Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field and snow is forecast for the weekend.
This phrase does not bring fond memories to Steve Young.
On December 1, 1985, the 49ers’ quarterback was part of a Lambeau game with the same two teams and a frozen scene that created a hellish experience.
Young, making his second NFL debut, and first on the road, was Tampa Bay’s quarterback in a 21-0 loss to the Packers in the “Snow Bowl”, a competition between teams that don’t go anywhere that have their own Wikipedia page because it was played in conditions similar to a blizzard.
Five inches of snow fell before the game and two inches during the competition. The winds were blowing at 40 mph, the cold wind hovered around 0 and a warning of bad weather was in effect.
On Sunday, Tom Brady of Tampa Bay and Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay, two future members of the Hall of Fame, will play in the NFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.
In 1985, a future Hall of Fame QB put his life on the line in Lambeau: Young, perhaps just a bit of a joke, says he almost choked after Alphonso Carreker threw him face down on a snowbank in the field.
“The snow got stuck in (my helmet) and (Carreker) was on top of me and my next breath, well, there was no breath,” said Young. “I was like, ‘Let go! Get off me! ‘I was scratching my face, trying to make an air hole. That’s when the referee saw me and asked if I was okay. I was like, ‘I can’t breathe!’ “
The elements were historically terrible, even in a stadium synonymous with “frozen tundra” and “Ice Bowl”, less known as the 1967 NFL Championship Game.
Conditions led to the lowest-rated pre-pandemic game (19,856) in Lambeau, thanks to a record 36,586 no-shows. But the Buccaneers, whose bus from their hotel to the stadium was driven by a snowplow, had to show up, some reluctantly.
After Bucs head coach Leeman Bennett told players that warm-ups were optional, Young said a voice from the back of the locker room replied, “How about the game?”
There were no cheerleaders on the sides or, recalls Young, cars in the parking lot.
“The only people in the stands were people who came in with snowshoes, ski or snowmobiles,” said Young. “I went to warm up and it was just pathetic. Every 5 meters they piled the snow, so it was like I had to be the (Olympic obstacle) Edwin Moses. You had to skip each pile. So a guy would run a route, skip that thing, run, skip that thing. “
Young led an attack that managed five first downs, 65 yards and 11 passing yards. He completed 8 of 17 passes for 53 yards with an interception and had the fourth lowest passer rating (29.8) in his 143-game career.
“That was the most unproductive football experience of my life,” said Young.
In the second quarter, when Young had yet to complete a pass and feared he would never do so, he pulled running back James Wilder aside. He asked Wilder to stand in front of him after the snap. Young then threw the ball a few meters to Wilder to complete it, avoiding the ignominy of the NFL.
Low visibility was the reason for their low totals. And Young’s problems with identifying teammates were exacerbated by Tampa Bay’s T-shirts and pants: Bucs wore all-white uniforms, except for the orange numbers and embellishments, causing their pass catchers to be camouflaged by conditions.
“There was the movement of the pass, the wind and snow on your face and you kind of had to look to the side because your eyes hurt,” said Young. “And then you look outside and I couldn’t see anyone because we are all in white. So, literally, I would look out and say, ‘I don’t see anyone! Who am I playing for? ‘”
Young, whose self-deprecation belies his stardom, laughed when he noticed that his counterpart, Lynn Dickey of Green Bay, looked like an elite in launching 299 yards on the elements.
But the hot and clumsy Bucs weather, which was in the middle of a 2-14 season and a streak of 19 consecutive losing games, was not suitable for the conditions. Consider: Your equipment team was unable to pack thermal underwear before traveling to Wisconsin in December.
Young man improvised. He wore a jacket and slacks, part of the team’s business travel attire, under his uniform, in a futile attempt to keep warm.
“On our sideline it was the ‘March of the Penguins’,” said Young. “We had a heater, so the indoor penguins were the guys closest to the heater and they were the hottest. And there were outer rings. And the guys who just left the field, they would be the most distant penguins. And then you would hear ‘Punt! “And you would hear all these guys say, ‘Oh, no punt.’ And all the guys inside had to give up their place to join the soccer team. “
On Sunday, Packers against Bucs seems to be a much better battle than Packers against penguins.
A year ago, when Green Bay lost 37-20 to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Young was surprised by the appearance of Rodgers and his lifeless teammates. This season, his second attack by coach Matt LaFleur, Rodgers is expected to be named the NFL MVP after launching 48 touchdown passes and five interceptions in the regular season.
“He looks energized,” said Young. “Do you know how Aaron gets out of his pocket and starts waving to his receivers? Last year, he waved and was like, ‘Wait a minute, what are you doing here?’ It felt like there was something coming together between that group of guys and now they understand what Aaron is looking for. “
As for Brady, 43, he is looking for his seventh Super Bowl title. And Young, who is not impressed with the Green Bay defense, says Brady could reach his 10th Super Bowl with a performance that, well, would be the opposite of what Young had been offering for 36 years.
“I think he wants to go after that,” said Young. “And if he doesn’t, he’ll be beaten. Because you are not going to beat Aaron Rodgers 21-17. “
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch