Seeing the Green Bay Packers grind out a so-ugly-it's-beautiful 10-3 win at Chicago last night reminds me of something: The 1963 Packers.
Stay with me.
As a born-and-raised Cheesehead I can tell you that the old-timers will tell you the '63 Packers were maybe the most talented of Vince Lombardi’s teams. Green Bay went into that season off three straight Championship game appearances, including back-to-back victories in 1961 and ’62, and finished the season 11-2-1.
That year, that record was good for 2nd in the NFL West. It wasn't good enough to reach the playoffs.
How? Back then, only the two division champions qualified for the post-season. In '63, both the Packers' defeats came to the Bears, including a 10-3 home loss in Week 1. Chicago finished 11-1-2 and went on to win the NFL Championship.
If the Bears didn’t steal that Week 1 road win, the rest of their season never happens. So for the 2019 Packers to go to Soldier Field, bulldog a 10-3 win, and go home with a mini-bye and the division lead … well, history suggests that might be important.
The Packers didn’t win anything really truly significant tonight. But they just vastly improved the significance of this season.
Stay with me.
As a born-and-raised Cheesehead I can tell you that the old-timers will tell you the '63 Packers were maybe the most talented of Vince Lombardi’s teams. Green Bay went into that season off three straight Championship game appearances, including back-to-back victories in 1961 and ’62, and finished the season 11-2-1.
That year, that record was good for 2nd in the NFL West. It wasn't good enough to reach the playoffs.
How? Back then, only the two division champions qualified for the post-season. In '63, both the Packers' defeats came to the Bears, including a 10-3 home loss in Week 1. Chicago finished 11-1-2 and went on to win the NFL Championship.
If the Bears didn’t steal that Week 1 road win, the rest of their season never happens. So for the 2019 Packers to go to Soldier Field, bulldog a 10-3 win, and go home with a mini-bye and the division lead … well, history suggests that might be important.
The Packers didn’t win anything really truly significant tonight. But they just vastly improved the significance of this season.
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