Packers vs Buccaneers history: five things before Sunday

Sunday brings the Buccaneers to Lambeau Field. For 25 years these two teams shared the NFC Central, so the series runs deeper than most fans remember. Green Bay leads it 34-24-1, and each team has won a playoff game at Lambeau. Here are five things worth knowing before kickoff.

The first meeting was a 13-0 shutout in Tampa

The Packers and Buccaneers first played on October 23, 1977, at Tampa Stadium, the year Tampa Bay moved from the AFC West into the NFC Central. Neither team was any good. The Buccaneers had gone winless in their first season and were 0-5, and the Packers were 1-4. Green Bay won 13-0 with three interceptions and a blocked punt, and Eric Torkelson scored the only touchdown on a five-yard run. It was Tampa Bay’s 20th loss in a row.

The rivalry had an unkind nickname

Fans called the series the Battle of the Bays, but it also picked up a meaner name: the Bay of Pigs. It was a play on both teams having “Bay” in their names, and on how badly both of them played in the early years. The 1980 game in Tampa on October 12 summed it up. The two teams played into overtime and still finished 14-14, the only tie in the history of the series.

The Snow Bowl drew fewer than 20,000 fans

On December 1, 1985, a blizzard hit Green Bay before the Buccaneers game. The storm dropped more than 14 inches of snow, and wind gusts tore apart the tarp as the grounds crew pulled it off the field. Only 19,856 fans showed up, with more than 36,000 ticket holders staying home, the smallest crowd in Lambeau Field history up to that point. The ones who came saw the Packers win 21-0. Green Bay gained 512 total yards to Tampa Bay’s 65, and Lynn Dickey hit James Lofton for more than 100 yards by halftime.

The first playoff meeting went Green Bay’s way

The two teams met in the playoffs for the first time on January 4, 1998, in the divisional round at Lambeau Field. The Packers had gone 13-3 and beaten the Buccaneers twice that season. A blocked field goal helped Green Bay take control early, and Dorsey Levens ran for 112 yards and a touchdown in a 21-7 win. The Packers went on to win the NFC Championship at San Francisco and reach Super Bowl XXXII.

The second playoff meeting went the other way

The teams met again at Lambeau on January 24, 2021, this time for the NFC Championship. Tom Brady was in his first season in Tampa, and the Buccaneers had already beaten the Packers 38-10 in October. Trailing 31-23 late, Green Bay reached fourth and goal from the eight-yard line with 2:09 left. Matt LaFleur sent out Mason Crosby for a field goal instead of going for the tying touchdown. The Packers never got the ball back, and Tampa Bay won 31-26 on its way to the Super Bowl.

That’s the history behind Sunday’s game, and there’s more where that came from. You can find every Packers vs Buccaneers game on the team page. The site’s trivia quizzes are at the trivia hub.