Remembering the Biggest One-Season Improvements in Packers History

The Green Bay Packers have won more games and more championships than any franchise in the history of the NFL. But, like any team, the Packers have endured their share of ups and downs. Today, we examine the five best single-season turnarounds in Packers history. They are measured by the biggest improvement in the team’s win total from one year to the next. These teams surprised many experts and gave the fans of Green Bay unexpected thrills. Here are the biggest one-season improvements in Packers history:

The Biggest One-Season Improvements In Packers History, Number Five: 1929, Six Games

The 1928 Packers finished in fourth place in the 10 team NFL with a 6-4-3 record. But one year later, the Packers improved by six games, finishing 12-0-1 and winning the first championship in franchise history. This was also the first of six titles won by Packers founder and Hall of Fame head coach Curly Lambeau.

How dominant were the 1929 Packers? They outscored opponents 198-22 in their 13 games. That includes eight shutouts in 13 games. The Packers blanked five of their final six opponents that season.

Star players included Johnny Blood McNally, Cal Hubbard, Lavvie Dilweg, and Mike Michalske.

This was the first of three straight titles the Packers won from 1929-1931, a feat unmatched until the Packers matched it under Vince Lombardi from 1965-1967.

Number Four: 1959, Six Games

The Packers hired Lombardi as head coach after finishing with a franchise-worst 1-10-1 record in 1958 under Ray “Scooter” McLean. Lombardi led the Packers to a six-win improvement with a 7-5-0 record and their first winning season since 1947.

Lombardi changed the culture in Green Bay immediately and the team responded. The Packers were streaky, winning their first three games, losing five straight in midseason and then winning their last four contests.

Part of the late season surge was due to the emergence of quarterback Bart Starr who took over for Lamar McHan. Starr went 4-1 in his five starts.

So many of the eventual Lombardi dynasty players were on the team but had yet to realize their full potential. Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor were the running backs and wide receiver Boyd Dowler won Rookie of the Year.

Future Hall of Famers starting on defense included Bobby Dillon, Emlen Tunnell and Henry Jordan.

Lombardi’s teams would win five championships in seven years from 1961-1967.

The Biggest One-Season Improvements In Packers History, Number Three: 1972 Six Games

Dan Devine took over as Packers head coach in 1971 and the team went 4-8-2 in his first season at the helm. One year later, the Packers improved to 10-4 and won their only division title of the 70s.

The offense was led by the running duo of John Brockington and MacArthur Lane. The defense featured rookie Willie Buchanon and veterans like Dave Robinson, Fred Carr and Bob Brown. The pass defense was the league’s best and rookie kicker Chester Marcol proved to be a difference maker, kicking 33 field goals in a 14-game season.

Unfortunately, the Packers wouldn’t return to the playoffs for a decade after this appearance.

Number Two: 1989 Six Games

The 1988 Packers struggled to a 4-12 mark in Lindy Infante’s first season as head coach. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the team finished 10-6 in a magical season that featured four one-point wins.

The big story on offense was quarterback Don Majkowski who led the NFL with 4,318 yards passing. His favorite target was Hall of Famer Sterling Sharpe. On defense, Tim Harris made the Pro Bowl with 19.5 sacks.

The Packers two most memorable wins included a 14-13 victory over the Bears in the “Instant Replay Game” at Lambeau Field. Majkowski found Sharpe for the winning score on fourth down in the closing seconds, but the play was initially ruled an illegal forward pass. The line judge ruled Majkowski was across the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. Instant replay overturned the penalty and awarded the Pack their first win over the Bears in five years.

Later, Majkowski led the Packers to a 21-17 win over the eventual Super Bowl champion 49ers in San Francisco as Majkowski ran for two touchdowns and threw for another.

Unfortunately, the Packers missed the playoffs on a tie breaker.

The Biggest One-Season Improvements In Packers History, Number One: 2019, Seven Games

The biggest single season win improvement in Packers history came in 2019, the first season under present head coach Matt LaFleur. The Packers went from 6-9-1 in 2018 to 13-3 in 2019, an improvement of seven wins.

The Packers signed four free agents that offseason and all of them started and contributed. They included Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, and Billy Turner.

Aaron Rodgers, Kenny Clark, David Bakhtiari, and Davante Adams also earned Pro Bowl honors

The Packers won their final five games and reached the NFC Championship Game before falling to the 49ers. It was the first of two consecutive trips to the NFC title game for the Packers under LaFleur.