Packers vs. Bears and the Most Anticipated Matchups in NFL Playoff History
Packers vs. Bears: This Sunday, the age-old rivalry is renewed.
The Green Bay Packers will take on the Chicago Bears in a clash of NFC North rivals and two of the NFL's most storied franchises.
It's a game that everyone is talking about. It's a game that everyone wants to see.
It is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated matchups in NFL playoff history.
But before there was Packers-Bears, there was a boatload of games that had players, coaches, the fans and the media abuzz.
Here are the 15 most anticipated playoff games ever.
15. 2000 AFC Semifinals: Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans (Jan. 7, 2001)
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In 2000, the Ravens and Titans were in the same division and finished with the top two records in the AFC.
They had split the regular season series, with each team winning on the road, and became engulfed in a an intense rivalry.
Tennessee even put a video of one of Brian Billick's pre-game speeches on the scoreboard to fire up the Titans fans.
Though both of these teams had only been in their respective cities for five years, that's precisely what made this game so special.
Two up-and-coming franchises—who just so happened to have the NFL's top two defenses—battled it out with a trip to the AFC Championship on the line.
The Ravens won the game 24-10 thanks to a strip and score by Ray Lewis and went on to win the Super Bowl.
14. 2011 NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Jan. 23, 2011)
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The Bears and Packers have faced each other 182 times, the most meetings between two teams in NFL history.
But only four times have they made the playoffs during the same season, and only once have they played each other in the postseason.
That'll change this Sunday when Aaron Rodgers takes the Packers into Soldier Field to face Brian Urlacher and the Bears.
Chicago and Green Bay split the season series and last met in the regular season finale on Jan. 2, a Green Bay victory that earned the Packers a spot in the playoffs.
13. 1998 AFC Championship: New York Jets at Denver Broncos
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John Elway had won a Super Bowl ring the previous season, but he came back for another one during the 1998-99 campaign.
Everyone knew that this would be his last season in Denver and in the NFL.
But it was also Bill Parcells' last shot at leading a third team to an appearance in the Super Bowl.
As history tells us, Elway would get the win here and his second consecutive NFL championship.
12. 1993 NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys (Jan. 23, 1994)
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This matchup was one of three straight NFC Championship Games featuring the Cowboys and the 49ers.
But the real hype to the game began when Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson made an interesting comment on a Dallas radio station just a couple of days before the game:
"We're going to beat their rear ends, and then we're going to the Super Bowl. ... We will win. And you can print that in three-inch headlines," Johnson said.
San Francisco head coach George Seifert apparently responded, "Jimmy Johnson's got balls. I guess we'll find out soon whether they're made of brass or papier mâché."
Must have been brass, because the Cowboys once again beat the 49ers for the NFC crown.
11. 2010 AFC Divisional Round: New York Jets at New England Patriots
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This game went from AFC East rivalry to fodder for the tabloids quicker than you would think is humanly possible.
With the Jets coming off a 45-3 whupping at the hands of the Patriots, Wes Welker subtly referencing Rex Ryan's apparent involvement in a foot fetish video with his wife and Antonio Cromartie calling Tom Brady an A-hole (and saying, "F**k him"), the media was all over this one.
But when the clock finally struck midnight, it was the Jets that ruined New England's 14-2 season with a surprising victory and a trip to their second straight AFC Championship Game.
10. 2003 AFC Championship: Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots
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The previous season, the Colts and Patriots met in a huge battle between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
But Brady got the win there on his way to a Super Bowl ring.
In the 2003 AFC Championship, it was Manning's chance to avenge that loss and head to his first Super Bowl.
We all know what happened next—New England won again, and fans/analysts/media began to wonder whether Manning would ever win the big one.
9. 1990 NFC Championship: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers (Jan. 20, 1991)
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In 1990, the Giants and 49ers both started 10-0 before losing in Week 11, making their Week 12 matchup a precursor to that year's NFC Championship Game.
San Francisco won the regular season meeting 7-3, and the hype started about the two teams potentially meeting again in the playoffs.
And they did.
In a matchup of the league's top two scoring defenses, Jeff Hostetler filled in for the injured Phil Simms against the defending Super Bowl champs in the NFC title game.
Most people expected a blowout in favor of San Francisco, but Hostetler led the Giants to a surprise 15-13 win over Joe Montana's squad.
8. 2006 AFC Championship: New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
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Up to this point, Peyton Manning had been Tom Brady's whipping boy in the playoffs.
The case was closed—Brady would win several Super Bowl rings, while Manning would win zero.
Hold your horses, guys.
The Colts finally beat the Patriots, 38-34, in this AFC title game, and Manning made his first trip to the Super Bowl.
He'd go on to win it too.
7. 1981 NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers (Jan. 10, 1982)
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By now, NFL fans know this game because of "The Catch," but it was much more than that.
Joe Montana would explode onto the scene and start a decade of offensive dominance for the 49ers, beginning with his coming-out party in this 1981 NFC title game.
The 49ers and Cowboys weren't the historic franchises they'd later become, but a ton of fans tuned into this game.
According to the Nielsen ratings, this game was the 43rd highest-rated show of the entire 20th century and had more viewers than all four Super Bowls from 2001-04.
If that isn't anticipation, I don't know what is.
6. 1995 NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys
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Brett Favre and the Packers had taken care of the defending champion 49ers the week before this game.
But the NFC title game against Dallas was personal.
The Cowboys had eliminated the Packers from the playoffs for two straight seasons, and Green Bay was looking to avenge those losses.
It didn't happen, though.
The Packers were unsuccessful in their attempt.
5. Super Bowl XLIV: New Orleans Saints Vs. Indianapolis Colts
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Surprise, surprise—Peyton Manning had made it to another Super Bowl.
This time around, the New Orleans native would take on his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints.
Wrecked by Hurricane Katrina just five years before this game, New Orleans and the Saints became a national feel-good story for a city that desperately needed something to lift its spirits.
They got it.
Drew Brees, who's the most beloved person in the city, led the Saints to a thrilling Super Bowl victory, helping an entire city in the process.
4. 1987 AFC Championship: Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos (Jan. 18, 1988)
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The year prior to this game, the Broncos defeated the Browns in overtime after John Elway led Denver on a game-tying drive at the end of regulation that is now known simply as "The Drive."
Denver entered this game looking to make it back to the Super Bowl—and avenge its loss in the previous NFL championship game—while Cleveland hoped to turn the tables on the Broncos.
This game featured two of the league's top offenses and was expected to be a shootout, especially considering a slew of injuries in Denver's secondary.
The hype for this game cannot be forgotten.
"John Elway is not God," Browns defensive lineman Al Baker said before the game. "I'm happy we've got 45 men coming to play. I'm glad to be a Brown as opposed to being a guy who plays with Elway."
At the end of the day, he probably would have changed his mind.
Thanks to "The Fumble" by Earnest Byner in the final minute, the Broncos won the game, 38-33.
3. 1976 AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
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This was the fifth straight season in which the Raiders and Steelers met in the playoffs, with the last two meetings coming in the AFC Championship Game, both won by the Steelers.
These two teams had met early in the regular season, and things got a bit testy between both squads when Pittsburgh head coach Chuck Noll called Oakland's George Atkinson "the criminal element in pro football."
Atkinson, who had hit Lynn Swann with a cheap shot in the regular season game, filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against Noll.
Those tempers and emotions spilled over onto the field when Pittsburgh and Oakland met in the AFC title game for the third straight season.
Finally, the Raiders got their revenge, winning the game 24-7 to advance to the Super Bowl.
2. Super Bowl XLII: New England Patriots Vs. New York Giants
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The New England Patriots had set out do the unthinkable: join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated teams in NFL history.
They were 18-0 entering Super Bowl XLII and appeared to be on the verge of winning the game.
That was until the Giants' David Tyree hauled in this catch, setting up the game-winning touchdown from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress.
Just like that, New England's perfect season went up in smoke.
1. 1994 NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
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Entering this game, no AFC team had won the Super Bowl since 1983, while Dallas and San Francisco were meeting in the NFC Championship Game for the third straight season.
Sports Illustrated put Steve Young and Troy Aikman on its cover, deeming the matchup "The REAL Super Bowl."
There were 21 Pro Bowlers in this game (10 49ers and 11 Cowboys), and San Francisco had structured its defense basically so it could take down the Cowboys.
Add that to the fact that 49ers coach George Seifert's job was rumored to be on the line if he lost to Dallas again, and you have the makings for a classic game.
Well, the hype was there.
But the game wasn't all that good, as San Francisco jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and controlled the entire game before winning 38-28.
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