Green Bay — Nearly two decades ago, the Green Bay Packers were in a position almost identical to the one they're in today.
The 1995 Packers lost a 38-27 heartbreaker to Dallas in the NFC Championship Game. That Green Bay team believed it was better than those Cowboys, but it had to wait another 12 months to prove it.
When the 1996 season rolled around, Green Bay passed Dallas — and the rest of the NFL — on its way to winning Super Bowl XXXI. A major reason why those Packers took that final step was the emergence of second-year players Antonio Freeman, Craig Newsome, Brian Williams, Adam Timmerman and William Henderson.