Best Packers Plays of All Time Bracket, Day 2: An NFC North Dagger enters the bracket along with an iconic Super Bowl XLV moment

Week 1 of the NFL Preseason is getting underway and our Best Packers Plays of All Time bracket is headed into Day 2. If you missed the opening round of voting, no need to panic! You can still vote on the top of the bracket here. Today’s matchups include a few plays from the Packers’ run to Super Bowl XLV, as well as the origin of the best celebration in NFL history.

If you missed yesterday’s voting, it works like this. We’ll be spending the next few days voting on the first round of the bracket below, before moving on to round two where our current plays will meet the top three seeds with byes. Voting on the first round will stay open until Monday so be sure to vote soon. With that out of the way, it’s time to examine today’s matchups!

We’re moving down the bracket today as we examine the next four matchups. Our first matchup of the day is Aaron Rodgers’ hail mary to Randall Cobb against the Giants in the 2017 NFC Wild Card game vs. Nick Collins’ iconic pick six against the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

#21: Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary to Randall Cobb vs. the Giants

Another day, another Hail Mary. After an ugly first half in the 2017 NFC Wild Card game, it looked like the Packers would go into the locker room up 7-6. But you know the drill. Rodgers, Cobb, different plans. On 4th and 2, Rodgers let this one fly from his own 48-yard line and thanks to a baffling misjudgment by most of the Giants secondary, found Randall Cobb in the back of the end zone as the Packers went on to coast the rest of the game. The play and the ensuing comfortable win were eerily reminiscent of a play in the same end zone five years before. Eli Manning found Hakeem Nicks for a Hail Mary that deflated the Packers on their quest to repeat and helped propel the Giants to the upset. Think of this as a nice sort of revenge for Rodgers and Cobb.

#12: Nick Collins Pick Six vs. the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV

If you asked someone for 10 of the most iconic images in Packers history, it’s likely they’ll include the shot of Collins in the end zone of AT&T Stadium, arms outstretched after taking a Ben Roethlisberger throw to the house to put the Packers up 14-0. Collins, a Packers Hall of Fame inductee, would only play in 2 more NFL games after the Super Bowl due to a career-ending neck injury. But he certainly left his stamp on the game in a short time and will stand forever as a Super Bowl hero.

Our next matchup is between Tramon Williams’ brilliant pick six against the Falcons in the 2011 NFC Divisional Round vs. Brett Favre’s overtime bomb to Greg Jennings against the Broncos in 2007.

#13: Tramon Williams Pick Six vs. the Falcons

In one of Aaron Rodgers’ finest games ever, the lasting image may actually be Tramon Williams gliding into the end zone off of a Matt Ryan interception near the end of the first half. After going up by 7 with 42 seconds left in the half, the Packers delivered what felt like an early dagger in the form of the pick 6. With the Falcons driving into Green Bay territory to get a quick score before halftime, Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Roddy White and ran 70 yards for the score. “They tried to bite off more yardage, and they just. Got. Burned!”

#20: Brett Favre Overtime Touchdown to Greg Jennings vs. the Broncos

Not one to rest on his laurels, Favre made more memories against the Broncos on Monday Night Football just one month after breaking Dan Marino’s touchdown record. The Packers won the overtime coin toss in this one, and on the first play, Favre found Greg Jennings for an 82-yard touchdown, the second-longest TD pass in Monday Night history at the time. Like with every aging QB, Favre was facing the dreaded arm strength questions leading up to the game. Folks fairly wondering if the gunslinger could really still sling it. It only made sense that Favre would have some magic up his sleeve on a Monday Night, the day he’d already made so many lasting memories.

Our third matchup of today is between Jamaal Williams’ spectacular catch against the Chiefs in 2019 vs. Aaron Rodgers’ heave to Randall Cobb on 4th and 8 against the Bears in 2012.

#29: Jamaal Williams’ Catch vs. the Chiefs

In terms of pure athletic ability, this has to be one of Rodgers’ most impressive throws. And to think it didn’t even go as planned. As with most of the throws on this list, it began with Rodgers scrambling, waiting for any sort of opening in the defense. Finally, he saw Jimmy Graham in a box-out situation and lofted it up while fading away and being hit. However, he put too much air on the ball. Luckily for us, Jamaal Williams was waiting in the corner with an equally improbable catch. What looked like a throwaway was just another moment of brilliance for 12.

#4: “4th and 8” to win the North

Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb have crushed the souls of Bears fans as a hobby for nearly a decade now, but no moment stands above the NFC North winning bomb to Cobb in 2013. The 2013 season was a tumultuous one for the Packers. After starting 5-2, Rodgers was lost to a broken collarbone in the 1st quarter against the Bears in week 9. A Thanksgiving blowout to the Lions left them at 5-6-1 with little hope for the playoffs. But with a little luck and a lot of Matt Flynn magic, the Packers went 2-1 over the next 3 weeks, setting up Rodgers to return for a week 17, winner takes all showdown with the Bears to decide the NFC North. Cobb himself was returning from an injury as well. With less than a minute left in the game, down 1 with one last gasp left, Rodgers scrambled left to evade the rush and thanks to a timely John Kuhn block on Julius Peppers, was able to heave it downfield to Cobb for a 48-yard touchdown. Chris Conte expected Cobb to stop at the sticks, but he and Rodgers had a different idea, leaving Cobb wide open for the score.

In our final matchup of Day 2, we have LeRoy Butler creating the Lambeau Leap vs. Brett Favre’s 81-yard touchdown to Antonio Freeman in Super Bowl XXXI.

#19: LeRoy Butler Creating the Lambeau Leap

While countless NFL fan experience pop-ups may let you throw a ball like Rodgers, or run the 40 like Aaron Jones, there is no more interactive experience in sports than the Lambeau Leap. Claustrophobic, sweaty, most likely covered in beer, but oh so worth it. The Leap was first pulled off by LeRoy Butler, who caused a fumble that popped into Reggie White’s massive hands. As White was headed to score, he flipped the Ball to Butler just before being tackled. While he may have landed a little short on the jump, there were more than enough eager fans waiting to pull him up. And on the first touchdown of his career, the should be Hall of Famer birthed a tradition like no other.

#14: Brett Favre to Antonio Freeman in Super Bowl XXXI vs. the Patriots

Before Howard’s miraculous kickoff return, with the Packers down 14-10 in the second quarter, Favre threw a strike down the right sideline to Antonio Freeman. Lawyer Milloy and Willie Clay gave chase but Freeman was gone. An 81-yard dagger that set a since broken Super Bowl record and set the tone for the Packers to win their first title since 1967.

That concludes day 2 of our bracket, as we wait to see the fate of iconic Packers plays from a couple of Super Bowl runs and the creation of Green Bay’s iconic celebration. On Monday, we’ll be moving on to day 3 and finishing the first round of the bracket. Be sure to cast your vote here and check out @acmepackingco on Twitter for reminders about voting concluding.