The 12 Days That Have Kept Packers’ Super Bowl Door Slammed Closed

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV. Led by rising quarterback Aaron Rodgers, they were young and talented. A dynastic run didn’t seem out of the question.

Instead, when the Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, it will mark a 15th consecutive season in which the Packers failed to get to the Super Bowl. Bad play, bad injuries and bad luck conspired against a team that won more games than any other NFC team and reached four NFC Championship Games during that span.

In chronological order, here are the 12 days that led to that 15-year drought.

2011: Before Playoffs

The defending Super Bowl champions started the season 13-0 before they were upset at Kansas City, but they bounced back to beat the Bears, with Aaron Rodgers throwing five touchdown passes, and the Lions, with Matt Flynn throwing six touchdown passes.

Tragedy struck during their playoff bye week with the death of the son of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. The Packers edged the Giants in New York to improve to 12-0, but they were crushed 37-20 at Lambeau Field in the rematch. Hakeem Nicks had a 66-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter and a 37-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

2012: Divisional Playoffs vs. 49ers

The 49ers embarrassed the Packers 45-31. Colin Kaepernick threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 181 yards and two more touchdowns. Green Bay gave up 323 rushing yards, the fifth-most in NFL playoff history. The Packers have given up 200-plus rushing yards in only two other playoff games in franchise history.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

2014: NFC Championship Game vs. Seahawks

This might be the worst playoff loss that any team has endured in NFL history.

Green Bay led 16-0 at halftime. That, as it turns out, was the problem.

On third-and-10 from Seattle’s 29 on the opening drive, Aaron Rodgers got Michael Bennett offside, so took a shot on a free play to Davante Adams. No flag was thrown, though, and Richard Sherman intercepted Rodgers in the end zone.

On third down on the ensuing possession, HaHa Clinton-Dix intercepted Russell Wilson and returned the ball to Seattle’s 4 but Mike Daniels was flagged for taunting. So, the Packers took over at the 19 and eventually got it to third-and-goal at the 1. Eddie Lacy was stuffed and they settled for Mason Crosby’s 18-yard field goal.

The Seahawks fumbled away the kickoff return, so Green Bay started at Seattle’s 23. On third-and-goal from 6, Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb, who was tackled at the 1. Crosby booted a 19-yard field goal.

After Green Bay forced a three-and-out, the offense finally went the distance, with Rodgers throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Cobb to make it 13-0.

It was more of the same in the second quarter. Micah Hyde’s 29-yard punt return gave the Packers the ball at Seattle’s 33. Once again, they wasted great field position. Lacy gained 2 on third-and-3, and Crosby kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 16-0.

Next, Clinton-Dix picked off Wilson again, giving the Packers the ball near midfield, but Rodgers was intercepted on first down from Seattle’s 33. The Seahawks drove into scoring position before Sam Shields grabbed Green Bay’s third interception of Wilson.

So, the Packers led 16-0 at halftime. They turned four takeaways into six points. Wilson had more interceptions (three) than completions (two). Really, the game should have been over.

The game turned with 4:50 left in the third quarter. On fourth-and-10 from Green Bay’s 19, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called for a fake field goal that caught Shawn Slocum’s unit with its pants down. The holder, former Packers punter Jon Ryan, threw a touchdown pass to undrafted rookie offensive lineman Gary Gilliam.

Still, Green Bay took a 19-7 lead on Crosby’s 48-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and seemingly clinched the game when Morgan Burnett picked off Wilson with 5:04 remaining. Burnett had a lot of running room but Julius Peppers told Burnett to give himself up, which he did. Three consecutive runs by Lacy lost 4 yards and burned barely a minute off the clock.

Seattle, having long outlived its nine lives but still having a pulse, drove to a touchdown to cut the margin to 19-14 with 2:09 to play.

Seattle Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews (13) recovers an onside kick muffed by Green Bay Packers tight end Brandon Bostick . | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Then came the worst special-teams blunder in the Packers’ long and infamous list of special-teams blunders. Receiver Jordy Nelson lined up behind five teammates on the left side of the formation. The bouncing onside kick would have landed right in his hands had Brandon Bostick not tried to make the play. Instead, the ball bounced off his hands and Seattle recovered.

Moments later, the Seahawks took a 22-19 lead on Marshawn Lynch’s 24-yard touchdown run and Wilson’s two-point pass.

Rodgers, playing through an injured calf, rallied the Packers to a game-tying field goal but, unlike the 2003 playoffs, the Seahawks won the toss and they did score when Wilson’s bomb beat Tramon Williams.

Seahawks 28, Packers 22.

“I messed up in the NFC Championship Game, and trust me, it hurts,” Bostick wrote for Sports Illustrated a couple weeks later. “I’ll probably think about my role in the botched onside kick every day for the rest of my life. It haunts me like a recurring nightmare.”

2015: Preseason vs. Steelers

After the devastating loss to the Seahawks, the Packers hit the emotional reset button for the 2015 season. In the second preseason game, Jordy Nelson, who was coming off a sensational season of 98 catches for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns, suffered a torn ACL at Pittsburgh.

Essentially, the season was over. When the season officially ended in the playoffs at Arizona, Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis were targeted on 23 of Aaron Rodgers’ 44 passes.

2016: Before NFC Championship Game vs. Falcons

In Week 1, cornerback Sam Shields suffered a concussion and didn’t play another game for the Packers. In the wild-card game, Jordy Nelson suffered broken ribs. In the divisional game, Davante Adams suffered a sprained ankle.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Quinten Rollins (24) gives up a catch to Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones. | Green Bay Press Gazette-Imagn Images

In the NFC Championship Game at Atlanta, the undermanned Packers were predictably crushed 44-21. Nelson and Adams played but not to their explosive standards, and top running back Ty Montgomery made an early exit. Meanwhile, Falcons receiver Julio Jones demolished Green Bay’s injury-plagued secondary with nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Fittingly, the game ended with defensive tackle Letroy Guion playing guard.

2017: Week 6 vs. Vikings

In Week 5, the Packers improved to 4-1 when Aaron Rodgers threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams with 11 seconds to go to beat Dallas.

A week later at Minnesota, Rodgers was sacked by Anthony Barr and suffered a broken collarbone. Green Bay missed the playoffs with a 7-9 record.

2019: NFC Championship Game vs. 49ers

The upstart Packers weren’t supposed to get this far under first-year coach Matt LaFleur. As it turns out, they played like they didn’t belong. The 49ers led 27-0 at halftime and won 37-20.

2020: NFL Draft

It might have been a double whammy that kept the Packers from getting to the Super Bowl in 2020.

Rewinding to the 2019 title game, Aaron Rodgers completed 9-of-11 passes for 138 yards to Davante Adams in the loss to the 49ers. To the other receivers, Rodgers completed 6-of-8 passes for 67 yards. So, a receiver might have given Rodgers the weaponry needed to take that last step to the Super Bowl.

So, the first of those whammies came in the 2020 NFL Draft, when general manager Brian Gutekunst traded up for Jordan Love. Would the Packers have made a run with Tee Higgins lining up alongside Adams in 2020 and 2021? We’ll never know. At least the Packers had a quarterback ready to go in 2023.

2020: New Year’s Eve Practice

The second of those whammies came during a Thursday practice. On Dec. 31, 2020, the Packers were 12-3 as they got ready for the final game of the regular season at Chicago. That’s when All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari sustained a torn ACL.

Green Bay crushed the Bears in Week 17 and, as the No. 1 seed, beat the Rams in the divisional playoffs. In the NFC Championship Game, with right tackle Billy Turner playing left tackle and backup Rick Wagner playing right tackle, the Packers gave up five sacks in a 31-26 loss to the Buccaneers. All five sacks came against the offensive tackles.

2021: Divisional Playoffs vs. 49ers

The Packers in 2021 became the first team in NFL history with three consecutive 13-win seasons. A year earlier, Lambeau Field was mostly empty due to the pandemic and it was unseasonably warm for the NFC title game against Tampa Bay. This time, it was 14 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of 0 in front of 79,132 fans.

The Packers had everything in their favor.

San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner (54) causes Green Bay Packers tight end Marcedes Lewis (89) to fumble. | William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK

They wasted it.

With the Packers up 7-0, Marcedes Lewis’ fumble prevented them from taking complete control. Green Bay finally got out of its offensive funk in the fourth quarter and drove to first-and-goal at the 7. However, a false start by right tackle Dennis Kelly and a sack prevented the Packers from scoring a potential game-clinching touchdown. Mason Crosby’s 33-yard field goal made it 10-3 with 11:27 to go.

When Rashan Cary and DeVondre Campbell stuffed Elijah Mitchell on fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 19, the Packers seemingly were on their way to hosting the NFC Championship Game. Instead, after a three-and-out, Jordan Willis ran through long snapper Steven Wirtel. Personal protector Henry Black didn’t protect, Willis blocked the kick and Talanoa Hufanga recovered for a touchdown.

Green Bay went three-and-out and the 49ers drove to a walk-off field goal. It might not have mattered, but the Packers had 10 players on the field.

2023: Divisional Playoffs vs. 49ers

The Packers with first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love got hot to get into the playoffs and blew out Dallas in the wild-card round.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur leaves the field after losing to the San Francisco 49ers. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the divisional round at San Francisco, the Packers took a 21-14 lead in the third quarter on Love’s touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft and two-point pass to Aaron Jones. After San Francisco answered with a field goal, the Packers were in scoring position following Jones’ 53-yard run. However, the drive stalled and Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal.

The 49ers drove to the go-ahead touchdown and Love was intercepted on a do-or-die final drive.

2025: Wild-Card Playoffs vs. Bears

Had the Packers beaten the Bears, would they have made a run to the Super Bowl? Without Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft and Devonte Wyatt, probably not.

But we’ll never know as the Packers vomited up a 21-3 halftime lead. They led 21-6 after three quarters. At that point, teams leading by 15-plus points after three quarters were 172-3 all-time in the playoffs. Instead, for the second time in less than a month, Green Bay snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Chicago.

This wasn’t just the perfect summation for the end of this past season. It was a fitting statement for the last 15 seasons.

“As a team, we’ve got to continue to be aggressive,” defensive back Javon Bullard said after the season. “When you got your foot on somebody’s neck, man, there’s two types of people in this world. You’ve got one guy that’s just going to put your foot on their neck and keep talking sh** and you’ve got the other guy that’s going to put him out while he’s down.”

It’s Super Bowl Sunday. The Packers have played in five. Here’s our all-time all-Packers Super Bowl team. https://t.co/ggI9DqJx88
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) February 8, 2026

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