1996 Green Bay Packers season

NFL team season (won Super Bowl) August 2023 March 2026 Green Bay Packers 1996 13–3 1st NFC Central Mike Holmgren Sherman Lewis Fritz Shurmur Ron Wolf Green Bay Packers, Inc. Bob Harlan Lambeau Field Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. 49ers) 35–14Won NFC Championship(vs. Panthers) 30–13Won Super Bowl XXXI(vs. Patriots) 35–21 5 QB Brett Favre TE Keith Jackson C Frank Winters DE Reggie White SS LeRoy Butler Packers seasons 3 QB Brett Favre (1st team) S LeRoy Butler (1st team) DE Reggie White (2nd team) The 1996 season was the Green Bay Packers' 76th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 78th overall and their fifth under head coach Mike Holmgren. The franchise won its third Super Bowl and league-record 12th NFL Championship. The Packers posted a league-best 13–3 regular season win-loss record, going 8–0 at home and 5–3 on the road. It was the first time since 1962 that the team went undefeated at home.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 266 Additionally, the Packers had the NFL's highest-scoring offense (456) and allowed the fewest points on defense (210). Green Bay was the first team to accomplish both feats in the same season since the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. They finished the season with the number one offense, defense, and special teams. They also set a then NFL record for the fewest touchdowns allowed in a 16-game season, with 19. The Packers also allowed the fewest yards in the NFL and set a record for punt return yardage. Brett Favre won his second straight MVP award while also throwing for a career-high and league-leading 39 touchdown passes. In the postseason, the Packers defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round and the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game. Green Bay beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI to win their third Super Bowl and twelfth NFL Championship. 1996 Season in Review http://www.packers.com/history/1996_season/ 26 November 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20020808193835/http://www.packers.com/history/1996_season/ 2002-08-08 dead In 2007, the 1996 Packers were ranked as the 16th greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, with team commentary from Brett Favre, Mike Holmgren, and Desmond Howard, and narrated by Kevin Bacon. The 1996 Packers were ranked 6th-greatest Super Bowl team of all time by a similar panel done by ESPN and released in 2007. Later, they ranked #20 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.NFL Top 100 Teams https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nfl-top-100-teams.htm Pro Football Reference100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qzU600OwVc NFL.com As of 2023, the Packers are the only team since the implementation of the salary cap to score the most points and allow the fewest in the regular season. Offseason Additions SubtractionsWR Don Beebe (Panthers) QB Ty Detmer (Eagles)WR Desmond Howard (Jaguars) WR Mark Ingram Sr. (Eagles)FS Eugene Robinson (Seahawks) LB Joe Kelly (Eagles)DT Santana Dotson (Buccaneers) LB Fred Strickland (Cowboys) FS George Teague (Cowboys) DT John Jurkovic (Jaguars) NFL draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 Green Bay Packers 1 27 John Michels Offensive tackle USC yes 2 56 Derrick Mayes Wide receiver Notre Dame yes 3 90 Mike Flanagan Center UCLA yes yes 3 93 Tyrone Williams Cornerback Nebraska yes 4 123 Chris Darkins Running back Minnesota yes 6 208 Marco Rivera Guard Penn State yes yes 7 240 Kyle Wachholtz Quarterback USC no 7 252 Keith McKenzie Defensive end Ball State yes no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/1996_draft.htm 1996 Green Bay Packers Draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com January 26, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1996 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBrad KeeneyDefensive tackleThe CitadelEric MatthewsWide receiverIndianaTroy StarkOffensive tackleGeorgia Staff 1996 Green Bay Packers President/chief executive officer – Bob Harlan Executive vice president/general manager – Ron Wolf Director of pro personnel – Ted Thompson Director of college scouting – John Math Pro personnel assistant – Reggie McKenzie Head coach – Mike Holmgren Offensive coordinator – Sherman Lewis Quarterbacks – Marty Mornhinweg Running backs – Harry Sydney Wide receivers – Gil Haskell Offensive line – Tom Lovat Assistant offensive line/tight ends – Andy Reid Defensive coordinator – Fritz Shurmur Defensive line – Larry Brooks Linebackers – Jim Lind Defensive backs/secondary – Bob Valesente Defensive assistant/quality control – Johnny Holland Special teams – Nolan Cromwell Strength and conditioning – Kent Johnston Assistant strength and conditioning – Barry Rubin http://nfl.packers.com/history/all_time_roster/coaches/ All Time Coaches Database Packers.com December 26, 2013 December 27, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131227073313/http://nfl.packers.com/history/all_time_roster/coaches/ dead Roster 1996 Green Bay Packers 53 6 5  4 Brett Favre  9 Jim McMahon 18 Doug Pederson 34 Edgar Bennett 30 William Henderson FB 32 Travis Jervey 27 Calvin Jones 25 Dorsey Levens 82 Don Beebe 86 Antonio Freeman 81 Desmond Howard 80 Derrick Mayes 85 Terry Mickens 84 Andre Rison 89 Mark Chmura 88 Keith Jackson 83 Jeff Thomason 68 Gary Brown OT 67 Jeff Dellenbach C 72 Earl Dotson OT 65 Lindsay Knapp G 77 John Michels OT 62 Marco Rivera G 73 Aaron Taylor G 63 Adam Timmerman G 64 Bruce Wilkerson OT 52 Frank Winters C 93 Gilbert Brown DT 91 Shannon Clavelle DE 71 Santana Dotson DT 90 Darius Holland DT 96 Sean Jones DE 94 Bob Kuberski DT 92 Reggie White DE 98 Gabe Wilkins DE 54 Ron Cox OLB 55 Bernardo Harris MLB 56 Lamont Hollinquest OLB 53 George Koonce MLB 95 Keith McKenzie OLB 59 Wayne Simmons OLB 51 Brian Williams OLB 36 LeRoy Butler SS 33 Doug Evans CB 40 Chris Hayes SS 28 Roderick Mullen SS 21 Craig Newsome CB 39 Mike Prior FS 41 Eugene Robinson FS 46 Michael Robinson CB 37 Tyrone Williams CB 17 Craig Hentrich P 13 Chris Jacke K 87 Robert Brooks WR (IR) 7px 43 James Bostic RB (IR) 7px 16 Rob Carpenter WR (IR) 7px 44 Chris Darkins RB (IR) 7px 23 Matthew Dorsett CB (IR) 7px 58 Mike Flanagan C (IR) 7px 75 Ken Ruettgers OT (IR) 7px 38 Brian Satterfield RB (IR) 7px  2 Eric Matthews WR  7 Kyle Wachholtz QB 19 Bill Schroeder WR 42 Buster Owens CB 57 John Solomon OLB 74 Walter Scott DE 1996 Green Bay Packers season Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Gamerecap 1August 2, 1996New England Patriots W 24–7 1–0Lambeau FieldRecap 2August 11, 1996Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–17 2–0Lambeau FieldRecap 3August 17, 1996at Baltimore RavensW 17–15 3–0Memorial StadiumRecap 4August 24, 1996at Indianapolis Colts L 6–20 3–1RCA DomeRecap Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 September 1 at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 34–3 1–0 Houlihan's StadiumRecap 2 September 9, 1996 Philadelphia EaglesW 39–13 2–0 Lambeau FieldRecap 3 September 15 San Diego ChargersW 42–10 3–0 Lambeau FieldRecap 4 September 22 at Minnesota VikingsL 21–30 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 5 September 29 at Seattle Seahawks W 31–10 4–1 KingdomeRecap 6 October 6 at Chicago BearsW 37–6 5–1 Soldier FieldRecap 7 October 14, 1996 San Francisco 49ersW 23–20 (OT) 6–1 Lambeau FieldRecap 8 Bye 9 October 27 Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 13–7 7–1 Lambeau FieldRecap 10 November 3 Detroit LionsW 28–18 8–1 Lambeau FieldRecap 11 November 10 at Kansas City ChiefsL 20–27 8–2 Arrowhead StadiumRecap 12 November 18, 1996 at Dallas CowboysL 6–21 8–3 Texas StadiumRecap 13 November 24 at St. Louis RamsW 24–9 9–3 Trans World DomeRecap 14 December 1 Chicago BearsW 28–17 10–3 Lambeau FieldRecap 15 December 8 Denver BroncosW 41–6 11–3 Lambeau FieldRecap 16 December 15 at Detroit LionsW 31–3 12–3 Pontiac SilverdomeRecap 17 December 22 Minnesota VikingsW 38–10 13–3 Lambeau FieldRecap Postseason Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card First-round bye Divisional January 4, 1997 San Francisco 49ers (4)W 35–14 1–0 Lambeau FieldRecap NFC Championship January 12, 1997 Carolina Panthers (2)W 30–13 2–0 Lambeau FieldRecap Super Bowl XXXI January 26, 1997 New England Patriots (A2)W 35–21 3–0 Louisiana SuperdomeRecap Game summaries Week 1: at. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Packers 10 14 10 0 Buccaneers 0 3 0 0 September 1 Houlihan's Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 54,102 81 F; wind 6 mph on Walt Coleman Fox yes Q1 GB Jacke 23-yard field goal GB 3–0 Q1 GB Jackson 1 yard pass from Favre (Jacke kick) GB 10–0 Q2 TB Husted 48-yard field goal GB 10–3 Q2 GB Jackson 4-yard pass from Favre (Jacke kick) GB 17–3 Q2 GB Jackson 51-yard pass from Favre (Jacke kick) GB 24–3 Q3 GB Jacke 40-yard field goal GB 27–3 Q3 GB Levens 1 yard pass from Favre (Jacke kick) GB 34–3 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-20. Week 3: vs San Diego Chargers Green Bay Packers 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Three: San Diego Chargers at Green Bay Packers – Game summary September 15 12:00 p.m. CDT Chargers 3 0 0 7 Packers 7 14 7 14 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin 60,584 55 °F 1, relative humidity 80%, wind 9 mph Howard Roe NBC Charlie Jones and Randy Cross Box score First quarter GB – Edgar Bennett 10-yard run (Chris Jacke kick), 9:51. Packers 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 55 yards, 3:31. SDG – John Carney 43-yard field goal, 1:05. Packers 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 5:06. Second quarter GB – Antonio Freeman 19-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 12:52. Packers 14–3. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:13. GB – William Henderson 8-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 1:13. Packers 21–3. Drive: 17 plays, 88 yards, 9:24. Third quarter GB – Keith Jackson 7-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 1:52. Packers 28–3. Drive: 9 plays, 50 yards, 5:27. Fourth quarter SDG – Tony Martin 9-yard pass from Stan Humphries (John Carney kick), 8:16. Packers 28–10. Drive: 4 plays, 26 yards, 1:18. GB – LeRoy Butler 90-yard interception return (Chris Jacke kick), 6:31. Packers 35–10. GB – Desmond Howard 65-yard punt return (Chris Jacke kick), 4:59. Packers 42–10. Top passers SDG – Stan Humphries – 16/31, 130 yards, TD, 2 INT GB – Brett Favre – 22/33, 231 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers SDG – Leonard Russell – 9 rushes, 27 yards GB – Edgar Bennett – 13 rushes, 65 yards, TD Top receivers SDG – Tony Martin – 3 receptions, 38 yards, TD GB – Robert Brooks – 8 receptions, 108 yards Week 5: at. Seattle Seahawks Green Bay Packers 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Five: Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary September 29 1:04 pm local Packers 10 7 7 7 Seahawks 0 7 3 0 Kingdome, Seattle 59,973 indoors Ron Blum Fox Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville Gamebook First quarter GB – Antonio Freeman 13-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 4:36 (GB 7–0) GB – Chris Jacke 36-yard field goal, 0:34 (GB 10–0) Second quarter GB – Dorsey Levens 4-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 3:54 (GB 17–0) SEA – Chris Warren 37-yard run (Todd Peterson kick), 1:56 (GB 17–7) Third quarter GB – Keith Jackson 10-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 8:24 (GB 24–7) SEA – Todd Peterson 44-yard field goal, 5:35 (GB 24–10) Fourth quarter GB – Antonio Freeman 4-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick), 9:50 (GB 31–10) Top passers GB – Brett Favre: 20/34, 209 yds, 4 TD SEA – Rick Mirer: 10/30, 156 yds, 4 int Top rushers GB – Edgar Bennett: 22 car, 94 yds SEA – Chris Warren: 18 car, 103 yds, 1 TD Top receivers GB – Antonio Freeman: 7 rec, 108 yds, 2 TD SEA – Mike Pritchard: 2 rec, 54 yds Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers GB – 202 – 142 – 344 – 0 SEA – 170 – 159 – 329 – 5 Standings Season statistical leaders Brett Favre broke the Packers single-season record for touchdown passes by throwing 39. Green Bay Packers 1996 Statistics http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/stats?team=gnb&year=1996 ESPN 26 November 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20061108083331/http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/stats?team=gnb 2006-11-08 dead Passing yards: Brett Favre 3,899 yards Passing touchdowns: Brett Favre 39 TD Rushing yards: Edgar Bennett, 899 yards Rushing touchdowns: Dorsey Levens, 5 TD Receiving yards: Antonio Freeman, 933 yards Receiving touchdowns: Keith Jackson, 10 TD Points: Chris Jacke, 114 points Kickoff return yards: Desmond Howard, 460 yards Punt return yards: Desmond Howard, 875 yards Tackles: George Koonce, 97 tackles Sacks: Reggie White, 8.5 sacks Interceptions: Eugene Robinson, 6 interceptions Playoffs NFC Divisional Playoff vs. San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Divisional Playoff: San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers – Game summary January 4, 1997 11:30 a.m 49ers 0 7 7 0 Packers 14 7 7 7 Dick Hantak Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay was able to win going away on a cold damp day at Lambeau Field. With the weather turning the field into a muddy mess both offenses struggled. San Francisco was able to keep pace offensively and defensively for most of the game, with the score 21–14 in favor of Green Bay in the third quarter, but special teams were decisively dominated by the Packers. Penalties also played a factor as San Francisco had 6 for 42 yards, while Green Bay only had 1 for 5. A muffed kickoff by Green Bay set up a 49ers touchdown, but Green Bay's Desmond Howard returned two kicks for large gains, including one touchdown. The final score was Green Bay 35–14. NFC Championship Game vs. Carolina Panthers Green Bay Packers 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Championship Game: Carolina Panthers vs. Green Bay Packers – Game summary January 12, 1997 11:30 a.m Panthers 7 3 3 0 Packers 0 17 10 3 Bob McElwee Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Super Bowl XXXI vs. New England Patriots Green Bay Packers 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Super Bowl XXXI: New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers – Game summary January 26, 1997 5:30 p.m. Patriots 14 0 7 0 Packers 10 17 8 0 Gerald Austin Louisiana Superdome The Packers win their first championship since 1967. Desmond Howard is named the Super Bowl MVP, as he accumulated 244 total yards worth of returns (kick and punt) including a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Patriots Quarterback Drew Bledsoe threw 4 interceptions while Brett Favre threw for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran another one in. Awards and records Brett Favre, club record, most touchdown passes in one season, 39 Brett Favre, NFC leader, touchdown passes (39) Brett Favre, NFC leader, passing yardage (3,899) Brett Favre, NFL MVP Brett Favre, Bert Bell Awardhttp://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients 2012-08-03 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090619081037/http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm 2009-06-19 Brett Favre, Offense, UPI NFC Player of the Year Brett Favre, NFC Pro Bowl selection Brett Favre, All-Pro selection Brett Favre, Best NFL Player ESPY Award Desmond Howard, Super Bowl XXXI MVPSuper Bowl MVPs - Super Bowl History - National Football League https://www.espn.com/nfl/superbowl/history/mvps 2025-03-08 ESPN.com Reggie White, NFC Pro Bowl selection Keith Jackson, NFC Pro Bowl selection References 30em Green Bay Packers Category:Green Bay Packers seasons Category:NFC Central championship seasons Category:National Football Conference championship seasons Category:Super Bowl champion seasons Green