By Eric Goska
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| Lambeau Field has been going strong since 1957. (photos by Eric Goska) |
Four hundred.
That’s how many regular-season games the Packers have played
at Lambeau Field.
The 49ers were the latest outsiders to compete at the
storied structure. And like so many who preceded them, they left on the short
end of the scoreboard.
Green Bay routed a banged-up San Francisco squad 38-10
Sunday. The Green and Gold converted three 49ers turnovers into three
touchdowns as they outscored their guests 21-3 in the second half.
San Francisco, minus starting quarterback Brock Purdy and
left tackle Trent Williams, failed to mount much of a running attack. Christian
McCaffrey led the 49ers with 31 yards on 11 carries as the 49ers managed just
44 yards rushing on 16 attempts.
At halftime, San Francisco had three yards on four totes.
That’s the fewest by any opponent in the first half of a regular-season game in
Lambeau Field history.
No NFL team is more closely associated with its stadium than
the Packers. Green Bay is synonymous with the Frozen Tundra.
No NFL team has played longer at one venue. This is the 68th
season in which the Green and Gold have operated out of 1265 Lombardi Avenue.
So, in honor of this 400th regular-season game, we will touch upon some of the regular-season numbers associated with the iconic landmark about which former Raiders coach turned broadcaster John Madden said: “If they ever build a shrine to pro football, it ought to be Lambeau Field in Green Bay.”
First game: Bart
Starr started at quarterback in the 1957 season opener against the Bears but
gave way to Babe Parilli in the second quarter. Parilli fired two TD passes including
a 6-yarder to Gary Knafelc with eight minutes, 21 seconds left as the Packers
downed Chicago 21-17.
The opposition:
Green Bay has defeated each of the other 31 NFL teams at least twice. It has a
winning record against all its NFC North rivals: 41-24 vs. the Bears, 35-16-3 vs.
the Lions and 25-21-3 vs. the Vikings.
San Francisco: With
Sunday’s win, Green Bay is 12-4 against the 49ers.
Winless: Denver is
the only team yet to win at Lambeau Field. The Broncos came up short in 1993
(27-30), 1996 (6-41), 2003 (3-31), 2011 (23-49) and 2019 (16-27).
Average score: Green
Bay 23.8, Opponents 18.3.
Largest margin of
victory: 49 points in a 49-0 shutout of the Bears in 1962 and in a 52-3 drubbing of
the Saints in 2005.
Largest margin of defeat: 40 points in a 0-40 shellacking administered by the Lions to open the 1970 campaign.
Shutouts: The
Packers have pitched 14 shutouts blanking Chicago (3 times), Buffalo (2) and
Washington (2) more than once. Green Bay has failed to score 9 times, most
often against the Bears (3) and Lions (2).
Lambeau mystique?:
Don’t ask quarterback Randy Wright. Wright finished 1-11 at the stadium beating
the Vikings 18-6 in the 1988 season finale to avoid going winless in Green Bay.
Inflection Point:
Sept. 20, 1992. The Packers are 72-72-4 at Lambeau Field as they host the Bengals.
A loss means the team will own a losing record at the stadium for the first
time since early 1959, coach Vince Lombardi’s first season in Green Bay. Brett
Favre refuses to go quietly, dialing up victory (24-23) with a 35-yard TD pass
to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. In the time since, no team has won
more home games than the Packers.
GB QBs: Four Packers quarterbacks have won 10 or more times: Favre (89-28-0), Aaron Rodgers (88-21-1), Bart Starr (28-14-2) and Lynn Dickey (16-13-0). Jordan Love (8-5) needs two more victories to join that select group.
Record in December/January: The Green and Gold has a better winning percentage (.753) in games played in December or January (73-24-0) than it does in games at Lambeau Field overall (.663). That’s welcome news for a franchise seeking to enter the postseason fray for the 24th time in the last 32 season.
Home Sweet Home
200+ regular-season wins by an NFL team at a single stadium
Team Record Stadium Years Played
Packers 262-132-6 Lambeau Field 1957-2024
Chiefs 249-160-1 Arrowhead Stadium 1972-2024
Bills 237-161-0 Highmark Stadium 1973-2024
Bears 237-179-2 Soldier Field 1971-2024
Bears 224-91-22 Wrigley Field 1922-1970
Chargers 209-172-3 Qualcomm
Stadium 1967-2016
49ers 205-124-2 Candlestick Park 1971-2024
Browns 201-117-5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1950-1995
BW ...
ReplyDeleteGreat information Eric ...
Its hard to believe that the Packers still have a winning record at Lambeau Field over the Vikings, despite the lean 70s and 80s decades. I guess having Favre and Rodgers made up the difference.
I still cant believe the Bears have a winning record at Soldier Field? They have been mediocre for a long time. It makes a difference having Walter Payton. Why would they leave other than pure greed?
Speaking of a great contributor candidate who gets overlooked for people such as Virginia McCaskey, Doug Williams, Art Rooney Jr. Eddie Robinson, Bud Adams, etc, is Carl Peterson, who helped achieve prominence and homefield advantage for the Chiefs and their 249 wins at Arrowhead Stadium. Too bad he and his coaches Schottenheimer and Vermeil couldnt find their own Mahomes to give them a SB win.
this is really interesting information.....Eric, shouldn't the Browns be credited with 24-25(?) wins in Municipal from 46-49?
ReplyDeleteI follow the lead of the NFL which does not recognize the games from the AAFC.
DeleteBW ...
DeleteYoure right, the NFL doesnt officially recognize the games of the AAFC but they recognize the Cleveland Browns and the statistics they accumulated. I simply dont believe Motley, Speedie, Lavelli and Willis make the HOF based on NFL seasons starting in 1950, alone. Many people push for Rymkus to be elected as well, who only played another season after 1950.
Pro Football Reference does. I recall that back in the day the NFL didn't recognize the AAFC around the time they didn't want to recognize AFL stats.....but if AFL stuff (Lionel Taylor and Charley Hennigan's receptions against those early-60s AFL defenses) has been incorporated, the AAFC (if it already isn't, surely should be)......aaaaaand, regardless of what "the Shield" might think, the FACT is that the stated requirement of the post was: "200+ regular-season wins by an NFL team at a single stadium."....the Browns went 6-1 at home in 46, 6-1 in 47, 7-0 in 48 and 5-0-2 in 49 totalling 24-2-2......so they won 225 regular season games in the mistake by the lake regardless of what no-fun-league apparatichiks might want people to think.
DeleteBW ...
ReplyDeleteThere are people that believe the Packers are soft, overrated or lucky but they should make the playoffs and could be very dangerous on the road again like last year. With the injuries that keep piling up for Detroit and the Vikings defense not as steady as earlier in the year, a divisional title is still not out of reach?