Packers defense pitches second half shutout in win over Atlanta
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Down 21-10 to Atlanta at halftime, things did not look good for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Fortunately, the defense held the Falcons scoreless in the second half and the Pack came away with a 22-21 win.
With the win on Sunday, the Packers are now 54-1 since 1990 in games when they hold their opponents scoreless in the second half. The last time the Pack lost a game where they held their opponents to zero points in the second half was September 25, 2005. The Tampa Bay Bucs won that game 17-16. Since that contest, Green Bay has won 18 straight games when they pitch a shutout in the second half.
If we look at the numbers of all NFL teams when they hold opponents scoreless in the second half since 2000, teams are 681-100 (a .872 winning percentage). The Minnesota Vikings have played in only six of those games, but they have won all of them, giving them a 1.000 winning percentage. The Packers are 31-1 (.969 winning percentage) in games when they hold opponents scoreless in the second half since 2000, the second best winning percentage in the league. Going back to 1966, the start of the Super Bowl era, the Packers are 88-14-3 in such games (a .852 winning percentage).
Let’s take it a step further… the Packers surrendered 21 points to the Falcons in the first half of last Sunday’s game. It was only the sixth time since 1966 that the Packers have won a game where they gave up 20 or more points in the first half and then allowed zero in the second half. Their other win was in 1982 against the Rams. The Rams on September 12, 1982 were leading 23-0 at halftime of that contest; the Packers scored 35 unanswered points in the second half in route to a 35-23 win.
Here’s a look at the six games (since 1966) where the Pack allowed 20-plus points in the first half and allowed zero in the second half.
December 8, 2013 vs. Atlanta: Pack losing 21-10 at halftime; they won the game 22-21.
December 10, 1989 vs. Kansas City: Pack losing 21-3 at halftime; they lost the game 21-3.
September 18, 1988 vs. Miami: Pack losing 24-14 at halftime; they lost game 24-17.
September 14, 1986 vs. New Orleans: Pack losing 24-3 at halftime; they lost game 24-10.
September 12, 1984 vs. Los Angeles Rams: Pack losing 23-0 at halftime; they won game 35-23.
December 7, 1975 vs. Minnesota: Pack losing 24-3 at halftime; they lost game 24-3.
Note: The two games above that they won were both played in Green bay; the other four games were played on the road.
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The Mike McCarthy playoff era: 10 stats you probably didn’t know!
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy took over head coaching duties for the team in 2006 and has compiled an impressive 74-38 regular season record. In addition, McCarthy has led the Packers to the playoffs in five of his seven seasons where the team has won six playoff games and lost three (through January 5, 2013).
Let’s take a look at the Mike McCarthy playoff era; those nine playoff games the Packers have currently played (they play playoff game number 10 in the McCarthy era tonight against the San Francisco 49ers).
1. With McCarthy as head coach, the Packers are 5-0 in playoff games played in an odd-numbered year. The team is 1-3 in playoff games played in an even-numbered year
2. The Packers are 2-2 in home playoff games in the McCarthy era and 1-0 at neutral sites (Super Bowl). McCarthy’s teams have a 3-1 record in road playoff games.
3. During McCarthy’s tenure, the Pack has won each of the three Saturday playoff games they played; they are 3-3 in Sunday playoff contests.
4. The Packers have scored 20 or more points in each of the nine playoff games under McCarthy’s leadership. The team is 6-1 in games when they scored 21 or more points in a playoff game since 2006 (the only loss was the 51-45 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals).
5. When Green Bay allowed 21 or fewer points in a playoff game under McCarthy, the team is a perfect 5-0.
6. The Packers had the lead at halftime in each of the last six playoff games they won.
7. Green Bay has scored first in only three of the nine playoff games under McCarthy.
8. The Pack averaged 119 yards per game on the ground in their six McCarthy era playoff wins, only 88 yards rushing per game in the three losses.
9. The Packers had nine turnovers in their three playoff losses since 2006. In their six playoff wins since 2006, they had only seven turnovers. The defense had 15 takeaways in those six wins; they had only three takeaways in the three losses.
10. The Green Bay defense had 16 sacks in their six playoff wins under McCarthy; in the three losses they had only four sacks. The Packers QB was sacked nine times in their three defeats; they allowed 12 sacks in the six wins.
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Packers 5-0 start rare for Super Bowl champs
Image by eytonz via Flickr
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
With their 25-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers became the seventh Super Bowl champion in NFL history to start the following season 5-0. But let’s take it a step (or two) further…
When you consider that the Packers won the last two regular season games in their Super Bowl season, followed by their playoff wins and a 5-0 start this season, the Pack is only the fourth team in NFL history to accomplish that feat. Finally, with wins in their final two regular season games, four playoff wins and a 5-0 record so far this season, the Packers are the only team to accomplish that feat. The other three teams that won their last two regular season games in their Super Bowl season, won their playoff games and went 5-0 in the first five games the following season won just three playoff games whereas the Packers won four playoff games in their Super Bowl season.
Here are the seven Super Bowl champions that started the following season with at least a 5-0 record:
Team, Super Bowl season Wins to start the next season
Chicago Bears, 1985 6-0
San Francisco 49ers, 1989 10-0
Denver Broncos, 1997 13-0
St. Louis Rams, 1999 6-0
New England Patriots, 2003 6-0
Indianapolis Colts, 2006 9-0
Green Bay Packers, 2010 5-0 (as of Oct. 9, 2011)
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A TRIVIA QUESTION. What do the 2009 Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and the 1967 Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers have in common? Answer at end of the blog.
Here’s a few more stats looking at how well Super Bowl champions did through their first five games of the following season:
* Nine of the 45 Super Bowl champs had a losing record after their first five games the following season. One team, the 1987 New York Giants, were 0-5 after winning the Super Bowl the previous season.
* The 1999 Denver Broncos lost their first four games following their Super Bowl victory. They won Game Five.
* If you consider their two-game winning streak to end the 2010 regular season, their four wins in the 2010 playoffs and their five-game winning streak to start this season, the Packers are currently on a 11-game winning streak. The 2003 Super Bowl champion Patriots ended the 2003 regular season with 12 straight wins, won three playoff games and won their first six games of 2004 to have a 21-game winning streak. The Packers would have to finish with a 16-0 regular season record in 2011 to top the Patriots mark.
* In case you were wondering, the 1972 Miami Dolphins went 14-0 in the regular season, won three playoff games then lost their second game in the 1973 season for a streak of 18 straight wins. The 1971 Dolphins ended their season with a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
TRIVIA ANSWER: The 2009 Saints and ’67 Packers are the only two teams in NFL history to lose their last two regular season games and go on to win the Super Bowl that same year.
“My team is 2-0… should I order my Super Bowl tix?”
Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Friday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
Two games does not an NFL season make, and it may not be enough to prompt some fans to go out and purchase Super Bowl tickets or give up on their team’s chances for the 2011 campaign, but what does two games into the season tell us? More importantly, can past history predict if the Super Bowl champs this year will come from the teams that are now 2-0, those at 1-1, or those still looking for their first win of 2011?
In looking at the past 45 Super Bowl champions, we discover that 30 of them (66.7%) were 2-0 in the first two games of their championship season. Ten of the teams had one win and one loss, three teams were 0-2, and two teams had one win and a tie after their first two games.
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name the last team to start the season 0-2 and win the Super Bowl that year? Answer at the end of the blog.
This year after two weeks of the season we are already down to only seven undefeated teams at 2-0 (Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, New England, New York Jets and Washington). Time will tell if all, any, or some of the seven make the playoffs, but over the past five seasons we’ve seen that close to half of the playoff teams have been 2-0 after Week Two. Of the 60 playoff teams from the five seasons spanning 2006-2010, 29 teams were 2-0, 26 were 1-1, and only five teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs in the last five seasons. Note: In the last two NFL seasons (2009 and 2010) no 0-2 team made the playoffs in those years.
Including this season and going back another five seasons, two teams have started 2-0 in four of those six years, most in the NFL: the New England Patriots, and the Green Bay Packers. Four teams, Cleveland, Oakland, Philadelphia and St. Louis have no 2-0 starts in the last six NFL seasons.
TRIVIA ANSWER: The 2007 New York Giants started the season 0-2 and won the Super Bowl that year.
SIX STATS you might not know about… the Packers-Bears rivalry
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“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
1. The Packers and Bears have played 182 games (regular-season and playoff games). The rivalry began in 1921 and is the league’s longest rivalry… it is not, however, the longest continuous rivalry because the two teams did not play in the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season.
2. The Bears lead the series with 92 wins, 84 losses and six ties. If you go back to just games since 2000, the Packers lead the series with a 14-9 record. Go back to the 1992 season and the Packers have won 27 of the last 39 games.
3. The Packers have made 26 playoff appearances, the Bears 25. Each team played in ten NFL title games from 1933-69; the Packers won eight, the Bears six.
4. Eighty-one of the 182 games in the series (44.5%) have been decided by seven points or less. The last six games have all been decided by a touchdown or less.
5. The two teams have made the playoffs in the same season four times (1941, 1994, 2001 and 2010). They played against each other in the playoffs in ’41 and last season.
6. Here’s a win-loss breakdown (team with the most wins in the decade is listed) by decade of the series:
1920’s: Chicago 7-6-3
1930’s: Chicago 12-11-1
1940’s: Chicago 16-4-1
1950’s: Chicago 14-5-1
1960’s: Green Bay 15-5
1970’s: Chicago 11-9
1980’s: Chicago 11-7
1990’s: Green Bay 13-7
2000’s: Green Bay 12-8
2010’s: Green Bay 2-1
Did you know? On Christmas Day this year the Packers and Bears will play their 184th game in this series. To fly from Lambeau Field to Soldier Field is 184 miles!
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