If the Packers win today, they’ll accomplish something nobody else has done: win at least 13 games three years in a row. They’ve been remarkably steady since Matt LaFleur showed up, sitting on the cusp of a third straight season at 13-3.
With all those wins, of course, comes the added pressure of making them count, finally making it back to the Super Bowl. If they close out this season with wins over the Vikings and Lions, Green Bay will also have the potential to become the winningest team over a three-year period to not make it to a championship game.
The NFL went to a 16-game format in 1978. Since then, 27 teams have made it through a three-year period without losing more than 10 games. Only three of those teams didn’t also appear in at least one Super Bowl during their streak.
The Packers lost in the NFC Championship game at San Francisco two years ago. Last year they fell at home in that game against Tampa Bay. Right now it’s looking like the Packers will be playing at home in the playoffs again this season.
Currently, three teams have gone 38-10 in three-year periods without appearing in a Super Bowl: the 49ers of the early ‘90s, the Peyton Manning Colts that had trouble getting by New England, and the Saints of the last three years.
BEST THREE-YEAR WINNING PERCENTAGES | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Team | G | Win | Loss | Tie | Pct |
1985-87 | Chicago | 47 | 40 | 7 | 0 | .851 |
1984-86 | Chicago | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
1996-98 | Denver | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2005-07 | Indianapolis | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2006-08 | New England | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2007-09 | Indianapolis | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2010-12 | New England | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2015-17 | New England | 48 | 39 | 9 | 0 | .813 |
2019-21 | Green Bay | 47 | 38 | 9 | 0 | .809 |
1982-84 | Miami | 41 | 33 | 8 | 0 | .805 |
1982-84 | Washington | 41 | 33 | 8 | 0 | .805 |
1983-85 | Miami | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
1988-90 | San Francisco | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
1989-91 | San Francisco | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
1990-92 | San Francisco | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2003-05 | Indianapolis | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2003-05 | New England | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2004-06 | Indianapolis | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2005-07 | New England | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2012-14 | Denver | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2014-16 | New England | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2016-18 | New England | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2018-20 | Kansas City | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
2018-20 | New Orleans | 48 | 38 | 10 | 0 | .792 |
1986-88 | Chicago | 47 | 37 | 10 | 0 | .787 |
1987-89 | San Francisco | 47 | 37 | 10 | 0 | .787 |
2019-21 | Kansas City | 47 | 37 | 10 | 0 | .787 |
—Ian Allan