Packers’ Championship Run Started In New England
Monday, February 07, 2011
It was late Sunday night on December 19th and the heavily favored New England Patriots had just hung on to defeat back-up quarterback Matt Flynn and the Green Bay Packers 31-27 at Gillette Stadium. Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy was asked in his postgame press conference if he was “encouraged or discouraged” coming out of game where no one gave his team a chance. With a scowl on his face, McCarthy replied, “I don’t care what you guys think. We came here to win. We’re nobody’s underdog.” To see his face and listen to the tone of his voice at that moment left no doubt that this was a man determined to win and that anything less than that was unacceptable. He was as serious as a heart attack.
Seven weeks later, McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers were crowned World Champions after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV.
As it turns out, that loss to the Patriots was the last that Green Bay would suffer. At (8-6) with their backs to the wall, they proceeded to beat the NY Giants and Chicago Bears to get into the postseason as the NFC’s 6th and final seed. They won three road playoff games on their way to Dallas where they knocked off the mighty Steelers on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers showed the world why he is the next great quarterback in the NFL. The Packers’ QB completed 24-39 passes for 304 yards, 3 TD’s and 0 interceptions. He was named Super Bowl MVP.
Jordy Nelson was Rodgers top target hauling in 9 catches for 140 yards and 1 TD. Greg Jennings had 4 catches for 64 yards and 2 TD’s for the Pack.
Pittsburgh had their chances in this one but turnovers hurt the Steelers’ cause. Ben Roethlisberger threw 2 interceptions (25-40, 263 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), but it was Rashard Mendenhall’s fumble to start the 4th quarter which really hurt the Steelers’ chances.
It’s Green Bay’s first Super Bowl title since Super Bowl XXXI when Brett Favre quarterbacked the Packers to a win over Bill Parcells’ Patriots in New Orleans.
Now the Vince Lombardi Trophy returns to the city where Lombardi became a coaching legend many years ago when he led the franchise to victories in Super Bowl’s I and II.
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