Bart Starr spent nine seasons as head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1975 until 1983. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to turn the team around. He had just two winning seasons and made one playoff appearance during his tenure as the coach. His regular season record was 52-76-3. But he did lead the Packers to the playoffs during the strike-shortened 1982 season when the Packers finished 5-3-1. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Packers hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. Today, we remember the only playoff win by Bart Starr as coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Remembering the Only Playoff Win by Bart Starr as Coach of the Packers:The Leadup

The 1982 NFL season featured only nine regular season games after the players went on strike after the first two games of the season. This was unfortunate for the Packers, who were 2-0 when the strike was called and had their strongest team since Starr took over as coach.

Quarterback Lynn Dickey led an explosive offense that featured the running of Eddie Lee Ivery and Gerry Ellis. The receiving corps was elite with wide receivers James Lofton and John Jefferson and tight end Paul Coffman. All three of them earned Pro Bowl honors that year.

In 1982, the Packers defense was also strong. They finished eighth in the league in yards allowed and 11th in points allowed.

Because the season only had nine games, the NFL had eight teams from each conference make the playoffs. They seeded the teams one through eight regardless of division. The Packers finished third in the NFC and faced the 5-4 Cardinals in the opening round of what the league dubbed “The Super Bowl Tournament.”

This would be the Packers first home playoff game since “The Ice Bowl” in 1967. Ironically, the game did not sell out. It was the first time the Packers failed to sell every ticket for a game that counted since 1959.

The First Half

The Cardinals struck first, moving the football deep into Packers territory led by the running of Ottis Anderson. The Green Bay defense held and forced the Cardinals to settle for an 18-yard field goal by Neil O’Donoghue. St. Louis led 3-0.

The Packers responded quickly and never looked back. Dickey hooked up with Jefferson on a 60-yard bomb for a touchdown. Ironically, Jefferson did not have a receiving touchdown in the entire regular season. Jan Stenerud kicked the extra point, and the Packers led 7-3 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Packers added three more touchdowns. First, Dickey found Lofton on a 20-yard scoring play. Then, Ivery ran for a touchdown from two yards out and caught a pass from Dickey for another from four. Green Bay led 28-3.

The Cardinals lost Anderson early in the second quarter to an ankle injury. He had gained 58 yards on just eight carries.

St. Louis made the game closer late in the half. Neil Lomax found wide receiver Pat Tilley on a five-yard touchdown pass. But Packers backup tight end Gary Lewis blocked the extra point. The Packers led at the half 28-9.

Remembering the Only Playoff Win by Bart Starr as Coach of the Packers: The Second Half

The Packers pulled away in the second half. Stenerud added a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 31-9 Green Bay.

Dickey followed that up with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson late in the third quarter. Another Stenerud field goal made it 41-9 early in the fourth quarter. A late touchdown pass from Lomax to Mike Shumann closed out the scoring.

The Packers defense also exceled in this game. Estus Hood and Mark Murphy intercepted Lomax while the Packers recorded five sacks including two by defensive end Mike Butler and 1.5 by Ezra Johnson.

Lewis blocked a field goal and an extra point on special teams.

Dickey finished the game by completing 17-of-23 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns. Jefferson made six catches for 148 yards and two scores.

The fans celebrated by tearing down the goalposts in celebration.

The Aftermath

The game was played one day before Starr’s 49th birthday. The playoff win was certainly a great birthday present from the team.

“Our passing game was as good as we’ve had it,” Starr said after the game.

Dickey credited the running game for making the passing game effective. “If you look back over the season, any time we were running the ball, it opened up the passing game,” he said. “If we can’t run, the defense isn’t dumb. It knows it can tee off. Today, we had a good day rushing the football.”

Center Larry McCarren, who had been with the team for 10 seasons, was thrilled with finally winning a playoff game. “We arrived at last,” McCarren said. “We had something to prove, that we belong in the playoffs, and now we’re in the round of four.”

The Packers faced the Dallas Cowboys the following week on the road. While the Packers gave them a fight, Dallas beat Green Bay 37-26 to advance to the NFC Championship Game. The Packers season was over.

Starr would last only one more season as coach of the Packers. The defense stumbled in 1983 due to injury and the departure of Butler to the USFL. The offense was even better but the team finished 8-8 and Starr was replaced the following year by Forrest Gregg.

But this game was a special one for Starr. It would be the only playoff win for the Packers franchise after Vince Lombardi retired and before the arrival of Mike Holmgren and Brett Favre.

 

 

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