The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals are set to meet in the NFL playoffs this weekend, but this will not be the first time the two teams have played in the postseason.
The Packers will meet the Cardinals for the second time this season on Saturday night and it comes just weeks after Arizona dominated Green Bay in the regular season. The Cardinals hosted the Packers in Arizona on December 28 and won 38-8 while sacking Aaron Rodgers eight times. The Packers offense looked like a mess and now Green Bay will get the chance at some revenge this weekend.
But the two teams also faced off five years ago and that game was in the playoffs and ended up as one of the wildest contests in postseason history. For Throwback Thursday here is a look at a classic playoffs matchup between the Packers and Cardinals that resulted in an overtime win for Arizona.
Aaron Rodgers got his first taste of the postseason in this game against the Cardinals and he put on a passing display along with Cardinals QB Kurt Warner. Rodgers had 423 passing yards in the game and four touchdowns, while Warner had 379 passing yards and five touchdowns in the game. The Packers came into that game in a similar situation that Cardinals are in now, as the Packers won over the Cardinals the previous week 33-7 before playing in the wild card round.
This was the first start for Rodgers in the playoffs and things did not go well at the beginning, with Rodgers getting his first pass intercepted by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers settled in after that and while the Cardinals took a 17-0 lead into the second quarter, the Packers were ready to make a comeback. The team added 10 points in the second, 14 in the third and 21 in the fourth to help get the game into overtime.
The game finished in dramatic fashion, as Karlos Dansby was able to recover a fumble from Rodgers, who was stripped by Michael Adams. Dansby was able to score untouched for the touchdown and that sealed the win for the Cardinals. Green Bay had won seven of the last eight games coming into this matchup and the team did all it could to stay alive, coming back from a 21-point deficit.
The game ended up as the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history. This game was a precursor for Rodgers, as he led the Packers to the Super Bowl the following season and won over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now Rodgers and the Packers are in position to try and make a run in the playoffs this year, as they appeared to regain form against the Redskins. The team was dominated by the Cardinals a few weeks ago and now they have the chance to bounce back in Arizona in the divisional round.