Five years ago, the Packers also tied the Vikings at Lambeau as part of a wild final six weeks
The Packers' 2013 season will be remembered for how it ended, when Aaron Rodgers found a wide-open Randall Cobb on Sunday Night Football at Soldier Field for a 33-28 win that clinched the NFC North.
But it was also the last season in which the Packers played to a tie, and it was a deadlock that made the difference in the standings when the Packers went on an improbable run to the playoffs. Led by Matt Flynn, the Packers scratched out the ugly game with the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Nov. 24 in Week 12, and had it been a loss, the Packers would not have finished ahead of the Chicago Bears for the NFC North title at the end of the year (although, to be fair, the Packers would have won the North on tiebreaker had the two teams both finished 8-8).
Rodgers, who had missed half the season with a broken collarbone, returned to action for that Bears finale and steered the Packers (8-7-1) into the playoffs. It was about as miraculous as possible, given the circumstances leading into the game.
Rodgers had broken his collarbone against the Chicago Bears in Week 9 on a sack by Shea McClellin. Much like Packers fans saw in 2017, life without Rodgers was a very rough road, and this time, a tie with the Vikings at Lambeau Field was a little less deflating than what happened Sunday, when Minnesota and Green Bay finished tied at 29-29.
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Here's a look back at that strange game in 2013, taking place Nov. 24 (Week 12):
Matt Flynn, signed two weeks earlier, was the hero
Matt Flynn came into the game with the Packers trailing the Vikings, 20-7, and rallied his team to a tie in a game that ultimately ended at 26-26.
"I don't know how many mixed emotions there are," Flynn said. "I'm frustrated and disappointed. I think we all can agree that we needed that win, but the season's not over. Everything's out in front of us."
Flynn, of course, played for Green Bay from 2008-2011 before signing as a free agent with Seattle -- he was a casualty of the surprising rise of late-round draft pick Russell Wilson. After seeing limited action with Seattle and Oakland, he came back to where his career began.
Flynn finished 21 of 36 for 218 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings.
Scott Tolzien had started and led the Packers on an 87-yard touchdown drive early in the game, but he struggled thereafter, and coach Mike McCarthy turned to Flynn after a three-and-out to open the second half.
Flynn had been signed two weeks earlier when veteran Seneca Wallace was placed on injured reserve. Even Rodgers' backup was out for the season.
Flynn led the team on an 80-yard drive helped by a big pass interference penalty on Marcus Sherels and capped by an Eddie Lacy touchdown run from 3 yards out. That made it 23-13. Had the Packers kicked the extra point instead of going for 2 (they didn't get it), Mason Crosby's field goal to close the regulation scoring would have won the game.
Flynn also engineered a 12-play, 76-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Jarrett Boykin with 3:33 to go. A 10-play, 60-yard drive set up Crosby's 27-yarder with 46 seconds to play, and he drove Green Bay to the Minnesota 7 after winning the coin flip in overtime, but after Lacy got the ball down to the 2-yard line, Flynn overshot Jordy Nelson for the TD. Crosby kicked a field goal to take the lead.
The Vikings answered the field goal on the next drive of OT, but neither team threatened to score again.
Special teams were huge
Tim Masthay's punting and Jarrett Bush's work on special teams were huge to secure the tie.
Masthay averaged 40.8 yards over eight punts in the cold, and dangerous return man Marcus Sherels racked up zero return yards. Bush beat his man downfield regularly to force fair catches and keep the Vikings in bad field position.
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Rookie Eddie Lacy was a battering ram, but also battled asthma
Eddie Lacy was a big factor, but the 19-degree temperature made his asthma flair up, and that slowed the rookie down.
Lacy picked up a huge fourth down late in the fourth quarter to preserve the drive that tied the game.
He finished with 110 yards on 25 carries.
It still wasn't a great outcome against a Vikings team that came into the game 2-8
Minnesota was missing five starters in the game. After Packers losses to the Bears, Giants and Eagles -- all of whom finished 7-9 or better (with the Eagles winning their division) -- it was supposed to be a respite from the struggles.
The worst part? The Packers were slated to play four days later on Thanksgiving in Detroit, and that game went as poorly as possible, a 40-10 loss at Ford Field that left the Packers looking doomed at 5-6-1.
The Packers fell to 0-4-1 without Aaron Rodgers at that point, but Flynn's magical run was getting started. Green Bay edged Atlanta and Dallas the subsequent two weeks in one-point thrillers, and after a close loss to Pittsburgh, the Packers battled the Bears in a winner-take-all meeting for the NFC North.
Rodgers played. He found Cobb. The 8-7-1 Packers were headed to the playoffs, and the 8-8 Bears stayed home.
The previous tie came in Milwaukee
The previous time the Packers had tied was in 1987, when the Broncos and Packers battled at Milwaukee County Stadium. Denver had won the AFC the year before, so the 17-17 battle counted as a moral victory.
Of course, overtimes that didn't end in one team scoring were far more rare when the periods lasted 15 minutes. As of 2017, the clock has been shortened to 10 minutes, and now we've had two ties in the NFL in two weeks (the Browns and Steelers played to a Week 1 tie, with a missed field goal also making the difference).
In 2012, the NFL's new overtime format steered away from pure "sudden death." Today, the game is over on the first touchdown or safety, but a field goal means the other team gets a chance to tie.