1996 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (3-1)

                                                                                                                                                               OFF     DEF

AUGUST (3-1)                             RESULT     RECORD    ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB         LEADING RUSHER           LEADING PASSER         LEADING RECEIVER

2  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS                 W 24- 7     1- 0-0 57,918                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (28)       Doug Pederson (125)    William Henderson (3-23)

11 PITTSBURGH STEELERS                  W 24-17     2- 0-0 59,284                 Brett Favre         James Bostic (39)        Doug Pederson (139)    Terry Mickens (3-22)

17 at Baltimore Ravens                  W 17-15     3- 0-0 62,025                 Brett Favre         Edgar Bennett (27)       Brett Favre (186)      Robert Brooks (4-45)

24 at Indianapolis Colts                L  6-30     3- 1-0 49,081                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (43)       Brett Favre (83)       Anthony Morgan (3-45)

1996 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

SEPTEMBER (4-1)

1  at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)        W 34- 3     1- 0-0 54,102 139 267  59 117 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (62)      Brett Favre (247)      Antonio Freeman (6-82)

9  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0)            W 39-13     2- 0-0 60,666 171 261  59 200 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (93)      Brett Favre (261)      Robert Brooks (5-130)

15 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (2-0)             W 42-10     3- 0-0 60,584 132 204  33 108 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (65)      Brett Favre (231)      Robert Brooks (8-108)

22 at Minnesota Vikings (3-0)           L 21-30     3- 1-0 64,168  60 157  88 263 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (33)      Brett Favre (198)      Don Beebe (3-96)

29 at Seattle Seahawks (1-3)            W 31-10     4- 1-0 59,973 142 202 159 170 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (94)      Brett Favre (209)      Antonio Freeman (7-108)

OCTOBER (3-0)

6  at Chicago Bears (2-3)               W 37- 6     5- 1-0 65,480 100 243  53 190 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (32)      Brett Favre (246)      Antonio Freeman (7-146)

14 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-1)            W 23-20 *   6- 1-0 60,716  68 378  74 179 Brett Favre          Brett Favre (24)        Brett Favre (395)      Don Beebe (11-220)

20 Bye Week

27 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1-6)           W 13- 7     7- 1-0 60,627 129 169  57 139 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (93)      Brett Favre (178)      Desmond Howard (5-30)

NOVEMBER (2-2)

3  DETROIT LIONS (4-4)                  W 28-18     8- 1-0 60,695 101 254 166 127 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (68)      Brett Favre (281)      Terry Mickens (7-52)

10 at Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)          L 20-27     8- 2-0 79,281  75 289 182 201 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (37)      Brett Favre (314)      Dorsey Levens (5-83)

18 at Dallas Cowboys (6-4)              L  6-21     8- 3-0 65,032  90 254 112 205 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (48)      Brett Favre (194)      Keith Jackson (7-98)

24 at St. Louis Rams (3-8)              W 24- 9     9- 3-0 61,499  58 185  65 165 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (31)      Brett Favre (192)      Andre Rison (5-44)

DECEMBER (4-0)

1  CHICAGO BEARS (5-7)                  W 28-17    10- 3-0 59,682 126 216  88 204 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (69)      Brett Favre (231)      Antonio Freeman (10-156)

8  DENVER BRONCOS (12-1)                W 41- 6    11- 3-0 60,712 103 276  93  83 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (86)      Brett Favre (280)      Antonio Freeman (9-175)

15 at Detroit Lions (5-9)               W 31- 3    12- 3-0 73,214 111 225  79 186 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (60)      Brett Favre (240)      Don Beebe (4-79)

22 MINNESOTA VIKINGS (9-6)              W 38-10    13- 3-0 59,306 233 207  49 203 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (109)     Brett Favre (202)      Mark Chmura (4-43)

1996 POST-SEASON RESULTS (3-0)

JANUARY 1997 - NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

4  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-4)           W 35-14            60,787 139  71  68 128 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (80)      Brett Favre (79)       Antonio Freeman (2-26)

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

12 CAROLINA PANTHERS (13-4)             W 30-13            60,216 201 278  45 206 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (99)      Brett Favre (292)      Dorsey Levens (5-117)

SUPER BOWL XXXI

26 New England Patriots (13-5)          W 35-21            72,301 115 208  43 214 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (61)      Brett Favre (246)      Antonio Freeman (3-105)

* - Overtime

1996 IN REVIEW

29 years of frustration, poor personnel decisions, false hopes and questionable coaching choices ended on a January night in New Orleans, as the Packers defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 30. Green Bay opened the season 3-0 and outscored their opponents 115-26. They ended the season with a four-game winning streak, in which they outscored their opponents 138-36. The Packers led the NFL in scoring with 456 points, and allowed the fewest with 210. The road to the Super Bowl did not come easy. QB Brett Favre announced in May that he was addicted to painkillers. He spent 46 days in a Kansas rehabilitation center, then returned to throw a franchise-record 39 touchdown passes and was named NFL MVP for the second straight year. He did this without WR Robert Brooks (lost for the season in October with a torn ACL), WR Antonio Freeman (out four games with a broken arm) and TE Mark Chmura (out three games with a sprained arch). Don Beebe and Andre Rison provided relief for the receiver corps when it was needed. Other key acquisitions included KR Desmond Howard (he set an NFL record with 875 punt returns), DL Santana Dotson, OT Bruce Wilkerson, S Eugene Robinson (team-leading six interceptions).

WHERE DO THE 1996 PACKERS RANK

So where do the 1996 Packers rank among the all-time Super Bowl champions? There have been many attempts to rank the teams, and ESPN took a shot in 2006 at ranking the top teams. Let the arguments begin:

ESPN.COM (2006) - THE BEST SUPER BOWL TEAMS

1 - 1989 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (14-2) - This team gets our nod due to its excellence on both sides of the ball, mind-boggling statistics and perhaps the most dominant postseason run in NFL history. This team gave us Montana, Rice, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley in their primes. It also boasted the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history, scoring 55 points against the NFL's best scoring defense.

2 -  1985 CHICAGO BEARS (15-1) - Da Bears were great. But not quite The Greatest. Chicago won its first championship in 22 years behind one of the most fearsome defenses in NFL history. The Bears won 14 games by double digits, including three dominant postseason performances.

3 - 1978 PITTSBURGH STEELERS (14-2) - This season would represent the zenith of a dynasty that captured four Super Bowl championships in six years. Pittsburgh ultimately would send nine players and its head coach to the Hall of Fame. Most of them were in their prime as the Steelers blasted their way through the defending AFC champion Broncos and the upstart Oilers in the playoffs. Pittsburgh then became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls, by defeating an excellent Cowboys team. 

4 - 1992 DALLAS COWBOYS (13-3) - The Cowboys returned to glory in a big way, forcing a Super Bowl-record nine turnovers in one of the big game's biggest blowouts. This team boasted the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, behind arguably the league's best-ever offensive line. Dallas played defense, too, allowing the fewest yards in the league.

5 - 1984 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (15-1) - Like the Bears the following season, this team came up one victory shy of a perfect season en route to its title. Unlike the Bears, the 49ers' defeat was by a mere field goal, and San Francisco went on to manhandle a dominant offense in the Super Bowl.