The air didn't just feel cold. It felt sharp. On January 20, 2008, the temperature at Lambeau Field at kickoff was -1°F, with a wind chill that bottomed out around -23°F. This was the 2007 NFC Championship Game, a matchup that pitted the legendary Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers against Eli Manning and the gritty New York Giants. If you watched it, you remember Tom Coughlin’s face. The Giants' head coach looked like he’d been hit with a blast of liquid nitrogen, his skin turning a terrifying shade of beet-red that became the unofficial visual of the evening. It was brutal.
People forget how much was on the line for both franchises. For Favre, this was supposed to be the "Last Dance" before his first (and most famous) retirement. For Eli, it was the moment he finally stepped out of Peyton’s massive shadow. The Giants weren't even supposed to be there. They were a wild-card team that had scrapped their way through the playoffs, but that night in Wisconsin, they looked like the ones who belonged.
The Frozen Tundra and the Brett Favre Factor
Green Bay fans expected a coronation. The Packers had finished the regular season 13-3 and were coming off a dominant divisional win over Seattle where Ryan Grant went nuclear in the snow. They were the favorites. They had the home-field advantage. They had the "Ice Bowl" history on their side.
But something was off.
Favre struggled. The ball was like a brick. You could see the puff of breath every time a player exhaled, and the hitting sounded different—more like wood cracking than pads popping. Favre’s final pass as a Green Bay Packer? An interception. It’s a gut-wrenching irony for one of the greatest to ever play the game. In overtime, Favre tried to force a pass to Donald Driver, but Corey Webster jumped the route. It was a play that silenced Lambeau and basically handed the keys to the Giants.
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Looking back, the 2007 NFC Championship Game was the end of an era. We didn't know it then, but the transition to Aaron Rodgers was looming just over the horizon. Favre was 38. He looked tired by the fourth quarter. The Giants' defensive line, led by Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck, was relentless. They didn't care about the legacy; they cared about the pressure.
Why Eli Manning’s Performance Matters More Than the Stats
If you look at the box score, Eli Manning’s numbers don't scream "Elite." He went 21-of-40 for 251 yards. No touchdowns. No picks. But statistics in -23 degree wind chill are a lie. You have to look at the throws he made. He was accurate when it mattered, hitting Plaxico Burress, who absolutely cooked Al Harris all night long. Burress finished with 11 catches for 151 yards. It was one of the most underrated individual playoff performances in NFL history because Harris was a Pro Bowl corner who simply had no answer for Plaxico's size and reach in the cold.
The Giants were tough. Tougher than the Packers that night.
There’s this misconception that the Giants "got lucky." Honestly? They outplayed Green Bay in every phase except for maybe special teams. They controlled the clock. Brandon Jacobs was a 260-pound bowling ball that nobody wanted to tackle in sub-zero temperatures. Would you? I wouldn't. Every time Jacobs hit a linebacker, it looked like a car crash.
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Lawrence Tynes and the Rollercoaster of Emotion
Then there's Lawrence Tynes. Talk about a redemption arc. Tynes missed two field goals in the fourth quarter that could have won the game in regulation. One was a 43-yarder that sailed left. The other was a 35-yarder after the Webster interception. You could see the despair on his face. Coughlin looked like he wanted to leave him on the tarmac in Green Bay.
But then came overtime.
The Giants got the ball back after the Favre pick. They moved it a bit. Then, on 4th and short, Coughlin sent Tynes out for a 47-yard attempt. In that cold, a 47-yarder is basically a 60-yarder. The ball doesn't compress. It’s like kicking a stone. Tynes didn't even wait for the play call; he just ran onto the field. He hammered it. The ball cleared the uprights, and the Giants were headed to Super Bowl XLII to face the undefeated Patriots.
The Legacy of the 2007 NFC Championship Game
This game changed the trajectory of the NFL. If the Packers win, do they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl? Probably not. The Giants' pass rush was the only thing on earth that could stop Tom Brady that year. If Favre wins that game, maybe he never leaves Green Bay. Maybe Aaron Rodgers gets traded. The "what ifs" are endless.
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It also solidified the Giants' identity as road warriors. They won three straight road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. That kind of grit is rare. It also proved that Eli Manning had the "clutch" gene, regardless of what the regular-season interceptions suggested.
How to Analyze This Game for Modern Betting or Scouting
If you're looking at historical games to understand how weather impacts modern NFL playoff betting, the 2007 NFC Championship Game is the gold standard. Here is how you should break down similar matchups today:
- Ignore the "Home Field" Myth: Cold weather doesn't automatically favor the home team if the away team has a superior power-running game. The Giants had Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw; the Packers relied too heavily on a fading Favre.
- Watch the Hands: In extreme cold, receivers with smaller hands or poor grip struggle. Plaxico Burress was a master of using his body to shield defenders, making the catch easier even when his fingers were numb.
- The Pass Rush Equalizer: High-scoring offenses (like the 2007 Packers) stall when the pass rush gets home. Strahan and Tuck didn't need to blitz; they won with four, which let the Giants drop seven into coverage.
- Kicking Range: In sub-zero temps, knock 10-15 yards off a kicker's "reliable" range. Tynes' 47-yarder was a statistical anomaly that relied on pure adrenaline.
The real takeaway from that night in January 2008 isn't just about football. It’s about psychological endurance. The Giants didn't look like they were suffering; the Packers looked like they were surviving. That’s the difference between a champion and a runner-up.
To truly understand the impact of this game, go back and watch the coaches' film if you can find it. Pay attention to the line of scrimmage. The way the Giants' offensive line moved the Packers' front was a masterclass in leverage. If you want to dive deeper into how this specific win set the blueprint for stopping the 18-0 Patriots, look into the defensive schemes Steve Spagnuolo drew up for the Super Bowl—they were all tested and refined during those four quarters in the Green Bay cold.