A New Golden Era
Favre would get off to a slow start, losing five of his first seven games, but afterwards won six in a row. The Packers finished 1992 with a 9-7 record. In the 1993 off-season, the team signed free-agent defensive end Reggie White. After another slow start, the Packers swept ahead for a 9-7 record, reaching the playoffs for the first time in eleven years. In the NFC wild card round, they faced the Detroit Lions, who had beaten them earlier in the season. In a close game, Favre led the team to a 28-24 victory, but in the divisional playoff round Green Bay was overwhelmed 27-17 by the Dallas Cowboys, the eventual Super Bowl winner. Brett Favre would also make the Pro Bowl following that season.
The 1994 season was a near-rerun of the previous year. Again the Packers went 9-7, beat the Lions 16-12 in the NFC wild card round, and lost the divisional game 35-7 to the Cowboys. In 1995, Favre continued to cement his reputation as one of the NFL's finest quarterbacks, passing for 4,413 yards and scoring 38 touchdown passes during the team's 11-5 regular season. The Packers reached the top of the NFC Central division for the first time since 1971. However, they still had to go through the wildcard round, overpowering Atlanta 27-10. The divisional round saw them knock out the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers 27-17, but were once again frustrated by the Cowboys, who beat them 38-27 in the NFC Championship game and went on to win another Super Bowl title.
As the 1996 season began, the Packers were more determined than ever to reach the Super Bowl. Beginning with an eight-game winning streak, they faced the hated Cowboys during Week 11 on a Monday Night game. The Packers suffered a smarting loss, the score being 21-6. After this, they won the last five regular season games, finishing with a record of 13-3. Reaching the top of the NFC Central division, they were able to skip the wild card round this time. In the divisional playoff, they easily defeated San Francisco at Lambeau, with a score of 35-14. Meanwhile, the Cowboys had lost to the Carolina Panthers, and so the Packers would have to face this two-year old expansion team in the NFC Championship match. The Packers easily beat them 30-13 to advance to Super Bowl XXXI.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Green Bay Packers
Famous quotes containing the words golden and/or era:
“The word “civilization” to my mind is coupled with death. When I use the word, I see civilization as a crippling, thwarting thing, a stultifying thing. For me it was always so. I don’t believe in the golden ages, you see.... Civilization is the arteriosclerosis of culture.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“It struck me that the movies had spent more than half a century saying, “They lived happily ever after” and the following quarter-century warning that they’ll be lucky to make it through the weekend. Possibly now we are now entering a third era in which the movies will be sounding a note of cautious optimism: You know it just might work.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)