GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers were on the field for 2,216 plays combined on offense and defense this season and several hundred more on special teams.
As we look back on the season, we will examine 10 plays, subjectively chosen, as the ones that most shaped the Packers’ season that ended with Sunday’s 23-20 NFC wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field.
The list, so far, in reverse order:
No. 10: Micah Hyde’s near interception against the 49ers.
No. 9: Enter Matt Flynn in relief against the Vikings.
No. 8: Johnathan Franklin’s fourth-and-1 fumble against the Bengals.
Here’s No. 7:
Date: Dec. 15, 2013.
Location: AT&T Stadium; Dallas.
Game: Packers at Cowboys.
The play: Eddie Lacy’s 60-yard run to start the third quarter.
Why it mattered: The Packers trailed the Cowboys 26-3 at halftime and needed something -- anything -- to give them a spark. On the first play from scrimmage, Lacy took the handoff from Flynn and ran to his left. He got through the initial hole created by left tackle David Bakhtiari and right guard T.J. Lang, who pulled. Fullback John Kuhn then cut safety Barry Church, allowing Lacy to get through the second level and run from his own 20 to the Cowboys’ 20. Three plays later, Flynn threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, who took the ball away from cornerback Orlando Scandrick. It was the beginning of a 23-point comeback -- matching the largest in team history -- for a 37-36 victory.
Quotable: “Right out of the gate, we called it and it busts wide open,” center Evan Dietrich-Smith said. “It was one of those deals, all of a sudden everything started clicking from there. It was one play after another. The next thing you know we’re scoring touchdowns and all that kind of stuff.”
