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Green Bay vs. Detroit
10/08/00 - Packers Lose 31-24
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| Antonio Freeman had a good game against the Lions, posting 6 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. |
For the second consecutive week, the Packers struggled early, rallied late
and fell short in the end.
This time, they were victimized on Sunday by the Detroit Lions at the
Pontiac Silverdome, 31-24.
Five turnovers by Green Bay proved too costly, and Charlie Batch's 30-yard
touchdown pass to Herman Moore 11 minutes into the third quarter was enough
to eliminate a successful comeback by Brett Favre and the Packers.
The Packers dominated many offensive statistics, including time of
possession (34:36-to-25:24), total first downs (19-to-11) and total net
yards (339-to-253), but Green Bay's 3 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles were
the most critical statistics of the afternoon.
"Obviously, they (turnovers) helped to turn this game around," said Lions
Head Coach Bobby Ross. "I honestly believe that it is the most significant
stat in football."
As was the case versus the Bears last week in their 27-24 home loss, the
Packers' first series ended with a turnover. This time, Favre was hit from
behind by defensive end Tracy Scroggins and fumbled into the hands of Luther
Ellis at the 21-yard line.
Although the defense held the Lions to a Jason Hanson 30-yard field goal,
the Packers again found themselves in an early hole.
The deficit grew larger after Detroit quarterback Charlie Batch found Johnny
Morton down the right sideline on the Lions' next play from scrimmage for a
42-yard touchdown.
"We have to give them (Detroit) credit for the four-man rush," Packers Head
Coach Mike Sherman said. "It was very disappointing, but not demoralizing.
We had a whole game to play. We emphasized having a quick start, and it
didn't happen. We were down 10-0 early, and we got ourselves in a hole."
Green Bay finally managed a first down on their fouth offensive series in
which Ahman Green ran for two first downs and caught a pass for another.
Antonio Freeman added a 17-yard catch to set up Ryan Longwell's 44-yard
field goal, putting the Packers within a touchdown one minute into the
second quarter.
However, momentum swung back toward Detriot minutes later when Josh
Bidwell's punt was tipped by Detroit rusher Brock Olivo deep in Packers'
territory, giving the Lions a first down at the 25. Four plays later,
Batched dumped the ball to James Stewart, who scampered 13 yards for a
touchdown. Hanson's conversion put the Lions ahead 17-3 with 10:03 to play
in the first half.
It appeared as though Green Bay would get back on track after LeRoy Butler's
interception gave the offense a first down at the Detroit 42.
A catch by rookie wideout Charles Lee and subsequent 15-yard facemask
penalty on the Lions plus a first-down run by Green gave the Packers a
first-and-goal at the 6. But Scroggins struck again, knocking the ball
loose from Favre and ending the drive.
Lamar Campbell was the next Lion culprit to hurt the Packers. Campbell, a
third-year cornerback from Wisconsin, intercepted Favre and went untouched
42 yards the other way into the end zone, putting Sherman's team down 21
points with 1:33 left in the first half.
Two more Longwell field goals - 51 yards at the conclusion of the first half
and 31 yards to capitalize on the Packers' first second-half drive - kept
the Packers within reach only to see Moore's touchdown push the lead to
31-9.
"When you get behind 21 points, you put yourself in a real tough
predicament," Freeman explained. "We fought through it and hung together
and had our shots at the end, but we dug ourselves too deep of a hole to get
our of."
Rookie Herbert Goodman's 54-yard return of the ensuing kickoff gave the team
a bit of life, and the offense responded. Favre's 5-yard touchdown pass to
Freeman capped a 7 play, 48-yard drive that included a 29-yard catch by
Freeman on fourth-and-five from the Detroit 43.
Trailing by 16, Donald Driver made diving grab of a Favre pass at the goal
line for a successful 2-point conversion.
Favre's turnovers overshadowed an otherwise impressive passing day for the
10-year pro, who completed 27 passes in 43 attempts for 293 yards.
Freeman led all receivers with 98 yards on 6 catches.
"It seemed like we got really aggressive in the second half," said Freeman.
"I don't think we were as aggressive in the first. When we got down 10-0,
we knew we were in for a dogfight. I think the key to the game was our
struggles in the red zone. We got down there and got sacked or fumbled or
settled for field goals. Those are the things we need to capitalize on. We
can't settle for three points. We have to be aggressive and get in the
endzone and score touchdowns, and that was the difference in the game."
Green Bay's next possession was their most aggressive of the afternoon.
They took possession at their 13-yard line with 11:27 to play in the fourth
quarter and promptly marched 87 yards on 9 plays.
Fullback William Henderson scored his first touchdown of the season on a
7-yard screen pass, and the Packers suddenly found themselves a touchdown
away from sending the contest to overtime.
The extra period, however, was not meant to be.
To the delight of the home crowd, Favre's late heroics were prevented by a
swarming Detroit defense. The quarterback was intercepted on each of the
next two possessions, the first by Terry Fair and the second by Kurt Schultz
with 1:37 to play - his league-leading sixth interception of the season.
"It was the best our team has played this season," said Batch, who completed
13-of-26 passes for 199 yards. "On offense we were able to put up points.
Our special teams and defense did their jobs. We scored our points quick,
so we didn't have long drives."
As Batch knelt to run the closing seconds off the clock, the Packers found
themselves faced with the unenviable task of recovering from a 2-4 start to
the season.
The task looms large for the Green and Gold, but players' post-game comments
came well short of conceding the season.
"We can give up and make it worse than it is, or we can keep fighting and
make something out of it," Favre said. "I've been at the top, I've been at
the bottom, and I've been in the middle. Obviously, the top is a lot more
fun. Now we'll find out what our team is made of. I think we've got good
character guys who want to win, but sometimes that's not enough. But we'll
keep fighting and see what happens."
Green, who rushed for 69 yards on 22 carries and caught 8 passes for 76
yards, likewise preached optimism and determination, saying, "We have no
choice but to stick together now. If anybody bails, they don't belong on
the team."
The optimism is due in part to the hopes that five key players will soon be
returning to the lineup. Defensive backs Mike McKenzie and Antuan Edwards,
receiver Cory Bradford, running back Dorsey Levens and defensive end Vonnie
Holliday have all been saddled with injuries and are close to returning.
The Packers will be tested at home next week against the San Francisco 49ers
then hope to get even healthier with a bye the following week.
Injury Notes
Wide receiver Bill Schroeder left the game in the first half with a hip
pointer. His unavailability for the remainder of the game left the Packers
with only three healthy receivers - Freeman, Driver and Lee.
Freeman left the game for a series in the second quarter with concussion
symptoms but later returned to the field.
Other injuries of note include kick returner and defensive back Allen Rossum
(ribs), defensive end David Bowens (ankle), offensive tackle Mike Wahle
(calf muscle), defensive tackle Santana Dotson (stinger) and cornerback Tod
McBride (stinger).
Dotson and McBride returned to the field, while Rossum was able to play on
occasional defensive plays. Wahle and Bowens did not return.
Game Highlights (Real Audio)
Packers-Lions archived complete game broadcast (Real Audio)
Post-Game Audio Clips
Head Coach Mike Sherman (RealAudio)
S LeRoy Butler (RealAudio)
QB Brett Favre (RealAudio)
TE Bubba Franks (RealAudio)
WR Antonio Freeman (RealAudio)
RB Ahman Green (RealAudio)
G Ross Verba (RealAudio)
LB Brian Williams (RealAudio)
CB Tyrone Williams (RealAudio)
Scoring Summary
| Team |
Qtr |
Time |
Play |
Packers |
Lions |
| Lions | 1 | 11:23 | J.Hanson 30 yd Field Goal | 0 | 3 |
| Lions | 1 | 9:25 | J.Morton 42 yd pass from C.Batch (J.Hanson kick) | 0 | 10 |
| Packers | 2 | 14:50 | R.Longwell 44 yd Field Goal | 3 | 10 |
| Lions | 2 | 10:03 | J.Stewart 13 yd. pass from C.Batch (J.Hanson kick) | 3 | 17 |
| Lions | 2 | 1:33 | L.Campbell 42 yd Interception return (J.Hanson kick) | 3 | 24 |
| Packers | 2 | 0:09 | R.Longwell 51 yd Field Goal | 6 | 24 |
| Packers | 3 | 7:19 | R.Longwell 31 yd Field Goal | 9 | 24 |
| Lions | 3 | 4:39 | H.Moore 30 yd pass from C.Batch (J.Hanson kick) | 9 | 31 |
| Packers | 3 | 1:19 | A.Freeman 5 yd pass from B.Favre | 17 | 31 |
| Packers | 4 | 7:15 | W.Henderson 7 yd pass from B.Favre | 24 | 31 |
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