Brett Favre threw for 399 yards and four TDs against the Raiders in Oakland, one night after the death of his father.
Normally for a series against a particular NFL opponent to have a meaningful history, that opponent needs to be a division rival that is played twice a year, or a conference foe that's a frequent playoff nemesis.
But the Packers' series with the Raiders doesn't fall into either category, with Oakland coming from the AFC. Yet the last three times the two teams have met, the games have carried a certain significance and gone down in Green Bay lore for one reason or another.
With the Packers and Raiders meeting Sunday at Lambeau Field for just the fourth time in the last 15 years, here's a look back at the previous three meetings and their place in franchise history.
Dec. 26, 1993, at Lambeau Field
With a game-time temperature of zero degrees and minus-22 wind chill, the then-Los Angeles Raiders were unprepared for a frozen field, having brought cleats normally used on natural grass fields. The Packers, by contrast, wore turf shoes better suited to the wintry surface and the southern Californians were no match during the third-coldest game in Lambeau Field history.
Sterling Sharpe had seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player in NFL history to surpass 100 receptions in two seasons. The Green Bay defense amassed eight sacks, 2 1/2 each by Reggie White, John Jurkovic and Tony Bennett, and knocked starting quarterback Jeff Hostetler out of the game with a concussion.
The resulting 28-0 blowout improved the Packers to 9-6 on the season, clinching their first playoff berth since 1982, and their first playoff berth in a non-strike-shortened season since 1972.
"It feels wonderful," second-year head coach Mike Holmgren said after the game. "I can't describe it, really. It's just the start - we all understand that - but at least we're there."
The game also featured the origination of the "Lambeau Leap" early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 14-0, Raiders backup quarterback Vince Evans dumped a screen pass to running back James Jordan, who took a hard hit from Packers safety LeRoy Butler that jarred the ball loose.
White picked up the ball at the Raiders' 35-yard line and then, while being grabbed by offensive guard Steve Wisniewski, lateraled the ball at the 25 to Butler, who took it the rest of the way for a touchdown and spontaneously jumped up into the end zone stands.
Sept. 12, 1999, at Lambeau Field
In Mike McCarthy's first game as quarterbacks coach for the Packers, his quarterback put on one of his gutsiest performances.
Brett Favre injured his right thumb in the third quarter when he smashed it against defensive tackle Russell Maryland's helmet, numbing his entire throwing hand. But that didn't stop him from rallying the Packers from a 24-14 deficit in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns.
He completed six of seven passes on a 76-yard drive, capped by an 8-yard TD toss to Corey Bradford, to make it 24-21 with 7:20 left. Then, backed up to his own 18 with 1:51 left and no timeouts, Favre completed seven of 11 throws (including three spikes to stop the clock) to march the team 82 yards for the winning score.
{sportsad300}With less than 40 seconds left and the ball on the Oakland 20, Bradford beat future Packer Charles Woodson on a corner route and made the catch, going out of bounds at the 1. Favre then hit tight end Jeff Thomason for the TD with 11 seconds to go for a thrilling 28-24 victory in the season opener, one of three amazing comebacks Favre would orchestrate in the first four games that year.
Favre was overcome with emotion both on the field and after the game, having battled through the painful injury and gotten a win for head coach Ray Rhodes in his first game in Green Bay. When he walked away from the podium in tears after just the first few minutes of his press conference, it led many in the media to speculate the injury was going to end his consecutive starts streak and perhaps sideline him for a significant period of time, but obviously that didn't happen.
"I can't believe I played," Favre said afterward during his abbreviated remarks. "I was actually sort of scared trying to throw the ball downfield. I just didn't know if I could put anything on it."
Teammate and left tackle Ross Verba probably summed it up best when talking about Favre's presence in the huddle in the fourth quarter despite the pain he was in.
Said Verba: "He just had that calmness - 'I'm in control. I'm trained to be here. We ain't losing today.'"
Dec. 22, 2003, Network Associates Coliseum *Photo Gallery*
In perhaps the most remarkable performance of his career, Favre took the field in Oakland on Monday Night Football just one day after the sudden death of his father Irvin from a heart attack.
Favre threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone, moving past Fran Tarkenton and into second place on the all-time list for TD passes. He finished 22-of-30 for 399 yards and a career-high 154.9 rating, very close to the maximum 158.3.
He threw touchdown passes of 22 yards to Wesley Walls, 23 and 43 yards to Javon Walker and 6 yards to David Martin. He added four other completions longer than 25 yards in the game, as the Packers rolled 41-7.
"I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play," Favre said after the game. "I love him so much, and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight."
With the win, the Packers improved to 9-6 and remained tied for first in the NFC North with Minnesota. The tie would be broken the following week when the Packers beat the Broncos and the Cardinals rallied to beat the Vikings on a last-play touchdown, sending Green Bay into the playoffs.
So is another unforgettable, momentous game in store when the Packers meet the Raiders again on Sunday?
Favre is scheduled to make his 250th consecutive regular-season start just one week after getting knocked out of the game in Dallas with elbow and shoulder injuries. A win would clinch the Packers' first NFC North title, and playoff berth, since 2004.
Something memorable certainly could happen. It always seems to against the Raiders.
