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Green Bay vs. New York Jets
09/03/00 - Packers Lose 20-16
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| TE Tyrone Davis hauls in the Packers only TD against the Jets. |
The New York Jets defeated the Packers in Sunday's season opener, 20-16,
after Jets safety Victor Green intercepted a Brett Favre pass deep in Jets'
territory to dash Green Bay's hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback.
After taking over at their own 31-yard line with 3:20 to play in the game,
Favre drove the offense to the Jets' 35-yard line with 1:08 left on the
clock. On a second-and-three, he attempted to hit Bill Schroeder streaking
up the sideline, but Green read the coverage and made a diving grab of the
throw at the 9-yard line, sealing the Packers' defeat.
"I feel for the guys," Head Coach Mike Sherman said after the game. "I
asked them too play a tough football game -- I thought they did. I asked
them to give a great effort out there -- I thought they gave us that. I
feel disappointed for them because they really put everything into this
ballgame to prove everybody wrong."
In addition to the running of Jets halfback Curtis Martin, the Packers'
Achilles heel was the number of penalties called. The Packers were
penalized on 10 occasions for a total of 81 yards, and a few calls negated
big plays for the team. Sherman acknowledged the penalties, but insisted
that the team could right itself before next week's match-up with the
Buffalo Bills.
"We lost this game because we had too many penalties, didn't convert third
downs and dropped balls," Sherman said. "We had too many penalties...costly
ones in the red zone, costly ones on the big plays. We'll have to fix that.
"As I told them (the team)," he continued, "in spite of this loss, I'm
disappointed, but not discouraged."
Safety Darren Sharper started the Packers early surge with a 29-yard
interception to put the offense in striking distance on the Jets' 4-yard
line. On the next play, Favre threw to tight end Tyrone Davis for a
touchdown, putting Green Bay in the lead, 7-0.
However, the Jets answered quickly, tying the game on a 15-play, 75-yard
drive culminating in a 2-yard scoring run by Martin, who rushed for 110
yards on 30 carries for the game. He also caught 6 passes for 34 yards and
one touchdown.
The remainder of the Packers' scoring was accomplished on the kicking of
Ryan Longwell, who was true on all three of his field goal attempts - a
45-yard try and two attempts from 42 yards.
"It was one of the tougher days that I've seen since I've been here,"
Longwell said. "The wind was blowing real hard, and it wasn't in pregame,
so it didn't give us any chance to prepare for it. You'd like to have a win
rather than a successful game. So it's kind of bittersweet."
His final field goal put the Packers back ahead, 16-13, with just over 8
minutes to play in the game, but in the end, it would not be enough to hold
off the Jets.
On the following drive, Vinny Testaverde completed a 61-yard pass to Dedric
Ward, setting up a 3-yard Martin touchdown reception, which would prove to
be the game-winning score.
Defensively, the Packers were led by Sharper and linebacker Nate Wayne, who
had a game-high 16 tackles.
Wayne, who was acquired by Green Bay in a mid-training camp trade with the
Denver Broncos, has made the most of his playing time while Brian Williams
continues to recuperate from a knee injury. Since his arrival, he has seen
the defense improve every game through the preseason to Sunday's game
against the Jets.
"I think today we had more confidence going into this game," Wayne said.
"We played with a lot of confidence. Guys were having fun, flying around,
making plays. There were a few mistakes here and there, but the Jets made
plays. They did things, too. So we just have to come back, watch the film
tomorrow and see where we made mistakes and just build from them."
Safety LeRoy Butler echoed Wayne's positive post-game comments.
"Defensively, I thought we fought hard," Butler said. "Statistically, it
may not look like it, but we fought hard. Sometimes, it's going to be where
the offense puts up a lot of points, and defensively, we have to stop them,
and vice versa, we just have to come out and play. I was very proud of the
way we were ready to play. We came out fast with Sharper's interception
that got us on the board right away. But the thing we have to do when we
score, the defense has to keep them off the board. I think for the most
part, if you can keep teams to 13, 14 points going into the fourth quarter
you should win a lot of games."
As for Favre, who saw limited action during the preseason due to elbow
tendinitis, he claimed to not be bothered by the injury but saw plenty of
potential for improvement.
"I thought for the most part, I threw the ball okay," Favre said. "It
(elbow) really never affected me on any throws, just one towards the end.
"I'm never pleased with a loss, I'm not today," he added. "But I know I can
get better, I know our team can get better. I know defensively we played
great; offensively we have a ways to go...The Jets are a good football team,
I don't want to take anything away from them. They deserved to win, just as
much as we would have, but I like the direction we're going in."
Game Highlights (Real Audio)
Packers-Jets archived complete game broadcast (Real Audio)
Post-Game Audio Clips
Head Coach Mike Sherman (Real Audio)
QB Brett Favre (Real Audio)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GBP: B.Favre pass to T.Davis for 4 yds and TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
Keyplay:
D.Sharper: 29yd INT
NYJ: C.Martin rush for 2 yd and TOUCHDOWN (J.Hall Extra Point is good)
2nd Quarter
GBP: R.Longwell kicks 45 yd Field Goal
NYJ: J.Hall kicks 23 yd Field Goal
3rd Quarter
GBP: R.Longwell kicks 42 yd Field Goal
4th Quarter
NYJ: J.Hall kicks 39 yd Field Goal
GBP: R.Longwell kicks 42 yd Field Goal
NYJ: V.Testaverde 2 yd pass to C.Martin and TOUCHDOWN (J.Hall Extra Point is good)
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