Packers Saints rivalry
Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 9:40 pm
One of the missed opportunities in NFL history is there was never a playoff matchup between the two great quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, despite the fact that their teams, Saints and Packers, won Super Bowls in consecutive years. In fact, the Packers and Saints have never met in the playoffs. The Saints are the only current NFC team the Packers have never met in the playoffs in their long history. Other teams, the Rams and Bills notably, have met all of their current conference opponents. The Packers in fact have played every other team but the Panthers more than once in the playoffs, several in multiple locations.
The Saints and Packers have both been in the playoffs in the same season six times without meeting up. This ties an NFC record. The league record for two teams being in the playoffs in the same conference and not meeting in the playoffs is nine for the Patriots and Bengals. That includes every season from 2011 to 2015, though the Patriots had a bye each of those years while the Bengals never advanced past the wild card round.
All six times the Saints and Packers could have met were Brees and Rodgers teams. The best chance was probably the first, in 2009, when the Packers lost in overtime to the Cardinals in the wild card round and would have faced the Saints had they won. The Packers' loss did allow Brees and Kurt Warner to meet in the playoffs. Brees would beat Warner, then Brett Favre (Vikings) and Peyton Manning (Colts) to become the second quarterback to defeat three other future Hall Of Fame quarterbacks on the the way to a Super Bowl victory. Troy Aikman had previously achieved this in 1993, beating Favre (Packers), Steve Young (49ers) and Jim Kelly (Bills.)
The next best chance was the most recent, 2020, when the Packers and the Saints had the top two seeds. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defeating the Saints quashed this hope, though it allowed a Brady/Rodgers matchup to take place instead.
Brees and Rodgers did wind up meeting six times in the regular season including the marquee matchup of the 2011 opening game featuring the last two Super Bowl winners. A 108 yard kickoff return by Randall Cobb helped the Packers to a 42-34 victory. Brees was tough for the Packers to stop, throwing 17 TD passes versus 3 interceptions, and better than Rodgers at 13 TDs and 7 INT, but the teams split the six games 3-3. Brees and the Saints wound up putting up 52 points against the Packers in a 2008 Monday night matchup, the only time the two teams have played on that night. In possibly the best game between the two teams, Rodgers' 4 TD passes edged Brees' 3 in a 28-27 victory in 2012.
Had the NFL been more cognizant of marquee matchups years ago, perhaps the schedule makers would have pitted the teams against each other in 1967, given the discord between free agent RB Jim Taylor and possibly Paul Hornung on the Saints as well against their old coach Lombardi. But the Packers and Saints didn't play that year. By the time they did, 1968, Taylor and Hornung were retired and Lombardi had resigned his coaching position.
Subsequent to that first meeting both teams struggled in the standings. The nadir of the series likely was a 1975 matchup of two 0-3 teams. The Packers break out to a 16-0 lead on a kickoff return, fumble return, and safety on a punt. But the offense is pitiful and the defense can't stop the league's worst attack. A Rich Szaro field goal caps a big comeback and gives the Saints a 20-19 victory, their first in the Superdome.
After that the Packers reel off seven straight victories to give them a lead in the series they have not relinquished. An interesting statistical tidbit is that while Brees and Rodgers both had four TD games against the other, neither holds the franchise record in this matchup. Rodgers is only tied for second with Favre and David Whitehurst as well. The architects of the 5 TD games are Lynn Dickey in a 1981 game, and Jameis Winston in 2021!
The Saints and Packers have both been in the playoffs in the same season six times without meeting up. This ties an NFC record. The league record for two teams being in the playoffs in the same conference and not meeting in the playoffs is nine for the Patriots and Bengals. That includes every season from 2011 to 2015, though the Patriots had a bye each of those years while the Bengals never advanced past the wild card round.
All six times the Saints and Packers could have met were Brees and Rodgers teams. The best chance was probably the first, in 2009, when the Packers lost in overtime to the Cardinals in the wild card round and would have faced the Saints had they won. The Packers' loss did allow Brees and Kurt Warner to meet in the playoffs. Brees would beat Warner, then Brett Favre (Vikings) and Peyton Manning (Colts) to become the second quarterback to defeat three other future Hall Of Fame quarterbacks on the the way to a Super Bowl victory. Troy Aikman had previously achieved this in 1993, beating Favre (Packers), Steve Young (49ers) and Jim Kelly (Bills.)
The next best chance was the most recent, 2020, when the Packers and the Saints had the top two seeds. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defeating the Saints quashed this hope, though it allowed a Brady/Rodgers matchup to take place instead.
Brees and Rodgers did wind up meeting six times in the regular season including the marquee matchup of the 2011 opening game featuring the last two Super Bowl winners. A 108 yard kickoff return by Randall Cobb helped the Packers to a 42-34 victory. Brees was tough for the Packers to stop, throwing 17 TD passes versus 3 interceptions, and better than Rodgers at 13 TDs and 7 INT, but the teams split the six games 3-3. Brees and the Saints wound up putting up 52 points against the Packers in a 2008 Monday night matchup, the only time the two teams have played on that night. In possibly the best game between the two teams, Rodgers' 4 TD passes edged Brees' 3 in a 28-27 victory in 2012.
Had the NFL been more cognizant of marquee matchups years ago, perhaps the schedule makers would have pitted the teams against each other in 1967, given the discord between free agent RB Jim Taylor and possibly Paul Hornung on the Saints as well against their old coach Lombardi. But the Packers and Saints didn't play that year. By the time they did, 1968, Taylor and Hornung were retired and Lombardi had resigned his coaching position.
Subsequent to that first meeting both teams struggled in the standings. The nadir of the series likely was a 1975 matchup of two 0-3 teams. The Packers break out to a 16-0 lead on a kickoff return, fumble return, and safety on a punt. But the offense is pitiful and the defense can't stop the league's worst attack. A Rich Szaro field goal caps a big comeback and gives the Saints a 20-19 victory, their first in the Superdome.
After that the Packers reel off seven straight victories to give them a lead in the series they have not relinquished. An interesting statistical tidbit is that while Brees and Rodgers both had four TD games against the other, neither holds the franchise record in this matchup. Rodgers is only tied for second with Favre and David Whitehurst as well. The architects of the 5 TD games are Lynn Dickey in a 1981 game, and Jameis Winston in 2021!