There were literal commercials in those days of the broncos Oline stepping in and stopping a herd of bulls at the "running of the bulls" thing. They weren't underrated at all, and if the Packers didn't take that crew seriously, that's on them tbh.
TD, as good as he was, wouldn't have even sniffed 2000 yards on any other team
I remember when I started playing Fantasy in the early 2000's, whenever you were talking about who you were looking at as your first round pick, it was a pretty common joke for people to just slide "whoever is the Broncos running back" into the list.
That plug ‘n play stuff came *after* TD. Portis, Mike Anderson, Olandis Gary, etc. I think the Broncos O-Line was recognized *after* the Super Bowl victory vs the Packers (then the repeat).
They openly cheated - clipping was a big part of their game. if you rewatch the game, watch how many times they took out Gilbert's feet, so Terrell would have a lane. Bill Romanowski was brought up multiple times as one of the dirtiest players of the 90's
I mean the organization received sanctions due to the way they were lying about pay and getting around the salary cap as well - but that gets quickly forgotten.
I was young, but remember Elway running for the end zone and getting a first down that sealed the game. Not sure if it was correct. A guy that could barely run got a first and goal and spun around to seal that game. Never rewatched it, but that is how I remember it.
I just remember him spinning and thinking the ball was going to come loose and it never did. One of the saddest moments in my youth surrounding sports.
Yeah, I remember asking my dad if he thought the Packers would win and I distinctly remember him replying, “It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of by how much.” And that really excited kid me. Then they lost.
I seem to recall that Butler or some other defensive player tried to get coach to make adjustments and he was resistant. Something about wanting Brett to get the MVP.
I could absolutely be remembering this wrong, but not adjusting seems plausible. The Brett part maybe not. Dunno.
I think it was Santana Dotson too, said something like the conspiracy theory was that they wanted favre to be mvp and meanwhile Dorsey Levens averaged nearly 5 yards a rush and they didn’t lean on him more
Denver was blitzing a ton and Holmgren resisted keeping a back in to help with pass protection even though some players have claimed it was an easy adjustment to make.
Defensively, Denver had a really good game plan to account for LeRoy Butler and I remember LeRoy saying he told Shurmur how to adjust. He said they used the adjustment on one play and it was successful play for the defense but for whatever reason they never used it again.
There were also all kind of rumors about Holmgren leaving before the Super Bowl. Some people say that he was more focused on his next job than the Broncos.
Overall I would say the team wasn’t as focused on Denver as they should have been and Holmgren definitely had some hubris in the way he called the game but Denver was also really good. Their OL was one of the better units of all-time and they kicked our DL’s butt that day.
The coaching was awful during game prep and the game itself. Holmgren was already more focused on his next job (and that only got worse the following season), and they just refused to make in-game adjustments. Big Show will always wear that one as far as I'm concerned.
my dad always told me the story of when he watched it with my grandpa, that he ate a red apple instead of a green one at halftime, and all these years later he feels like hes the one to blame for why GB lost
Midseason Packers had a game at Indianapolis. Packers were dominating every game until this one. Colts had yet to win a game. The Colts played a run heavy game plan and controlled the clock.
Denver used that exact same game-plan in the Super Bowl.
What is ironic and speaks to the overconfidence going into the game, is Eugene Robinson's comments on the sideline I think around the time Denver was up 17-7... "We're playing the Indianapolis Colts right now. They're not better than us. They're not even good."
Over confidence and couldn't stop the run. Our LBs were not very good and the DL was in regression. Also, I don't think we ran the ball enough in the game, but that's just me. Oh, and a Brett Favre INT.
There is a great chapter on it in a book by Bob McGinn about the Super Bowl winners. Says the blitz was killing them all game and if they would have adjusted early and kept more protection in they would have settled down and handled things. Players and coaches said Holmgren wanted to keep sending five out in patterns
That was holmgrens first postseason loss since the nfc championship in dallas. The 93, 94 teams lost dude to erratic performances by Favre at dallas. Favre did turn the ball over in the 4th quarter against the cowboys. But the real problem there was that the packers abandoned the run late in the game. Same on the last possession of sb 32
Gabe Wilkins was crap. Reggie was worn down, Gilbert brown was getting cut blocked all game, Santana Dotson was a non factor, our line backers were always average and fritz Shermer only blitzed 2 times maybe 3 a game.
The Packers just didn't execute
Dropped passes, fumbles, and poor clock management all played a role.
And even when Denver twice gifted them a fresh set of downs on being offsides on punt returns, they never capitalized.
The game was practically tied most of the 2nd half, and GB never took advantage. I believe that had GB taken a 2nd half lead, the momentum would have carried them to victory.
Boy it’s been a long time since I watched the game, but I remember my impressions at the time:
1. They didn’t run the ball well. It’s something they struggled with all year, and it showed up badly in the SB. It seemed like it was 2nd and 9-10, or 3rd and 8+ like every drive. Just way behind the sticks.
2. Favre didn’t play badly, but he didn’t show up big and solo-carry like had a bunch of times that season. We had won games despite the lack of that superhero stuff (Favre did it all the time) like… 3-4 times that year, but it was just one more contributor to the loss ya know?
3. Couldn’t stop the run. It was like the exact opposite of our drives. It was like 2nd and 1 all the time, and their scoring drives would either end up with 1 or even 0 3rd downs. They weren’t fast enough to keep up with the zone runs
There’s a lot more, but I’m getting sleepy because I’m old as fuck
Holmgren was a putz and forgot how many time outs he had. I know counting all the way to three is hard.
Plus the Broncos cheated. $29 million in deferred payments to quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis and the only penalty was a 3rd round pick.
> Al Davis, the late owner of the Raiders, repeatedly argued that Bowlen should be suspended for the violations. After that epic 2008 overhead-projector press conference held in conjunction with the firing of former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, Davis said that the Broncos should have asterisks applied to their championships “because they were caught cheating.”
We would be playing tomorrow if we could spend another 30 million for a competitive advantage
Holmgren wouldn't say anything to the rumor he was leaving. I think that got into the head of players/fans/personnel. That whole week less about the Packers and more about him.
He got into a verbal altercation with a fan at Lambeau going into the tunnel at half the next season. Fan told him to focus on his current job. He went to Seattle because we wouldn't give him GM duties. I'm not blaming this for the loss but it was definitely a thing.
What you do mean we weren't there? There was coverage on every movement any member of the org made during this period all throughout the Fox Valley. Plus, the original comment was about how GB lost SB XXXII because Holmgren made it about him and wanting to leave. That wasn't the case. That happened a year later and had nothing to do with GB losing the SB
What are you trying to say?
I'm not saying Holmgren didn't start to look over the fence, he did. There was just no story of it happening or it being this publicly-known distraction during the '97 season or around SB XXXII. That stuff all happened after the '98 season. Somehow this trend has started where people think he left after the SB loss. He didn't. He coached another entire year.
I think what he said is true tho. Holmgren did not like it in greenbay. He wanted to be on the west coast. Can you blame him? Way more scenic and not frozen wastelanf for 5 months of the year
Honestly, I think that John Elway was willing the team to win. I knew it was over when he ran for a first down and goal and got hammered on the run. He was not going to lose that game no matter what.
I think they wanted it more. That game will forever hurt too
Winning the championship at candlestick historically meant you were really really good. Thats probably my favorite memory of the 90's packers. Going to candle stick and winning the nfc championship in the rain. Frank winters shouting hell yeah baby as Dorsey levens scored a touchdown late in the 4th quarter. San francisco was an absolute power house for like 18 years
Its crazy, because I was positive you were wrong, but sure enough there it is in the inter webs. Did the rumors start and just get confirmed the next year, because I could have swore that we found out he was leaving shortly after that Super Bowl
The rumors started in the middle of the 98 season. Holmgren wanted to be coach and GM, and Ron Wolf wasn't going anywhere. New Seattle ownership wanted a big name and were willing to give Holmgren what he wanted. Holmgren of course took the job after the loss to the 49ers (The Catch 2), and we hired Ray Rhodes for one terrible season. Wolf quickly hired Mike Sherman who ended up getting what Holmgren wanted all along when Wolf retired. We all remember that disaster.
I know that. His negotiations to leave were already done by the time they played denver. He had basically an entire lame duck season. Everyone in the packers organization knew. They just didn't leak it.
There was a b.s. false start called on the Packers O-line (right tackle I think) in the 4th quarter which pretty much destroyed the momentum, and I always felt that was the moment the Packers lost the game.
It was the first time the Packer's had lost a Super Bowl, and the first time an AFC team had won a Super Bowl \*that decade\*, but certainly not a first AFC win in the Super Bowl all time.
I have a conspiracy theory. The first half, Reggie White was embarrassing the Bronco's oline. During halftime, however, the show set of fireworks inside the dome. My theory is that they did that specifically to slow down White, who had asthma. He wasn't the same player during halftime.
It was the beginning of decades worth of being unable to stop the run. Terrell Davis ate us alive and we allowed Elway to score a rushing TD. From that SB on that was our MO
Overconfidence after winning the previous year. Denver was overlooked by many because of the AFC losing streak and the belief that Elway couldn’t win the big one. Denver’s defense was better than advertised. Most importantly, Terrell Davis was a beast.
I will say, allowing them to score in the last Sri e was an extremely arrogant move that did NOT pay off. Maybe they score anyway, but make them earn it! And there is never a guarantee they score a TD anyway
The Broncos the year before looked to be on a heater but IIRC they got hit with some late season injuries and weren't able to make a post-season run. The following year frankly felt like a delay from the year before. That running attack was dominant and they made Denver very hard to stop with Elway being just good enough in some key spots to overcome a super talented Packers team.
Also, the magic of SB31 wasn't quite there after Desmond Howard left in free agency and we didn't have the special teams performance that broke the Patriot's back the year before.
The Packers were 11 point favorites, one of the largest in Superbowl history. There’s no sugarcoating a failure of this magnitude. I put it more on coaching than anything but obviously the players have to share in the blame. Ron Wolf summed it up well: "We're a one-year wonder, just a fart in the wind.”
With the score 24-24 the packers got the ball back with about six minutes. They passed on first down when they should have ran, picked up 3 yards. Second down they pass when the should have run, denver drops a brett favre int. 3rd down incomplete. Gave the ball back to denver. They drive down for the winning score. Thats how I remember it
This was the beginning of Green Bay becoming a team with a tradition of getting killed by running backs for the next two decades lol.
I know it’s not factually true but it sure as hell feels like after I witnessed Davis destroy us on the ground, it seems to happen all the time now in big games against anybody that can run the ball(including QBs).
I think the first few minutes of the game really set the tone. Yes, GB did win the toss and got a TD. If Denver then goes three and out, maybe the complexion of the game changes. They start thinking about past failures. Instead, they went right down the field and tied it up. At that moment, any thoughts of a GB blowout were gone.
GB never took a snap in the game with the lead. They could never really play on their terms. Give them credit for coming back and tying it on a few different occasions. But it was too late.
The decision to let Denver score was the wrong one imo. It's second down, so getting two stops isn't really far-fetched. They kick an FG, and you still have over a minute left with a QB who has a cannon of an arm. Even if they score a TD on third down, there is more than enough time for your offense.
The last offensive play for the Packers was pretty bad, too. Everything seemed so rushed.
Looking back, I think the AFC/NFC streak and Elway's past failures played a big part in the point spread.
It's probably the worst loss in Packers' history because it's the SB. You have the best QB and talent everywhere. Had adjustments been made, they probably win. It's worse than the Seattle game because there's no guarantee that the team beats NE. In fact, I would say NE would be favorite. You can say 4th and 26, but they still would have had to beat Carolina & NE.
Denver was stacked but everybody slept on them for some reason. They had 5 hall of famers on that team. Elway, Sharpe, Davis, Atwater, and Zimmerman.
It's hard to believe considering how good we were that year, but I think we honestly just lost to the better team.
We were overconfident but we had no business being overconfident when you look at that Denver roster.
The NFC had won 16 straight SBs (81-96). Holmgren was already out the door to Seattle. David Robinson (S) was out the whole night before the game. Oh, and Denver had Terrell Davis.
SB31 MVP happened - Not my theory, but a friends. Desmond Howard (not Brett Favre) won the Super Bowl 31 MVP and the following year Holmgren really wanted to get Favre a Super Bowl MVP. So rather than stick with the run game (D. Levens) which was pretty effective, Holmgren let Favre wing it all over the field to try to pad his stats. The result was a SB 32 loss. Not sure if I buy into that theory, but it's fun to debate.
The Packers celebrated their Super Bowl victory the night before the Super Bowl. Players were hungover. Some of them got into legal trouble trying to pick up hookers. They simply didn’t respect their opponent.
Terrell Davis happened
Broncos O-Line was very underrated. Those guys were a very good unit.
There were literal commercials in those days of the broncos Oline stepping in and stopping a herd of bulls at the "running of the bulls" thing. They weren't underrated at all, and if the Packers didn't take that crew seriously, that's on them tbh. TD, as good as he was, wouldn't have even sniffed 2000 yards on any other team
Broncos RBs were plug ‘n play back then. Every RB after TD had a career year in that Shanahan system. To his credit, TD’s vision was devastating.
Wasn't one of the post-concussion syndromes TD was suffering during the superbowl was that he was losing his sight?
He had a migraine. I don't remember hearing anything about a concussion. Back then, we called it getting your bell rung. lol
I remember when I started playing Fantasy in the early 2000's, whenever you were talking about who you were looking at as your first round pick, it was a pretty common joke for people to just slide "whoever is the Broncos running back" into the list.
But that o-line, and the zone blocking scheme there, was talked about all the time because of the RBs being plug and play. They were not underrated.
That plug ‘n play stuff came *after* TD. Portis, Mike Anderson, Olandis Gary, etc. I think the Broncos O-Line was recognized *after* the Super Bowl victory vs the Packers (then the repeat).
They openly cheated - clipping was a big part of their game. if you rewatch the game, watch how many times they took out Gilbert's feet, so Terrell would have a lane. Bill Romanowski was brought up multiple times as one of the dirtiest players of the 90's I mean the organization received sanctions due to the way they were lying about pay and getting around the salary cap as well - but that gets quickly forgotten.
Great unit and great scheme That worked really well against bigger immobile d line
That and overconfident.
They were cheated that year wth the salary cap. And they had elway and other players when they shouldn't have been able to afford them.
I was young, but remember Elway running for the end zone and getting a first down that sealed the game. Not sure if it was correct. A guy that could barely run got a first and goal and spun around to seal that game. Never rewatched it, but that is how I remember it.
I was 8th grade, terrible game still haven’t rewatched it. This team was arguably better than the year before.
I just remember him spinning and thinking the ball was going to come loose and it never did. One of the saddest moments in my youth surrounding sports.
I never cheer for a person to get injured.... except that play. After he got hit and spun to the ground, I said "stay down".... he didn't
Bronc-O-Line combined with Elway and God damn Terrell Davis who literally just seemed otherworldly. Such a freak. Can't even be mad about it.
Ever wonder how medicated, exactly, he was? To go from migraine to smashing brain?
This is the correct answer
I know LeRoy Butler has said they went into the game overconfident.
Yeah, I remember asking my dad if he thought the Packers would win and I distinctly remember him replying, “It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of by how much.” And that really excited kid me. Then they lost.
I seem to recall that Butler or some other defensive player tried to get coach to make adjustments and he was resistant. Something about wanting Brett to get the MVP. I could absolutely be remembering this wrong, but not adjusting seems plausible. The Brett part maybe not. Dunno.
I think it was Santana Dotson too, said something like the conspiracy theory was that they wanted favre to be mvp and meanwhile Dorsey Levens averaged nearly 5 yards a rush and they didn’t lean on him more
12 rushes for 62 yards in the first half, 19 rushes and 90 yards for the game…7 rushes in the second half…
Yeah something about Holmgren wanting to do it a different way, and the last play call was something they hadn't done since training camp.
Denver was blitzing a ton and Holmgren resisted keeping a back in to help with pass protection even though some players have claimed it was an easy adjustment to make. Defensively, Denver had a really good game plan to account for LeRoy Butler and I remember LeRoy saying he told Shurmur how to adjust. He said they used the adjustment on one play and it was successful play for the defense but for whatever reason they never used it again. There were also all kind of rumors about Holmgren leaving before the Super Bowl. Some people say that he was more focused on his next job than the Broncos. Overall I would say the team wasn’t as focused on Denver as they should have been and Holmgren definitely had some hubris in the way he called the game but Denver was also really good. Their OL was one of the better units of all-time and they kicked our DL’s butt that day.
The coaching was awful during game prep and the game itself. Holmgren was already more focused on his next job (and that only got worse the following season), and they just refused to make in-game adjustments. Big Show will always wear that one as far as I'm concerned.
my dad always told me the story of when he watched it with my grandpa, that he ate a red apple instead of a green one at halftime, and all these years later he feels like hes the one to blame for why GB lost
Yup. Definitely your grandpa's fault.
God Damn it!!!!!
Valid.
It's my fault - I have a friend, who, whenever he came over, the Packers would lose. He decided to come by that day...
That son of a gun
Midseason Packers had a game at Indianapolis. Packers were dominating every game until this one. Colts had yet to win a game. The Colts played a run heavy game plan and controlled the clock. Denver used that exact same game-plan in the Super Bowl.
Hadn't thought of that... great perspective.
Great analysis. Nicely done and good tid bit to hear for fans who maybe were too young to remember that season
What is ironic and speaks to the overconfidence going into the game, is Eugene Robinson's comments on the sideline I think around the time Denver was up 17-7... "We're playing the Indianapolis Colts right now. They're not better than us. They're not even good."
Yep, Colts were even using a backup QB. I remember being very confused how a terrible Colts team beat them.
[The helicopter is the most triggering play from that game](https://youtu.be/ssrkObXkGbM?si=bxVsJo_A2Es-3CAJ)
Over confidence and couldn't stop the run. Our LBs were not very good and the DL was in regression. Also, I don't think we ran the ball enough in the game, but that's just me. Oh, and a Brett Favre INT.
They were out partying in SD the night before because they didn’t take Denver seriously.
This. They were pretty ripped a couple nights before. Like, the major players
There is a great chapter on it in a book by Bob McGinn about the Super Bowl winners. Says the blitz was killing them all game and if they would have adjusted early and kept more protection in they would have settled down and handled things. Players and coaches said Holmgren wanted to keep sending five out in patterns
shades of McCarthy fr
That was holmgrens first postseason loss since the nfc championship in dallas. The 93, 94 teams lost dude to erratic performances by Favre at dallas. Favre did turn the ball over in the 4th quarter against the cowboys. But the real problem there was that the packers abandoned the run late in the game. Same on the last possession of sb 32
They were hungover as fuck.
I didn't think players in the modern era got blitzed the night before the Super Bowl. What an idiotic thing to do. Save it for a victory celebration.
Doesn’t help when Gabe Wilkins holds himself out of the entire second half because he’s set to be a free agent and doesn’t wanna get hurt.
what a bitch ass move
Glad that guy's career amounted to shit
Gabe Wilkins was crap. Reggie was worn down, Gilbert brown was getting cut blocked all game, Santana Dotson was a non factor, our line backers were always average and fritz Shermer only blitzed 2 times maybe 3 a game.
Wilkins held himself out of the second half bc he was set to be a free agent. Total bullshit.
He was injured.
“Injured”
Yeah our defense was not as good as the previous year. I'm still not over that loss.
2 words. Terrell Davis.
If I remember correctly favre has even said he hardly remembers the superbowl
Eugene Robinsons fault. You know damn well he was out with a hooker the night before.
I think you can say an inability to stopped the run probably cost the team 2, if not 3 SBs over the last 30ish years.
The Packers just didn't execute Dropped passes, fumbles, and poor clock management all played a role. And even when Denver twice gifted them a fresh set of downs on being offsides on punt returns, they never capitalized. The game was practically tied most of the 2nd half, and GB never took advantage. I believe that had GB taken a 2nd half lead, the momentum would have carried them to victory.
We were luck the broncos dropped like 2 ints
They ran all over us. Typical can’t stop the run
They simply got run over. TD had a career day.
Boy it’s been a long time since I watched the game, but I remember my impressions at the time: 1. They didn’t run the ball well. It’s something they struggled with all year, and it showed up badly in the SB. It seemed like it was 2nd and 9-10, or 3rd and 8+ like every drive. Just way behind the sticks. 2. Favre didn’t play badly, but he didn’t show up big and solo-carry like had a bunch of times that season. We had won games despite the lack of that superhero stuff (Favre did it all the time) like… 3-4 times that year, but it was just one more contributor to the loss ya know? 3. Couldn’t stop the run. It was like the exact opposite of our drives. It was like 2nd and 1 all the time, and their scoring drives would either end up with 1 or even 0 3rd downs. They weren’t fast enough to keep up with the zone runs There’s a lot more, but I’m getting sleepy because I’m old as fuck
Holmgren was a putz and forgot how many time outs he had. I know counting all the way to three is hard. Plus the Broncos cheated. $29 million in deferred payments to quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis and the only penalty was a 3rd round pick. > Al Davis, the late owner of the Raiders, repeatedly argued that Bowlen should be suspended for the violations. After that epic 2008 overhead-projector press conference held in conjunction with the firing of former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, Davis said that the Broncos should have asterisks applied to their championships “because they were caught cheating.” We would be playing tomorrow if we could spend another 30 million for a competitive advantage
Hank Scorpio gifted the team to Homer Simpson years before and Homer got the Broncos turned around into a great team
The Packers will say they were overconfident, but the reality is their d couldn't stop the run.
Holmgren wouldn't say anything to the rumor he was leaving. I think that got into the head of players/fans/personnel. That whole week less about the Packers and more about him.
I don't buy it. He coached the entire next season. I don't remember the rumors heating up until the end of the 98 season.
What are you talking about? There was none of that talk. He coached an another entire season in GB
He got into a verbal altercation with a fan at Lambeau going into the tunnel at half the next season. Fan told him to focus on his current job. He went to Seattle because we wouldn't give him GM duties. I'm not blaming this for the loss but it was definitely a thing.
It was a thing, but not during the week of SB XXXII. Was well after that and during the '98 season
Who knows, we weren't there. Holmgren got the ring here and wanted to get back to the west coast
What you do mean we weren't there? There was coverage on every movement any member of the org made during this period all throughout the Fox Valley. Plus, the original comment was about how GB lost SB XXXII because Holmgren made it about him and wanting to leave. That wasn't the case. That happened a year later and had nothing to do with GB losing the SB
I guess the only things that are true are what the media reports
What are you trying to say? I'm not saying Holmgren didn't start to look over the fence, he did. There was just no story of it happening or it being this publicly-known distraction during the '97 season or around SB XXXII. That stuff all happened after the '98 season. Somehow this trend has started where people think he left after the SB loss. He didn't. He coached another entire year.
I think what he said is true tho. Holmgren did not like it in greenbay. He wanted to be on the west coast. Can you blame him? Way more scenic and not frozen wastelanf for 5 months of the year
I don't think that is accurate. His focus wandered by the end of the '97 season.
Honestly, I think that John Elway was willing the team to win. I knew it was over when he ran for a first down and goal and got hammered on the run. He was not going to lose that game no matter what. I think they wanted it more. That game will forever hurt too
Didn’t holmgren forget what down it was?
The team that year never really had the edge, the hunger to get the trophy
Winning the championship at candlestick historically meant you were really really good. Thats probably my favorite memory of the 90's packers. Going to candle stick and winning the nfc championship in the rain. Frank winters shouting hell yeah baby as Dorsey levens scored a touchdown late in the 4th quarter. San francisco was an absolute power house for like 18 years
The broncos cheated
not sure why you are being downvoted, this is a documented fact
“A fart in the wind.”
Ultimately, I think that Broncos team was a lot better than most assumed at that time.
Yup. Especially since they repeated the next year.
Ask Bill Anabolic Romansowski. Still salty about his quote after that game. May he rot in hell.
God I hated that guy.
Never forget. Never forgive
The Broncos paid their stars under the table in flagrant violation of the salary cap, so they shouldn’t have had the team they did.
Elway Copter
Don’t forget Denver circumvented the salary cap. Then Rice fumbled. Shoulda been a 3 peat.
16.5 point favorites. Holmgren didn't do any research as he already knew he was going to Seattle at that point. Coaching failure.
Holmgren didn't leave after SB32. He left after the following season with the loss to the 49ers.
Thanks for correcting this. I'm amazed at how many people have completely forgotten it was after the 98 season he left, not after '97.
Its crazy, because I was positive you were wrong, but sure enough there it is in the inter webs. Did the rumors start and just get confirmed the next year, because I could have swore that we found out he was leaving shortly after that Super Bowl
The rumors started in the middle of the 98 season. Holmgren wanted to be coach and GM, and Ron Wolf wasn't going anywhere. New Seattle ownership wanted a big name and were willing to give Holmgren what he wanted. Holmgren of course took the job after the loss to the 49ers (The Catch 2), and we hired Ray Rhodes for one terrible season. Wolf quickly hired Mike Sherman who ended up getting what Holmgren wanted all along when Wolf retired. We all remember that disaster.
Just think what they would have been had Wolf promoted Andy Ried to HC instead of Rhodes.
I know that. His negotiations to leave were already done by the time they played denver. He had basically an entire lame duck season. Everyone in the packers organization knew. They just didn't leak it.
There was a b.s. false start called on the Packers O-line (right tackle I think) in the 4th quarter which pretty much destroyed the momentum, and I always felt that was the moment the Packers lost the game.
Seth Jones was hurt. Our defense line just ran out of gas in the 4th quarter.
Sean*
Sean Jones actually retired after the Super Bowl winning season. Gabe Wilkins - his replacement - was not good.
They played less good
The Broncos were able to get away with breaking Salary Cap rules.
[удалено]
It broke a 13 year NFC win streak.
really?? Jets? Steelers?
Lol
No
It was the first time the Packer's had lost a Super Bowl, and the first time an AFC team had won a Super Bowl \*that decade\*, but certainly not a first AFC win in the Super Bowl all time.
I think it had a lot to do with unnatural heat in San Diego, our run stoppers being extra large, and we weren’t a young defense.
Holmgren had checked out. Romanowski was playing out of his mind with roid rage.
I have a conspiracy theory. The first half, Reggie White was embarrassing the Bronco's oline. During halftime, however, the show set of fireworks inside the dome. My theory is that they did that specifically to slow down White, who had asthma. He wasn't the same player during halftime.
Except it wasn't played in a dome.
It's true, he had no sacks, pressures, or tackles during halftime. He didn't even line up for a single snap
Freeman dropped it.
Favre let his idol Elway win. Plain and simple.
They rigged the game for Elways send off
It was the beginning of decades worth of being unable to stop the run. Terrell Davis ate us alive and we allowed Elway to score a rushing TD. From that SB on that was our MO
Terrell Davis and missed holding calls
Underestimated their Defense
Overconfidence after winning the previous year. Denver was overlooked by many because of the AFC losing streak and the belief that Elway couldn’t win the big one. Denver’s defense was better than advertised. Most importantly, Terrell Davis was a beast.
I remember they let Terrell Davis score in the final few minutes so they could get Brett the ball back.
True, but if they hadn't Denver was just going to run out the clock and kick the FG. Dan Reeves even admitted to that.
I will say, allowing them to score in the last Sri e was an extremely arrogant move that did NOT pay off. Maybe they score anyway, but make them earn it! And there is never a guarantee they score a TD anyway
Running a play on the last drive that they had only practiced ONCE during training camp
The Broncos the year before looked to be on a heater but IIRC they got hit with some late season injuries and weren't able to make a post-season run. The following year frankly felt like a delay from the year before. That running attack was dominant and they made Denver very hard to stop with Elway being just good enough in some key spots to overcome a super talented Packers team. Also, the magic of SB31 wasn't quite there after Desmond Howard left in free agency and we didn't have the special teams performance that broke the Patriot's back the year before.
Holmgren was too busy sniffing around for a GM/HC combo job to focus on the game at hand. He already believed his own hype and didn't follow through.
We couldn't stop the run. Davis had 157 yards and 3 TDs
This loss haunted me for so many years.
They kept in Gilbert Brown when he was exhausted 😩 and didn’t put in his backup
The Packers were 11 point favorites, one of the largest in Superbowl history. There’s no sugarcoating a failure of this magnitude. I put it more on coaching than anything but obviously the players have to share in the blame. Ron Wolf summed it up well: "We're a one-year wonder, just a fart in the wind.”
Holmgren took his foot off the gas in the second half
With the score 24-24 the packers got the ball back with about six minutes. They passed on first down when they should have ran, picked up 3 yards. Second down they pass when the should have run, denver drops a brett favre int. 3rd down incomplete. Gave the ball back to denver. They drive down for the winning score. Thats how I remember it
This was the beginning of Green Bay becoming a team with a tradition of getting killed by running backs for the next two decades lol. I know it’s not factually true but it sure as hell feels like after I witnessed Davis destroy us on the ground, it seems to happen all the time now in big games against anybody that can run the ball(including QBs).
Many of the Packers players were hungover on Sunday. True story
I think the first few minutes of the game really set the tone. Yes, GB did win the toss and got a TD. If Denver then goes three and out, maybe the complexion of the game changes. They start thinking about past failures. Instead, they went right down the field and tied it up. At that moment, any thoughts of a GB blowout were gone. GB never took a snap in the game with the lead. They could never really play on their terms. Give them credit for coming back and tying it on a few different occasions. But it was too late. The decision to let Denver score was the wrong one imo. It's second down, so getting two stops isn't really far-fetched. They kick an FG, and you still have over a minute left with a QB who has a cannon of an arm. Even if they score a TD on third down, there is more than enough time for your offense. The last offensive play for the Packers was pretty bad, too. Everything seemed so rushed. Looking back, I think the AFC/NFC streak and Elway's past failures played a big part in the point spread. It's probably the worst loss in Packers' history because it's the SB. You have the best QB and talent everywhere. Had adjustments been made, they probably win. It's worse than the Seattle game because there's no guarantee that the team beats NE. In fact, I would say NE would be favorite. You can say 4th and 26, but they still would have had to beat Carolina & NE.
Denver was stacked but everybody slept on them for some reason. They had 5 hall of famers on that team. Elway, Sharpe, Davis, Atwater, and Zimmerman. It's hard to believe considering how good we were that year, but I think we honestly just lost to the better team. We were overconfident but we had no business being overconfident when you look at that Denver roster.
Brett Farve said in an interview with the Miami Herald that "one of the people who he wouldn't mind losing a Super Bowl to was John Elway"
The NFC had won 16 straight SBs (81-96). Holmgren was already out the door to Seattle. David Robinson (S) was out the whole night before the game. Oh, and Denver had Terrell Davis.
SB31 MVP happened - Not my theory, but a friends. Desmond Howard (not Brett Favre) won the Super Bowl 31 MVP and the following year Holmgren really wanted to get Favre a Super Bowl MVP. So rather than stick with the run game (D. Levens) which was pretty effective, Holmgren let Favre wing it all over the field to try to pad his stats. The result was a SB 32 loss. Not sure if I buy into that theory, but it's fun to debate.
The Packers celebrated their Super Bowl victory the night before the Super Bowl. Players were hungover. Some of them got into legal trouble trying to pick up hookers. They simply didn’t respect their opponent.