The Green Bay Packers have been around for a long time (since 1919) and played a lot of football games (1,418 as of 2023). That means a lot of opponents and a lot of games against star players.
So, who have been the most productive opponents against the Packers?
We dug through PFR’s “Stathead” to discover the players with the most passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, total yards and total touchdowns against the Packers all-time.
Here are the results:
Passing
Passing yards
1. Matthew Stafford (21 games): 5,976
2. Fran Tarkenton (28 games): 4,978
3. Johnny Unitas (23 games): 4,273
4. Vinny Testaverde (15 games): 3,299
5. Bobby Layne (21 games): 3,104
Passing touchdowns
1. Matthew Stafford: 40
2. Johnny Unitas: 34
3. Fran Tarkenton: 33
4. Bobby Layne: 30
5. YA Title: 23
5. Daunte Culpepper: 23
Stafford’s records may last a while. The only active player even within reasonable striking distance is Kirk Cousins, who has 2,736 yards and 21 touchdown passes against the Packers in 10 games. The lack of elite quarterbacks faced by the Packers in the division over the last 30 or so years is at least part of the reason why the franchise has been so dominant.
Rushing
Rushing yards
1. Walter Payton (24 games): 2,484
2. Barry Sanders (19 games): 2,059
3. Adrian Peterson: (21 games): 2,023
4. Joe Perry (23 games): 1,667
5. Matt Forte (15 games): 1,061
6. Rick Casares (20 games): 1,016
Rushing touchdowns
1. Walter Payton: 19
2. Adrian Peterson: 16
3. Joe Perry: 12
4. Bill Brown: 11
5. Lenny Moore: 10
The Packers didn’t face many top quarterbacks, but three of the best running backs to ever play the game terrorized Green Bay in the 1980s, 1990s and again in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The next closest active player is Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 650 yards and seven scores over nine games against the Packers but was recently released by the Vikings.
Receiving
Receiving yards
1. Calvin Johnson (16 games): 1,409
2. Elroy Hirsch (16 games): 1,357
3. Randy Moss (15 games): 1,320
4. Chris Carter (24 games): 1,314
5. Raymond Berry (19 games): 1,220
6. Red Phillips (14 games): 1,101
7. Herman Moore (19 games): 1,055
8. Adam Thielen (17 games): 1,038
9. Lenny Moore (23 games): 1,021
Receiving touchdowns
1. Calvin Johnson: 15
2. Randy Moss: 14
3. Chris Carter: 11
3. Raymond Berry: 11
3. Herman Moore: 11
6. Ahmad Rashad: 10
7. Billy Wilson: 10
The Lions and Vikings had two of the greatest receivers in football history in Johnson and Moss, respectively. Hirsh, another Hall of Famer, starred for the Bears and Rams. Thielen and Stefon Diggs (764 yards, nine touchdowns) are the closest among the top players on the active list.
Yards from scrimmage, total touchdowns
Yards from scrimmage
1. Walter Payton: 2,922
2. Barry Sanders: 2,353
3. Adrian Peterson: 2,272
4. Lenny Moore: 2,003
5. Joe Perry: 1,899
6. Matt Forte: 1,624
7. Hugh McElhenny: 1,520
8. Elroy Hirsch: 1,426
9. Calvin Johnson: 1,424
10. Chuck Foreman: 1,355
11. Randy Moss: 1,328
12: Chris Carter: 1,317
Total touchdowns
1. Walter Payton: 19
2. Adrian Peterson: 17
3. Calvin Johnson: 15
3. Lenny Moore: 15
5. Randy Moss: 14
6. Joe Perry: 13
7. Bill Brown: 12
8. Neal Anderson: 11
8. Raymond Berry: 11
8. Chris Carter: 11
8. Chuck Foreman: 11
8. Herman Moore: 11
Somewhat surprisingly, Barry Sanders only scored seven touchdowns in 19 career games against the Packers. Active players Dalvin Cook and Stefon Diggs have both scored nine touchdowns against the Packers, while Marvin Jones, who returned to the Lions, has eight touchdowns in nine games against the Packers.
By the numbers, the Packers’ top all-time nemesis is clearly Payton, who recorded almost 3,000 total yards in 24 games against Green Bay.
Story originally appeared on Packers Wire