Prior to the Devine debut, the Packers had last broken 40 in the final week of the 1969 season in a 45-28 win over the Cardinals.Jay Z wrote:How can you not like a game where John Spilis set a career high in receiving yards?!?Joe Zagorski wrote:Rupert, being a Packers fan, I didn't care much for that game (LOL).
Joe Zagorski
The next time the Packers scored 40, it would again be against the Giants - in 1975. Better luck for coach Starr and the Packers, with a 40-14 victory in that game.
In the Lombardi era, the Pack broke that threshold 17 times and when they won those games, there was usually no doubt: the average winning margin was just under 34 points. The closest of the 17 games was Week 13 of the 1965 season, when they beat the Colts in foggy Baltimore, 42-27.
Only twice did a Lombardi Packers team give up 40 or more: in his first year, they were blown out at home by the Rams 45-6 in Week 4. Two years later, they lost at Baltimore 45-21 in Week 8.
The Devine loss marked the second straight year that they had opened the season giving up 40 or more. They had been humiliated 40-0 by the Lions the year before.