Remembering the First Touchdown Passes by the Green Bay Packers Greatest Quarterbacks

Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers are considered the three best quarterbacks in Green Bay Packers history. Two of them are already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the other is a shoo-in as soon as he’s eligible. All three of them led the Packers to Super Bowl titles and were among the greatest to play the position. Today, we look back at the very first career touchdown pass thrown by the greatest Packers quarterbacks of all-time.

Remembering the First Touchdown Passes by the Packers Greatest Quarterbacks: Bart Starr

The Packers selected Starr in the 17^th round of the 1956 NFL Draft. Starr didn’t start right away, in fact, his first touchdown pass came in his first start, which was in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers. In the first seven games, he only attempted 26 passes and completed 12 of them. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception.

A crowd of 17, 986 fans filled City Stadium to see this game. It turned out to be the last home game at City Stadium as well as Bart’s first start. The team also honored founder George Calhoun before the game.

Starr’s touchdown came in the first quarter on the second possession of the game. He found wide receiver Billy Howton on a 39-yard pass. The Packers missed the extra point and led 6-0.

Unfortunately, the missed extra point proved costly in a 17-16 loss. Starr was replaced by Tobin Rote later in the game. Fumbles by Rote, Al Carmichael, and Howie Ferguson cost the Packers who fell to 2-6 with the loss.

Starr went on to throw 151 more touchdown passes in his NFL career, but this one was the first.

Brett Favre

While Favre played one season with the Atlanta Falcons in 1991, he didn’t complete a pass with Atlanta, or at least not one to his own team.

His first touchdown pass came in Week 3 of his first season with the Packers against the Cincinnati Bengals. Everyone remembers the winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor in the closing minutes, but Favre’s first scoring toss came earlier in the game. Favre didn’t even start this contest. He filled in for an injured Don Majkowski and led the team to a fourth quarter comeback win, overcoming a 17-3 deficit.

The first touchdown pass fittingly went to the player that would become Favre’s favorite target his first three seasons in Green Bay, wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. The five-yard scoring toss pulled the Packers to within 20-17.

Favre threw the game winner with 13 seconds left. “I couldn’t bear to look,” Favre told reporters after the game. “I just closed my eyes and waited for the crowd to let me know.”

This was the first of 508-career touchdown passes for Favre. It was also the first win for Mike Holmgren as an NFL head coach.

Remembering the First Touchdown Passes by the Packers Greatest Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers spent his first three years backing up Favre, so he didn’t throw his first career touchdown pass until his third NFL season. It came in a Week 13 game in Dallas when he filled in for an injured Favre. While the Packers lost the game 37-27, Rodgers’ strong performance made everyone realize he was ready to take over as the team’s starter.

The touchdown pass came in the final minute of the first half with the Packers trailing 27-10. The big play on the drive was a 43-yard pass to receiver Greg Jennings which got the ball to the Dallas 32. Eight plays later, he found Jennings for an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-point game at halftime.

Rodgers finished the game completing 18-of-26 passes for 201 yards and the one score. “We didn’t make enough plays to win today, but I felt like I moved the offense pretty well,” Rodgers said. “I feel good about how I played, but I’m disappointed I couldn’t get the win for us.”

Rodgers went on to throw 475 touchdown passes in his 18 seasons with the Packers. But this one was his first.

These three games were the start of something big in each of these quarterbacks’ careers. Few people knew at the time what lay ahead for Starr, Favre, and Rodgers.