# 1996 Green Bay Packers season

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. 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 ranked 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.
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. 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 | Subtractions |
| WR 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 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 27 | John Michels | Offensive tackle | USC |
| 2 | 56 | Derrick Mayes | Wide receiver | Notre Dame |
| 3 | 90 | Mike Flanagan * | Center | UCLA |
| 3 | 93 | Tyrone Williams | Cornerback | Nebraska |
| 4 | 123 | Chris Darkins | Running back | Minnesota |
| 6 | 208 | Marco Rivera * | Guard | Penn State |
| 7 | 240 | Kyle Wachholtz | Quarterback | USC |
| 7 | 252 | Keith McKenzie | Defensive end | Ball State |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted Free Agents

1996 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Brad Keeney | Defensive tackle | The Citadel |
| Eric Matthews | Wide receiver | Indiana |
| Troy Stark | Offensive tackle | Georgia |

## 1996 Green Bay Packers season
### Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Game recap |
| 1 | August 2 | New England Patriots | W 24–7 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 2 | August 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–17 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 3 | August 17 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 17–15 | 3–0 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | August 24 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 6–20 | 3–1 | RCA Dome | Recap |

### Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap |
| 1 | September 1 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–3 | 1–0 | Houlihan's Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 39–13 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 3 | September 15 | San Diego Chargers | W 42–10 | 3–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 4 | September 22 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 21–30 | 3–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Recap |
| 5 | September 29 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 31–10 | 4–1 | Kingdome | Recap |
| 6 | October 6 | at Chicago Bears | W 37–6 | 5–1 | Soldier Field | Recap |
| 7 | October 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 23–20 (OT) | 6–1 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | October 27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 13–7 | 7–1 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 10 | November 3 | Detroit Lions | W 28–18 | 8–1 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 11 | November 10 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 20–27 | 8–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 18 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 6–21 | 8–3 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | November 24 | at St. Louis Rams | W 24–9 | 9–3 | Trans World Dome | Recap |
| 14 | December 1 | Chicago Bears | W 28–17 | 10–3 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 15 | December 8 | Denver Broncos | W 41–6 | 11–3 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 16 | December 15 | at Detroit Lions | W 31–3 | 12–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | Recap |
| 17 | December 22 | Minnesota Vikings | W 38–10 | 13–3 | Lambeau Field | Recap |

### Postseason

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| Wild Card | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye |
| Divisional | January 4, 1997 | San Francisco 49ers (4) | W 35–14 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 12, 1997 | Carolina Panthers (2) | W 30–13 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| Super Bowl XXXI | January 26, 1997 | New England Patriots (A2) | W 35–21 | 3–0 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: at. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Packers | 10 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

#### Week 5: at. Seattle Seahawks

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Kingdome, Seattle
* Date: September 29
* Game time: 1:04 pm local
* Game weather: indoors
* Game attendance: 59,973
* Referee: Ron Blum
* TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville
* Gamebook
Game information :
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 – rush – total – to
GB – 202 – 142 – 344 – 0
SEA – 170 – 159 – 329 – 5 :

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Green Bay Packers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 456 | 210 | W5 |
| $^{(6)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 298 | 315 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 283 | 305 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 221 | 293 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 302 | 368 | L5 |

## Season statistical leaders

Brett Favre broke the Packers single-season record for touchdown passes by throwing 39.
* 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Packers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: January 4, 1997
* Game time: 11:30 a.m
* Referee: Dick Hantak
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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Packers | 0 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 30 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: January 12, 1997
* Game time: 11:30 a.m
* Referee: Bob McElwee

### Super Bowl XXXI vs. New England Patriots

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Packers | 10 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 35 |
at Louisiana Superdome
* Date: January 26, 1997
* Game time: 5:30 p.m.
* Referee: Gerald Austin
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 Award
* 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 MVP
* Reggie White, NFC Pro Bowl selection
* Keith Jackson, NFC Pro Bowl selection