Most devastating Packers losses since '95

Note: this is being updated after the devastating loss to the Giants in the 2011 playoffs. When I rank these losses, I don't rank them in how bad they lost (i.e., point differential), but on how bad the loss hurt the team. This is not going to be easy; I can feel my stomach churning already.

11. Rams 45, Packers 17 - 2001 NFC divisional playoffs - January 20, 2002
Brett Favre threw like 67 interceptions in this one. Actually, he probably only threw 7, which was still enough to tie a playoff record. What an embarrassment, especially after a good season where the Packers finished 12-4 and would have had a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl had they managed to beat the Rams. They tried a "dollar" defense against the Rams. I want my money back.

10. Falcons 27, Packers 7 - 2002 NFC wild-card game - January 4, 2003
This loss never would have happened if not for #6. I barely watched this game after the Packers got down early, including losing a fumble on a terrible call that either could not be reviewed or could not be overturned. Favre was horrendous again, and this game turned Michael Vick into a hero, probably the reason he got on the cover of Madden the next season. Now both Favre and Vick are ESPN favorites, and neither plays with the team they played with in this one.

9. Cardinals 51, Packers 45 - 2009 NFC wild-card game - January 10, 2010
The Packers came back from down by 24 points to tie the game, then after a missed Cardinals field goal, got the ball first in OT - and this was back in the days when a field goal on the first possession could win it in OT. Aaron Rodgers missed Greg Jennings on a long pass, then fumbled the ball away, and the Cardinals returned it for a TD. Everyone remembers that play, but the defense was utterly horrendous.

8. Vikings 31, Packers 17 - 2004 NFC wild-card game - January 9, 2005
Who knew that this one would be the last Packers playoff game for 3 years? Everyone remembers this one most for the Randy Moss "mooning" incident. Favre's miserable play - I believe it was 4 interceptions - was the main factor in the loss. Two things I remember most from this one - the Packers getting down 14-0 and my giving up, being heartbroken over some girl ignoring me, and then failing to watch most of the remainder of the game while crying. I was doubly upset over the girl and the Packers. Looking back at it, what hurt more? The Packers loss, no question.

7. Jets 42, Packers 17 - 2002 regular-season finale - December 29, 2002
I remember after this game figuring the season was over, and sure enough, it was. The Packers lost a chance to be the #1 seed - back before they had ever lost a playoff game at home - and ended up falling into the wild-card round. The team went from looking invincible to looking very beatable. It was one of the worst one-week stretches of football in my life, two Packers devastating losses combined with a Penn State bowl loss.

6. 49ers 30, Packers 27 - 1998 NFC wild-card game - January 4, 1999
"The Catch II" they called it. "Owens, Owens, Owens, Owens, he caught it, he caught it, he caught it, he caught it!" 3 seconds left. Made most memorable for my dad refusing to let me watch the game over some stupid argument about playing in the snow. He wasn't serious, however, given the fact that he was watching the game himself and sort of figured I was watching it too (which I did, on and off). That was back when I was too immature to realize that a NFL playoff game was a heck of a lot more important than playing in the backyard. Oh, and the Packers' dreams of going to a third straight Super Bowl were dashed, that too.

5. Cowboys 38, Packers 27 - 1995 NFC championship - January 14, 1996
This game was the first football game I ever cried over, as it was at the height of the Packers-Steelers conflict at my school, where I was heavily made fun of for being a Packers fan. The Packers had a chance to reach the Super Bowl in the very first season of my following them, but after leading late 27-24, they ended up giving up two touchdowns and losing. I can still hear John Madden, talking about how close the Packers came, and how they would have to go through so much to get back - but of course they did.

4. Eagles 20, Packers 17 (OT) - 2003 NFC divisional playoffs - January 11, 2004
Wow, I didn't remember how bad this loss was until I saw the box score. The Packers had a 14-0 lead after the 1st quarter at Philadelphia. Of course, this game is well known as "4th and 26" because of the Packers' failure to prevent the Eagles from converting on a play of that length, which would have won the game. What people forget is that before the Eagles got the ball there, the Packers had a 4th-and-1 that, had they gone for it and converted, probably would have served the same purpose. They punted, and then it was all downhill from there. A Favre OT INT - one of the worst passes I've ever seen - sealed the loss.

3. Giants 37, Packers 20 - 2011 NFC divisional playoffs - January 15, 2012
This was our year. We went 15-1 and won home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Aaron Rodgers set the team record for TD passes, the team threw 51 total TD passes (an NFL record) and all signs were that the Packers were going to "The Edge of Glory" and going to win a second straight Super Bowl. Then the Packers played their most miserable game in two seasons, turning the ball over 4 times, giving up a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half, and never leading once. The defense looked utterly helpless and the offense looked hapless - only a couple of questionable calls allowed the Packers to score their two TDs. The dream season ended all too early.

2. Giants 23, Packers 20 (OT) - 2007 NFC Championship - January 20, 2008
This one still stings, because of the Packers' failure to return to the playoffs last season. With a home game for the NFC Championship instead of having to go to Dallas, all Packers fans figured this one would be easier. It seemed like a shoo-in, cold weather, home-field advantage, the Packers' incredible offense against some wild-card fluke in the Giants. Instead it all came crashing down when the offense sputtered (save for one 90-yard TD pass), and Favre threw a patented pick to lose the game. The Packers survived two missed field goals to get to OT, won the coin toss, but that INT will go down as Favre's last pass as a Packer.

1. Broncos 31, Packers 24 - Super Bowl XXXII - January 25, 1998
No matter what, there's nothing worse than losing a Super Bowl. You come all that way, come so close to winning it all, and come up one victory short. This one especially hurt because it honestly looked like the Packers were on their way to building a dynasty. In fact, two straight Super Bowl wins could have made them a mini-dynasty. They would have won Super Bowls 31 and 32, 30 years after winning Super Bowls 1 and 2. But the Broncos' victory - achieved on a night when I had a splitting migraine - caused me to cry myself to sleep.

So there they are. Maybe I've exorcised some demons by laying those all out there. Or maybe, I'll be updating this list next offseason.