Teams history there not pretty, but there are reasons to believe

Mike Spofford

GREEN BAY Denver is one of those places that's never been kind to the Packers. Except once.

It's about time to make it twice.

Dating back to Green Bay's first trip to the original Mile High Stadium in 1975, the Packers are just 1-7 all-time in the Rocky Mountains.

The one win was unforgettable, as Brett Favre threw an 82-yard bomb to Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime to win a Monday night game in late October 2007.

The rest? Ugh.

There have been a couple of close calls, such as another Monday night game, in 1984, with several inches of snow covering the field. The Packers fumbled the ball on their first two plays from scrimmage, the Broncos scooped and scored both times, and it was 14-0 Denver just 50 seconds into the game.

Green Bay dominated the rest of the way only to come up short, 17-14.

Despite the difficult conditions, QB Lynn Dickey threw for 371 yards. James Lofton caught 11 passes for 206 yards at the time the first 200-yard game by a Packers receiver in 16 years including a 54-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that gave Green Bay a chance.

But two missed field goals, from 29 and 37 yards, in the first half hurt the cause, and then Dickey was strip-sacked at the Denver 19-yard line with three minutes left.

The other close one was just two years ago, in QBJordan Love's first season as a starter.

The Packers trailed, 16-3, late in the third quarter, rallied to take a 17-16 lead in the fourth, fell behind again on a field goal with just under four minutes left, and then had a promising final drive cross midfield only to be thwarted by a dubious holding penalty onElgton Jenkins.

Facing a long-yardage desperate situation, Love was intercepted on a deep ball with 1:40 left, and that was that, 19-17.

The other five losses in Denver have been pretty rough, by an average margin of 14 points. Green Bay's 1-7 mark in Denver is only "bested" by the franchise's futility in Buffalo, an 0-7 all-time record that dates back to 1979.

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Making some new history in Denver certainly won't be easy with the Broncos having won 10 straight and currently owning the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC. They haven't lost at home this season, and they've become known for fourth-quarter comebacks, including from three-score deficits against the Eagles and Giants.

"You can tell it's a resilient football team," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "They're never out of the fight."

But for the Packers, there are two primary reasons to believe LaFleur and Love.

LaFleur is 21-4 in December games in his tenure, which is tied for the best winning percentage of any NFL coach in history with at least 25 December games.

He's actually tied with Vince Lombardi, of all coaches, who had a 21-4-2 mark in December. Right behind are fellow Hall of Famers John Madden (21-7) and Bill Walsh (25-9).

The Packers routinely under LaFleur are one of the league's best teams in December, and riding a current four-game winning streak there's no reason to believe they aren't once again.

As for Love, this is the time of year he shines brightest. In Week 11 and later in his career essentially mid-November on Love is 15-5 as a starter. He's thrown 37 TD passes against just three interceptions and has posted a passer rating of 111.0 once the regular season reaches Week 11.

Those last two stats of TD-INT ratio and passer rating are the best of any NFL quarterback since 1950 with a minimum of 10 starts from Week 11 on, according to NFL Research.

There's a lot on the line here in Week 15 for both squads.

The Packers (9-3-1) are trying to maintain their tenuous hold on first place in the NFC North, leading the Bears (9-4) by just a half game with a rematch looming in Chicago next week.

Meanwhile the Broncos (11-2) have the Patriots (11-2) right with them in the race for the AFC's top spot.

Whoever loses will cede valuable ground in their respective tight races. Whoever wins will get a boost that could set them up nicely with the season winding down.

"When you win against a team that you know is really good, it gives you that different type of energy," Packers running backJosh Jacobssaid. "It gives you a different type of confidence.

"With our offense starting to hit at the right moments towards the end of the year, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be a good test for us."