Contents

2014 Green Bay Packers season

2014 Green Bay Packers season
Owner	Green Bay Packers, Inc. (360,760 stockholders)[1]
General manager	Ted Thompson
Head coach	Mike McCarthy
Home field	Lambeau Field
Local radio	WTMJ (620) Milwaukee WTAQ (1360/97.5) & WIXX (101.1) Green Bay
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st NFC North
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Cowboys) 26–21 Lost NFC Championship (atSeahawks) 22–28 (OT)
Pro Bowlers	7 QBAaron Rodgers FBJohn Kuhn WRJordy Nelson WRRandall Cobb GJosh Sitton OLB Clay Matthews III CBSam Shields
AP All-Pros	4 QBAaron Rodgers (1st team) FBJohn Kuhn (1st team) WRJordy Nelson (2nd team) GJosh Sitton (2nd team)
Uniform
← 2013 Packers seasons 2015 →

The 2014 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 96th season overall, the 94th in the National Football League (NFL), and the ninth under head coach Mike McCarthy. The team tied with four other teams for a league-best 12 wins and 4 losses, while also adding a fourth consecutive NFC North division title. The club went undefeated at home for the first time since 2011. They also led the league in scoring, with 486 points, then the second-most in franchise history (currently third most). It marked the first time since the 2009 season that the team had a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers, and a 1,000-yard rusher.

In the playoffs, the Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round, but then, in the NFC Championship game against the Seattle Seahawks, despite holding a 16–0 lead at halftime, and a 19–7 lead in the dwindling minutes of the fourth quarter, the Packers would collapse, and would go on to lose the game 28–22 in overtime, ending their season. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named the league's Most Valuable Player.^[2]

The Packers made the playoffs for the sixth straight season, tying the record set between 1993 and 1998.

Offseason[edit]

Free agents[edit]

RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent, FT: Franchise Tag
*Player was signed after the June 1st deadline and will not count towards compensatory selections.

Additions[edit]

*Offseason and/or practice squad member only.

Subtractions[edit]

Draft[edit]

Notes

• The Packers were awarded two compensatory selections after losing free agents Greg Jennings and Erik Walden.^[37]
• Wide receiver Jared Abbrederis^[38] and defensive end Khyri Thornton^[39] sustained injuries prior the start of the season and were placed on injured reserve.

Undrafted free agent additions[edit]

Staff[edit]

Final roster[edit]

Preseason[edit]

Trades[edit]

*Player failed to make the active roster. Draft pick compensation voided.

Starters[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Offense[edit]

Defense[edit]

Postseason[edit]

Offense[edit]

Defense[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Preseason[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason[edit]

Game summaries[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Week 1: at Seattle Seahawks[edit]

atCenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

• Date: September 4
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CDT/5:30 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 68,424
• Referee: John Parry
• TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
• Recap, Gamebook

The Packers 2014 regular season started in the NFL Kickoff game against the defending Super Bowl XLVIII Champion Seattle SeahawksatCenturyLink Field. This marks the first competitive contest between the two teams since the Fail Mary Game. The Seahawks defense proved too strong for the Packers, as Green Bay fell to 0–1.

Week 2: vs. New York Jets[edit]

atLambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 14
• Game time: 3:25 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 78,041
• Referee: Walt Anderson
• TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Evan Washburn
• Recap, Gamebook

After being down 21–3 midway through the second quarter, the Packers rallied back to a five-point halftime deficit. An 80-yard TD by Jordy Nelson in the third quarter gave the Packers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Late in the 4th quarter, the Jets had one last chance to tie the game. On 4th down, Jets quarterback Geno Smith seemed to have thrown a game-tying touchdown pass, but an official announced that the Jets had called for a timeout just before the ball was snapped. A confused Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, argued with the officials that he didn't call for a timeout. A look at the video replay showed that Jets offensive coordinator, Mary Mornhinwig, started running to Ryan, calling for a timeout. Even though the rules said that only the head coach could call for a timeout in that situation, the official simply heard a voice shouting for a timeout, and unable to look back to see who it was, since it was just before the ball was snapped, the official assumed that Ryan called for the timeout. While the Jets were able to convert the 4th down after the timeout, they were unable to move the ball any further, and turned the ball over on downs, at which point the Packers ran out the final 3:31 of the clock to get their first victory of the season.

Week 3: at Detroit Lions[edit]

atFord Field, Detroit, Michigan

• Date: September 21
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
• Game attendance: 62,418
• Referee: Carl Cheffers
• TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
• Recap, Gamebook

For the third straight season, the Packers started off with a 1–2 record. The Lions' defense dominated the game as the Packers failed to score any points in the second, third, or fourth quarter. The Packers crossed midfield on only three drives, and they had only one such drive in the second half. The Packers' 7 points represented the lowest total that the team scored in a game that Rodgers finished. Rodgers 162 passing yards was his lowest since the 2008 season.

Week 4: at Chicago Bears[edit]

atSoldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: September 28
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 61,736
• Referee: Terry McAulay
• TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
• Recap, Gamebook

During the week prior to the Packers' crucial game against the rival 2–1 Bears, Aaron Rodgers addressed the concerns of many Packers fans, who felt that the season was already slipping away just three weeks in with a 1–2 record. In a radio interview, Rodgers said to the fans, "R-E-L-A-X. Relax." Rodgers was true to his word, completing 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards, 4 touchdown passes, 0 interceptions, and a passer rating of 151.2, making it the second game of his career where he had a passer rating of over 150. Two of his touchdown passes were to Randall Cobb as the Packers took advantage of two Jay Cutler interceptions, scoring 17 unanswered points in the second half in a 38–17 win, which was also the Packers' 700th regular season win in the NFL.^[46] This was only the second game in NFL history to not have a punt.

Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings[edit]

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: October 2
• Game time: 7:25 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C),(Rain)
• Game attendance: 78,054
• Referee: Brad Allen
• TV announcers (CBS/NFLN): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson
• Recap, Gamebook

Continuing the momentum carried over from the victory over the Bears, the Packers trounced their other division rival, the Vikings, 42–10. Eddie Lacy ran for over 100 yards for the first time in the season, with 2 rushing touchdowns, while Julius Peppers reached a career milestone of accumulating over 100 career sacks as well as 10 career interceptions. The win improved the Packers to 3–2, the first time the team was over .500 for the season.

Week 6: at Miami Dolphins[edit]

atSun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

• Date: October 12
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 86 °F (30 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 70,875
• Referee: Bill Vinovich
• TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
• Recap, Gamebook

The Packers had a solid showing in the first half against the Dolphins, spotting an early 10–3 lead, but the Dolphins were able to rally back and had a 24–17 lead late in the 4th quarter. After a Mason Crosby field goal, the Packers forced Miami to punt, and a 17-yard return by Micah Hyde got the Packers the ball at their own 40 yard line with just over 2 minutes left, but no timeouts remaining. Aaron Rodgers led the Packers rally, first converting a 4th and 10, and later a 3rd and 10. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, with the clock running, Rodgers discreetly called for a "fake spike" play, which he successfully executed with a pass to Davante Adams, who went out of bounds at the Dolphins 4 yard line with 6 seconds left. Rodgers then threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless, giving the Packers a 27–24 victory.

Week 7: vs. Carolina Panthers[edit]

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: October 19
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), (Sunny)
• Game attendance: 78,106
• Referee: Jeff Triplette
• TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
• Recap, Gamebook

The Packers roared out of the gate against Carolina, scoring the first 28 points of the game, and stayed in control for the rest of the game, only giving up two touchdowns to the Panthers late, with the game already out of reach. The Packers improved to 5–2 for the season, and were now 4–0 since Aaron Rodgers told Packers fans to "relax."

Week 8: at New Orleans Saints[edit]

atMercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: October 26
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
• Game attendance: 73,146
• Referee: Ed Hochuli
• TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
• Recap, Gamebook

With the game tied at 16–16, Aaron Rodgers suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter, which hampered his playing for the rest of the game. The Saints dominated the rest of the way, outscoring the Packers 28–7 in the second half.

This would be only the third game in NFL history to not have a single punt.^[47]

Week 9: Bye week[edit]

No game. Green Bay had a bye week.

Week 10: vs. Chicago Bears[edit]

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: November 9
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), clear
• Game attendance: 78,292
• Referee: Craig Wrolstad
• TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
• Recap, Gamebook

After a week off to let his hurt hamstring to heal, Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers made a dominant showing over the rival Bears, building an insurmountable 42–0 lead in the first half. After forcing a Bears' punt, Rodgers marched the Packers 71 yards in 12 plays to take a 7–0 lead on a touchdown pass to Brandon Bostick on fourth-and-goal. The Bears' following possession lasted only two plays as Micah Hyde intercepted Jay Cutler and returned the ball 9 yards to the Bears 23-yard line. Four plays later Rodgers connected with Andrew Quarless for a 4-yard touchdown. After another punt by the Bears, the Packers went 72 yards in three plays. After the first two plays went for −1 yard, Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson for a 73-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. After a three-and-out by the Bears offense, Rodgers once again hit Nelson for a 40-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the Packers responding drive. The Bears started to move the ball on their next drive as they drove 70 yards, but turned the ball over on downs at the Packers 4-yard line. The Packers responded by driving 95 yards with Rodgers hitting Eddie Lacy for a 56-yard touchdown on a screen pass, extending the lead to 35–0. The Bears turned the ball over on downs again on their next drive. After both teams lost fumbles, Rodgers hit Randall Cobb, making the score a 42–0 run-over. On their second possession of the second half, Mason Crosby extended the Packers' lead to 45–0. The Bears finally got the scoreboard on their next drive as Cutler connected with Brandon Marshall for a 45-yard touchdown pass to cap of a 75-yard drive. Crosby connected on a 20-yard field goal next and after a three-and-out each, Casey Hayward intercepted Cutler and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown, extending the score to 55-7 early in the fourth quarter. Chris Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown, making the final score 55–14. Rodgers threw six first-half touchdowns, which matched the Packers' single-game record (with Matt Flynn) and the NFL record for touchdowns in a half (with Daryle Lamonica, 1969). The final score of 55 points tied a Lambeau Field record and Rodgers threw his NFL-record 16th scoring pass of 70 yards or more.^[48]

The Bears also became the first NFL team in over 90 years to give up over 50 points in consecutive games.

Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles[edit]

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: November 16
• Game time: 3:25 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C) with 17 °F (−8 °C) wind chill, (Cloudy) with 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) wind
• Game attendance: 78,270
• Referee: Carl Cheffers
• TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
• Recap, Gamebook