Home teams have dominated in Packers’ history with Broncos

The Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos have played each other 16 times in the two franchises’ history heading into this Sunday’s game, which will be number 17. The most significant game in this cross-conference matchup came in Super Bowl XXXII, when the Broncos famously upset the Packers, but that is hardly the most interesting historical tidbit about the games played between these two teams.

Instead, what is fascinating is the home/road split in the 15 regular season games. On Sunday, the Packers will look to win on the road, something that has happened just once in those prior 15 games. The two teams have played 8 previous times in Denver and 7 contests at Lambeau Field in Green Bay but in all of that time, just once has the visiting team prevailed — and even that game took overtime to decide it.

Let’s take a quick look back at all of the regular season games between these two teams to see how this strange trend has borne itself out.

Games in Green Bay (Packers 6-0-1)

1971: Packers 34, Broncos 13

The first game between these two franchises after the NFL-AFL merger came early in the 1971 season. The Packers, who had narrowly lost 42-20 to the New York Giants a week earlier, dominated a Broncos squad that had tied the Miami Dolphins — the eventual AFC champions — in week 1.

It was a matchup of elite running backs; Green Bay’s John Brockington would be the first-team All-Pro fullback that year while the Broncos’ Floyd Little led the NFL in rushing yards and made the Pro Bowl. Green Bay won big on the strength of its running game in a sloppy, turnover-filled contest. Packers quarterbacks Scott Hunter, Zeke Bratkowski, and Frank Patrick combined to go just 5-for-19 passing for 101 yards and three interceptions, but the Broncos’ Don Horn was worse, throwing a whopping six interceptions.

1987: Packers 17, Broncos 17

Only twice did these teams meet at Lambeau Field prior to the Packers’ 1990s-era resurgence due to the NFL’s inconsistent scheduling policies, and this one got in just before the NFL players went on strike during the 1987 season. Green Bay jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, but the Broncos fought back and tied the game with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Overtime was bizarre, as Brian Noble intercepted John Elway at the Packers’ 24-yard line with under two minutes left in the extra period, only to have Packers running back Kenneth Davis fumble on the next play. The Broncos tried to set up for a 40-yard field goal, but Rich Karlis missed the attempt, and the game finished in a tie.

1993: Packers 30, Broncos 27

The first opportunity for Brett Favre to play the Broncos came six years later, in his second year with the Packers. Green Bay jumped out to a 30-7 halftime lead, then hung on for dear life as the Broncos settled for field goals twice in the fourth quarter. Favre threw three picks, including a pick-six and another one near midfield with just over two minutes left, but Reggie White came up big with back-to-back sacks to end the Broncos’ comeback attempt.

1996: Packers 41, Broncos 6

Green Bay stormed to a Super Bowl title during the 1996 season, but Denver was a very good team that year and came into Lambeau Field at 12-1. However, John Elway was injured the week prior and missed the game, making the Packers 9-point favorites with Bill Musgrave starting under center for the Broncos. The Packers dominated, with Antonio Freeman catching 9 of 18 targets for 175 yards and three touchdowns in a rout.

2003: Packers 31, Broncos 3

This game is memorable for a few reasons. The Week 17 matchup closed out the season with the Packers desperately needing a win and some help in the form of a Vikings loss to win the NFC North and sneak into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Broncos had already locked up a Wild Card spot in the AFC and were sitting several starters, including quarterback Jake Plummer, running back Clinton Portis, and receiving options Rod Smith and Shannon Sharpe. The Packers won in a rout, with Ahman Green setting a team record with a 98-yard touchdown run.

However, it’s what happened in Arizona (of all places) just after the game ended that makes this day memorable for Packers fans. Moments after the Packers’ win went final, Josh McCown found Nate Poole in the back of the end zone to win the game for the Cardinals and send Green Bay into the postseason.

2011: Packers 49, Broncos 23

The 2011 Packers were an offensive juggernaut coming off a Super Bowl XLV win. Aaron Rodgers was on his way to an MVP and this game was a big early statement as he threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns (to four different receivers) while running for two more scores in a week 4 victory. Charles Woodson added a pick-six off Kyle Orton, who would end up in Kansas City later that year and would be the winning quarterback in Green Bay’s only regular season loss.

2019: Packers 27, Broncos 16

The most recent game between these two teams at Lambeau Field was in Matt LaFleur’s first season as head coach of the Packers. Rodgers and Joe Flacco — before they were both over 40 years old and in the AFC North — squared off with the Packers coming out on top thanks to a 40-yard touchdown catch from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a pair of short touchdown runs by Aaron Jones, and six sacks by the Packers defense (three from Preston Smith including a strip-sack, two from Za’Darius Smith, and one from rookie Rashan Gary).

Games in Denver (Packers 1-6)

1975: Broncos 23, Packers 13

The Packers and Broncos barely played in Lambeau during the 1970s and 80s, but they faced off four times in Denver between 1975 and 1990. Neither team was very good in 1975, but Denver jumped out to a 13-0 lead before a wild 4th quarter. Green Bay scored 13 points around a Denver field goal, but a late comeback fell short when Randy Gradishar returned a John Hadl interception for a touchdown late in the game.

1978: Broncos 16, Packers 3

This was the Packers’ only winning season from 1973 to 1981, but Green Bay was no match for the AFC West-winning Broncos. Green Bay’s only points came on a first-quarter field goal, but two touchdowns for Denver in the third quarter and a late safety were all they needed against a sleepy Green Bay offense.

1984: Broncos 17, Packers 14

The 1-5 Packers were big underdogs against the 5-1 Broncos in this game on Monday Night Football, but the Green Bay defense held John Elway and company without an offensive touchdown. Unfortunately, Denver scored twice on fumble returns in the first quarter, forcing another second-half comeback attempt. Lynn Dickey threw for 371 yards and James Lofton accounted for 206 of those, including a 54-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. But Dickey was sacked and fumbled late in the game, allowing Denver to run the clock out on a narrow victory.

1990: Broncos 22, Packers 13

1990 was a down year for the Broncos, as they finished outside the top two in the AFC West for the first time since 1983. The two teams closed out the season by trading field goals in the first half before Denver put up a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter. Green Bay closed to within a touchdown with an Anthony Dilweg touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe, but a botched exchange between Dilweg and future Packers OL coach James Campen led to a sack in the end zone to effectively end the game.

1999: Broncos 31, Packers 10

Two years after the Packers’ stunning Super Bowl loss, Denver was dealing with their first year post-Elway and Green Bay fans wanted some revenge. They would leave massively disappointed, as the Packers managed to put up just 133 yards of total offense against 514 for the Broncos. Denver had more than 45 minutes of time of possession, picking off Brett Favre three times and letting Olandis Gary rack up 37 rushing attempts (for 124 yards and a score).

2007: Packers 19, Broncos 13 (OT)

Finally, Favre delivered a win in Denver in his final season with the Packers. A 79-yard touchdown to rookie James Jones was the big play early, as the Packers held a 13-7 halftime lead, but Denver had two long drives for field goals in the second half, ending regulation with an 11-play, 89-yard drive. Jay Cutler took a dive up the middle with 22 seconds left and Denver had to hurry the field goal team on to tie the game as the clock hit zero.

It took the Packers just one play in overtime to end it. After the kickoff, Favre reared back and delivered a perfect moonshot to Greg Jennings, who took it to the house for a game-winning score and the only win by a visiting team in these teams’ history:

2007 Favre Connects with Jennings for 82-Yard TD in OT | NFL

2015: Broncos 29, Packers 10

Eight years later, the Packers came into Denver in a matchup of 6-0 teams that appeared to be on track to meet in a Super Bowl rematch. However, Broncos DC Wade Phillips set up the recipe for beating Green Bay that year, playing two high safeties all game and daring the Packers to beat them over the top. With no Jordy Nelson due to an ACL tear, Green Bay had no answers offensively as Aaron Rodgers threw for just 77 yards. Peyton Manning and the Broncos would go on to win the Super Bowl; the Packers would become the Hail Mary team but would lose in the Divisional round.

2023: Broncos 19, Packers 17

The most recent game between these teams was an ugly matchup just two years ago. With Jordan Love still settling in as the Packers’ quarterback, the offense was a bit disjointed and got off to a slow start. Denver took a 16-3 lead in the third quarter before the Green Bay offense came alive with back-to-back touchdowns to take a brief lead midway through the fourth. But a long field goal from Wil Lutz in response would end up as the game-winning score when Love was intercepted on a deep ball just after the two-minute warning.

Home teams have dominated in Packers’ history with Broncos

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