Favre would throw six touchdowns over his next two games (both wins over the Giants and Chargers, respectively) and then break the record with a 16 yard strike to Greg Jennings in the first quarter.
The team would win the game 23-16, beginning the first quarter of the season with a perfect 4-0 record.
Following this, the Packers would drop a close 20-27 loss to the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, then go on a six-game winning streak. Two of their most noticeable wins during this stretch came in back-to-back weeks on road. First with a Monday Night game in Denver that saw Favre hit Jennings with a game winning 82-yard TD on the first play of overtime to win 19-13 to quiet the Broncos faithful.
The following week, the Packers earned their first win over the Kansas City Chiefs since Favre took over at quarterback in 1992 by a score of 33-22.
On Thanksgiving, they beat the Detroit Lions 37-26, in game that saw Favre complete a franchise record 20 consecutive passes during the game.
The team was now sitting at 10-1, heading into a pivotal Thursday night game against the Dallas Cowboys, also sporting a 10-1 record themselves. In the second quarter, the Cowboys knocked Brett Favre out of the game.
And the world got to witness Aaron Rodgers play meaningful football for the first time, after seeing minimal game time for the previous two years. Down 27-10, Rodgers was able to bring the score to 27-24, but the team ended up losing 37-27.
Rodgers impressed in the loss, going 18/26, 201 yards, and one touchdown to no interceptions and 30 yards rushing.
Following the loss, the Packers would close out the season 3-1, with the loss coming to the Bears yet again in Week 16, marking the second time in three years that the team was swept by the Bears, and losing five out of six games in the same span versus their rival.
Favre would break Marino’s passing yards record against the Rams in Week 15 and would close out the season with a 34-13 win at home against Detroit, 34-13.
The Playoffs
The Packers would tie for a NFC best 13-3 record with Dallas, but lost out on the first seed with the Cowboys owning the head to head tiebreaker. Nevertheless, they would still receive a bye and get a home game in the Divisional Round.
The team would draw the Seattle Seahawks as their opponent. It would prove to be another classic Lambeau game in the snow.
Seattle would jump to a quick 14-0 lead before the snow began to fall, and the Packers would dominate the rest of the way, winning by a score of 42-20. Favre has last great playoff performer as a Packer, going 18/23, 173 yard, and 3 TDs to 0 INTs in the snow globe of Lambeau Field.
The following week in the NFC Championship, the Packers were set to face off against the Giants for the second time this season. This however would be a lot different from their earlier encounter in Week 2 (which the Packers won handily in East Rutherford, 35-13).
The Giants were coming off a major upset win against the Cowboys and were looking to repeat the same in Green Bay.
Much like the previous week, it was another classic Lambeau game. It was just the other kind. No snow, all cold, negative one degree Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of minus 20.
The teams were trading scores and punts all game, which eventually led to the score being 20-20 late into the fourth quarter. Favre had found the endzone twice by this point, where as his counterpart, Eli Manning, had yet to find it himself.
However, the younger QB led his team on clutch drive with 2:15 to go in the quarter, including converting an early holding call to a first down, and lined up Lawrence Tynes for a 36-yard field goal, which was no good, and forced the game into overtime.
The Packers would end up winning the toss, and it all seemed to be a lock for the Packers to face the 18-0 New England Patriots in Arizona on February 3rd.
That is, until the second play in overtime.
Brett Favre, whom had a knack for making bad decisions the same number of times as he made incredible comebacks pulled the former.
Looking for his most reliable target, Donald Driver, Favre was intercepted by R.W. McQuarters, who picked off Favre earlier in the game but fumbled to give the ball right back to the Packers.
This led to Lawrence Tynes atoning for his miss at the end of the fourth by hitting a game winning 47-yard field goal.
Just like that, the season with the most promise since the team that went to the Super Bowl a decade prior was over.
End of an era
The loss stung everyone, from the players on the field, to the fans across the world. This was far worse than getting blown by the Rams in 2001, being embarrassed at home in 2002 and 2004, and giving up a 4th and 26 in 2003.
It was the most painful loss in Green Bay Packers history up to this point (which would be topped later, but that’s a story for another day).
Following this season, Brett Favre would retire, then unretire to be traded for the Jets, but let’s not get into that. The future of the Packers seemed uncertain, and a lot of questions had to be answered going into the next season.
But even the bleakest of stories have a silver lining: the Packers faithful wouldn’t have to wait that long to find out the heir to Favre was great. They would just have to be patient for a return on investment.
