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It is Tuesday again, which means it is time for another Packers series history report. Today, I will be talking about Green Bay's history against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks entered the NFL in 1976 (along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and played in the AFC from 1977 until the 2001 season, after which they switched to the NFC. As a result, there are not many games in this overall series (just 15 including playoffs) so there aren't as many games to highlight.
The series overview will be after the jump.
This is a rather short series, and the Packers lead the all-time regular season series 8-5. The Packers also lead the playoff series 2-0, with both games being among the most memorable Packers games in recent history. A curious note about this series is that of the 15 overall games in this series, 11 have been Packers home games. The only times the Packers traveled to Seattle to date have been 1987, 1996, 2006, and 2008.
The Packers and Seahawks played three times from 1976-1981, and the Packers won all three games (one in Green Bay, two in Milwaukee). Their point total of 45 points scored in the 1978 game was their highest point total in any game since the 1969 season. Only one of these games was within a touchdown, this being despite the fact that Seattle was not a bad team in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1984, the Seahawks were among the NFL's better teams, and they went into Milwaukee and beat the Packers 30-24. Seattle would end up winning the next two games in 1987 and 1990 to even the series at 3-3.
Green Bay won in Seattle 31-10 on its way to the Super Bowl under head coach Mike Holmgren. After the 1998 season, Holmgren left to become the head coach of Seattle and his first return trip to Green Bay was a successful one as the Seahawks left Lambeau Field with a 27-7 victory in the 1999 season.
2003 was the first time the teams met as NFC teams since the 1976 season. The Packers scored touchdowns on five straight possessions to beat Seattle 35-13, but most everyone remembers the playoff game from that season between the teams (more on this later, with videos for both games).
In 2005, the Packers again beat Seattle, but this was because the Seahawks were resting their starters. The victory gave Green Bay a 4-12 record on the season, and it was widely believed to be Favre's last year in the NFL. Favre returned for two more seasons, and in 2006, the Packers lost in a snowstorm in Seattle, 34-24. Shaun Alexander ran for over 200 yards in that game, and Favre and Matt Hasselbeck combined for six interceptions.
In 2008, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a 27-17 victory at Qwest Field in Seattle, his first game (and win) against Seattle. The following season, the Packers clinched a playoff berth by pounding the Seahawks 48-10 in Lambeau Field.
As mentioned earlier, the two playoff games between the teams are very memorable to this day. After the 2003 season, the Seahawks returned to Lambeau Field hoping to avenge a 35-13 loss to the Packers earlier in the season. This game was back-and-forth, and neither team held momentum for long. It went into overtime, where Matt Hasselbeck famously said "We want the ball, and we're going to score." After an exchange of punts, Hasselbeck threw an interception that Al Harris returned for the game-winning touchdown as the Packers won 33-27.
Four years later, in the 2007 playoffs, the Packers and Seahawks met for a second playoff game, this time in the divisional round. At the beginning of the game, Ryan Grant, who was making his first postseason start, fumbled twice, and the miscues led to two Seahawks touchdowns and a quick 14-0 Seattle lead. Grant redeemed himself, rushing for over 200 yards amid a heavy snowstorm that caused near-whiteout conditions and obscured many of the yard markers. The Packers scored touchdowns on six straight possessions, while holding Seattle to two field goals from the first quarter on. Green Bay won 42-20 and advanced to the NFC Championship game. NFL.com later featured this game in a special "Seahawks vs. Packers revisited" segment with Wayne Larrivee's radio calls. Note: this video is 13 minutes long.
What are your memories of the Packers playing the Seahawks?
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