# 1982 Green Bay Packers season

The 1982 Green Bay Packers season was their 64th season overall and their 62nd season in the National Football League (NFL), and was shortened due to a players’ strike. The team posted a 5–3–1 record under coach Bart Starr. Due to the strike, the NFL ignored division standing and placed eight teams from each conference into the playoffs. The Packers finished the season in third place, which earned them a playoff berth. The Packers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 41–16 in the first round, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys 37–26 in the second. Their playoff berth was the first for the Packers in ten seasons, their first playoff win in the post-Vince Lombardi era, and their only playoff win between 1968 and 1992. Additionally, the game against the Cardinals was their first home playoff game since the Super Bowl season of 1967.
The strike prevented both games of the Bears–Packers rivalry from being played this year, making the Lions–Packers rivalry the longest-running annual series in the league. It also led to Milwaukee becoming the Packers primary home by happenstance, as three of their four regular-season home games were played at Milwaukee County Stadium, although the playoff game against the Cardinals was at Lambeau.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1982 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 22 | Ron Hallstrom | Guard | Iowa |
| 3 | 71 | Del Rodgers | Running back | Utah |
| 4 | 98 | Robert Brown | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | 126 | Mike Meade | Running back | Penn State |
| 6 | 152 | Chet Parlavecchio | Linebacker | Penn State |
| 7 | 183 | Joel Whitley | Defensive back | UTEP |
| 8 | 210 | Thomas Boyd | Linebacker | Alabama |
| 9 | 237 | Charles Riggins | Defensive end | Bethune–Cookman |
| 10 | 264 | Eddie Garcia | Kicker | SMU |
| 11 | 294 | John Macauley | Center | Stanford |
| 12 | 321 | Phil Epps | Wide receiver | TCU |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1982 undrafted free agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Wamon Buggs | Wide Receiver | Vanderbilt |
| Britt Freeman | Wide Receiver | Montana State |
| Kerry Hafner | Tight end | Wisconsin–Stout |
| Larry Rubens | Linebacker | Montana State |
| Tony Vitale | Guard | Central Michigan |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Original week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | 1 | September 12 | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–23 | 1–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| 2 | 2 | September 20 | at New York Giants | W 27–19 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium |
| — | 3 | September 26 | Miami Dolphins | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 4 | October 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 5 | October 10 | at Chicago Bears | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 6 | October 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 7 | October 24 | at Minnesota Vikings | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 8 | October 31 | Chicago Bears | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 9 | November 7 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Canceled | 2–0 | Game not held due to 1982 NFL strike |
| — | 10 | November 14 | at Detroit Lions | Postponed | 2–0 | Played on January 2nd due to 1982 NFL strike |
| 3 | 11 | November 21 | Minnesota Vikings | W 26–7 | 3–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| 4 | 12 | November 28 | at New York Jets | L 13–15 | 3–1 | Shea Stadium |
| 5 | 13 | December 5 | Buffalo Bills | W 33–21 | 4–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| 6 | 14 | December 12 | Detroit Lions | L 10–30 | 4–2 | Lambeau Field |
| 7 | 15 | December 19 | at Baltimore Colts | T 20–20 (OT) | 4–2–1 | Memorial Stadium |
| 8 | 16 | December 26 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 38–7 | 5–2–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium |
| 9 | 17 | January 2, 1983 | at Detroit Lions | L 24–27 | 5–3–1 | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers$^{(3)}$ | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(4)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers$^{(7)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 158 | 178 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions$^{(8)}$ | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
NFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 |
| 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5). |||||||||

## Playoffs
### NFC First Round

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Packers | 7 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 41 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST
* Game weather: 26 °F (−3.3 °C), overcast
* Game attendance: 54,282
* Referee: Fred Wyant
* TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
In the Packers' first home playoff game in 15 years, quarterback Lynn Dickey threw for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns en route to a 41–16 win. The Packers scored four touchdowns on four consecutive possessions. It was their first playoff victory since Super Bowl II.

### NFC Second Round

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| Cowboys | 6 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 37 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C), sunny
* Game attendance: 63,972
* Referee: Gene Barth
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
The Cowboys scored touchdowns on two 80-yard drives while cornerback Dennis Thurman had 3 interceptions, including a 39-yard touchdown and one to clinch the victory. Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey threw for a franchise postseason record 332 yards and a touchdown, but his 3 interceptions were too costly to overcome. Receiver James Lofton caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, and also had a 71-yard touchdown run on a reverse play, which tied the record for longest running play in a playoff game at the time.
Green Bay finished the game with a franchise playoff record 466 total yards.

## Awards and records

* Led NFL in points scored (226)