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The NFL is going to host a few historical games for each of its franchises online. Which of Green Bay's games should be part of that set?
This week, the National Football League announced plans to further expand its partnership with YouTube for the coming 2016 season. The league began posting highlights to YouTube in January 2015 (although their videos are blocked from being embedded on other websites like this one) and they are pushing for more NFL-related content to show up in Google searches in the future.
More details from the recent announcement are here at SB Nation's partner site, The Verge, but one particular item should be of interest to Green Bay Packers fans. Among the other content that will be hosted on YouTube are three past games played by each NFL franchise. As The Verge noted:
... the league is promising these will include "some of the most exciting games in NFL history."
That got us thinking: which three games in the Packers' long and storied history qualify for this classification and are most likely to be put up for viewing? We offer some ideas below.
Super Bowls
Super Bowl I
This game was recently remastered and spliced together from various video sources and aired for the first time in January. It would be a great idea to offer this unique experience to fans in this manner.
Super Bowl XXXI
The Packers' return to greatness in the 1990s was capped off by their 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots. With brilliance on all three sides of the ball - Brett Favre's deep passes, Reggie White's big sacks, and Desmond Howard's kickoff return touchdown - this game certainly qualifies, in our opinion.
Super Bowl XLV
The final piece of the 2010 season was Aaron Rodgers' masterful performance in the win over the Steelers, as well as critical defensive plays like Nick Collins' interception return for a touchdown and Clay Matthews' huge forced fumble in the fourth quarter.
Non-Super Bowl Playoff Games
2010 NFC Championship Game
If we're going for "tense" and rivalry games instead of necessarily "exciting," the game before Super Bowl XLV could qualify, with the Packers and Bears slugging it out for the right to go to Jerry World. B.J. Raji's pick-six (and ensuing
and a big tackle by Rodgers on Brian Urlacher on an interception were among the many highlights.2003 Wild-Card Round
This 33-27 overtime thriller had it all - both teams led in the fourth quarter; a game-tying touchdown with under a minute to go; and six touchdowns total after halftime. Oh, and a prediction after the overtime coin toss by Matt Hasselbeck that the Seahawks would "take the ball and we're going to score!" And then there's the final play of the game: Al Harris' pick-six. This one should have gone down in Packers lore as the start of a deep playoff run if not for 4th and 26 the following week.
1993 Wild-Card Round
In Detroit, Brett Favre's first playoff game ended in ridiculous fashion. This game had a ridiculous flow - the Lions led by 10 early in the third quarter, both teams had pick-sixes, and Sterling Sharpe had three touchdown catches. It was the third and final one, though, that makes this game so memorable.
Recent(-ish) Regular Season Games
He did WHAT?!
In other words, the Antonio Freeman catch on Monday Night Football. Do we need to explain this one any more than by quoting Al Michaels' great call?
Flynn's Comeback in Big D
The 2013 season was a mess for a number of reasons, but it did provide some incredible memories. One of the best was watching backup quarterback Matt Flynn, signed off the street a few weeks earlier, lead the Packers back from a 26-3 halftime deficit in Dallas to earn a ridiculous 37-36 victory and keep the Packers' playoff hopes alive. According to Pro Football Reference, the Packers' chances of winning the game were just 0.4% as late as midway through the third quarter, but Flynn and Eddie Lacy's heroics kept the team alive while Sam Shields' critical interception set up the winning score.
Rodgers-to-Cobb
Two weeks later, both Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb returned from their injuries - Rodgers' a broken collarbone and Cobb's a broken fibula. They took on the Bears at Soldier Field with the winner earning the NFC North title and a playoff spot. After shaking off the rust early (interceptions on the first two drives, both in Bears territory), Rodgers found his legs and threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns, including this legendary throw with under a minute left to provide the winning score:
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Those are just a handful of the great Packers games that the NFL could host on YouTube in the coming weeks. Which three of those (or any other three games that were recorded in the television era) would you most like to see in full once again?
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