Packers vs Falcons history: five things before Thursday

Thursday night brings Atlanta to Lambeau Field, and this is one of the few series where the playoff games matter more than the regular-season ones. The Packers and Falcons have met 36 times since 1966, and Green Bay leads the all-time record 19-17. Four of those meetings came in January, and every one of them changed how a season ended for somebody. Here are five things worth knowing before kickoff.

The first meeting was a 56-3 Packers win in 1966

Atlanta joined the league in 1966, lost its first nine games, and came to Wisconsin on October 23 at 0-6. The Packers were 5-1 and on their way to the first Super Bowl. Green Bay scored 28 points in the first half, Herb Adderley returned an interception 68 yards, Donny Anderson brought a punt back 77 yards, and the final was 56-3. The Falcons’ only points came on a Lou Kirouac field goal in the third quarter. The game was a Packers home date played at Milwaukee County Stadium, which is where Green Bay played part of its home schedule for decades.

The first playoff meeting went to Green Bay, 37-20

The two teams met in the playoffs for the first time on December 31, 1995, a wild card game at Lambeau Field in 33-degree fog. Atlanta struck first when Jeff George hit Eric Metcalf for a 65-yard touchdown, but the Packers answered with 27 straight points across the first half and won 37-20. That season ended in the NFC Championship Game for Green Bay, and the one after it ended with a Super Bowl trophy.

Atlanta handed the Packers their first home playoff loss ever

On January 4, 2003, the Falcons came to a 31-degree Lambeau Field and won a wild card game 27-7. It was the first home playoff loss in Packers franchise history, after decades of winning every January game in Green Bay. Michael Vick was 22 years old, passed for 117 yards and ran for 64 more, and Atlanta forced five turnovers. Brett Favre threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. The Falcons led 24-0 at halftime and were never threatened.

The 48 points in the 2011 divisional game are a franchise playoff record

Green Bay went to the Georgia Dome on January 15, 2011, as a sixth seed and beat the top-seeded Falcons 48-21. Atlanta led 7-0 early. Then the Packers scored 35 unanswered points, the last of them when Tramon Williams intercepted Matt Ryan and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown as the first half expired. Aaron Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another. Green Bay never punted, gained 442 yards, and its 48 points are still the most the franchise has scored in a playoff game. Three weeks later the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.

The Falcons closed the Georgia Dome by knocking Green Bay out

The last playoff meeting was the NFC Championship Game on January 22, 2017, and it was the final football game ever played at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta gained 325 yards in the first half alone, led 24-0, and won 44-21 on its way to Super Bowl LI. The Falcons scored on eight of their first nine drives and converted 10 of 13 third downs. Mason Crosby, who had made 23 consecutive postseason field goals coming in, missed from 41 yards in the second quarter.

The teams have played once since, on September 17, 2023, when Atlanta won 25-24 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That makes Thursday the first meeting in three years and the first at Lambeau Field since 2020. You can find every Packers vs Falcons game on the team page. The site’s trivia quizzes are at the trivia hub.