Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions: Brett Favre and Mike McCarthy Hit Milestones at Ford Field in 2006
The Green Bay Packers hope to add to their list of memorable moments from their rivalry with the Detroit Lions when the two teams square off Sunday night. The Packers, once 4-8 this season, can clinch a playoff berth if they defeat their division rivals. The Lions can get in with a win and some help from the Los Angeles Rams.
Throughout the years, the Packers vs. Lions rivalry has had its share of big moments. One came on Sept. 24, 2006, when Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre reached one of the many milestones of his Hall of Fame career.
The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions have met 186 times
The Packers/Lions rivalry has had its share of big moments during their 186-game stretch. Sunday’s game is certainly meaningful for the Packers, but it could also be just as big for the Lions, who have won the last two games of the rivalry.
A Green Bay victory puts the Packers in the playoffs. A month ago, the postseason was unthinkable as they sat 4-8 after losing seven of eight games. One of those losses came to the Lions when the Packers failed to score a touchdown in a 15-9 loss.
The Lions opened the season 1-6 but have since won seven of their last nine. If the Rams upset the Seattle Seahawks in the afternoon, the Lions would earn a playoff berth with a Sunday night win over the Packers.
The teams have had some memorable moments in a series that has the Packers holding a 105-74-7 mark. The biggest moment came in 1945 when receiver Don Hutson scored a record 29 points in one quarter in a 57-21 victory. Hutson caught four touchdown passes and booted five extra points in the second quarter after the Lions took a 7-0 lead.
Brett Favre’s 400th TD pass highlights one of the Packers vs. Lions rivalry moments
Another memorable moment from the rivalry came on Sept. 24, 2006. The Packers faced the Lions at Ford Field, and both teams came in winless at 0-2.
Favre opened the scoring with the first of his three touchdown passes on the day. He found Greg Jennings, who turned a short pass into a 75-yard touchdown reception. That play was the 400th touchdown pass of Favre’s career, making him just the second quarterback in NFL history to do so. Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino finished his career with 420.
After the touchdown, the 36-year-old Favre ran around in celebration, as he often did with each score, but soon realized he wasn’t that young pup anymore.
“I’ve got to stop doing that because I get so tired,” said Favre after the game, per Packers.com. “I have to be smarter. Mike (McCarthy) said, `Great job, but you have to quit running around like that,’ because I couldn’t talk to him, I couldn’t breathe. I was able to recover a lot easier back in the old days, but there’s nothing like throwing touchdown passes.”
Favre added two more in the game as the Packers pulled out a 31-24 victory. Favre’s milestone wasn’t the only one for Green Bay that day. The victory was also the first of McCarthy’s NFL coaching career.
