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Green Bay vs. San Francisco
10/08/00 - Packers Win 31-28
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| RB Ahman Green put in a workman-like effort with 40 yards rushing and 2 TDs |
The Packers returned to Lambeau Field on Sunday and did not disappoint.
Ryan Longwell's 35-yard field goal with 0:54 to play in the game gave the
Packers a 31-28 seesaw victory over the San Francisco 49ers, a win that
ended a disappointing two-game skid.
Brett Favre led the Green Bay offense in its most productive day of the
season and matched the 49ers Jeff Garcia, who repeatedly found receivers
Terrell Owens (8 catches, 93 yards) and Jerry Rice (6 catches, 77 yards) en
route to a 27-of-42, 336 yard passing day with 4 touchdowns.
Although he didn't match Garcia's quantity of passes, Favre was equally
impressive, throwing for 266 yards on 20-of-27 passing. His unique
playmaking ability also resulted in 35 yards rushing in key situations.
"He had his 31st birthday this past week and it looked like he had his 21st
birthday out there today," Head Coach Mike Sherman said of Favre. "He makes
me nervous, but he did what he had to do to help us win that football game.
He made some tremendous plays today.
On the game-winning drive, which began at the Green Bay 39-yard line with
5:20 remaining, Favre scrambled 11 yards for a first down. The play was
sandwiched between two key pass plays, a 14-yard reception by tight end
Bubba Franks and an 11-yard throw to wide receiver Antonio Freeman.
Freeman then caught another pass for seven yards to give the Packers a
first-and-ten at the San Francisco 25.
When the two-minute warning struck, the 59,870 in attendance jumped to their
feet in anticipation of the thrilling finale.
After the break, the Packers ran three consecutive running plays, a move
that forced the 49ers to use all of their remaining timeouts in order to
give their offense a desperation attempt at the game's end.
When Longwell's attempt proved true, and the 49ers last-second efforts were
stymied by the Packer defense, Green Bay was left with a hard-fought
victory.
"It always feels good to win, especially at home," said cornerback Tod
McBride. "The way the game came down at the end, that was a lot of fun."
"That was a big win for us," said defensive end John Thierry. "This team
needed it. The last two games we lost were very, very disappointing to all
of us. It was kind of in the back of everybody's mind, and to come out and
win wipes those little things out, and you can refocus yourself. Plus we're
going into the bye week, so you can focus now on whatever you need to do."
The 49ers appeared poised to take an early first-quarter lead, when on their
third possession, they drove from their own four-yard line to the Packers'
22 in 11 plays. But Garcia was sacked for a 15-yard loss by Thierry and
rookie defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, effectively taking San Francisco
out of field goal range.
"I just went around the (offensive tackle)," said Gbaja-Biamila. "Thierry
had his man, and we just jumped him. God put me in the right place at the
right time, and we got him. It was a big play for us."
The Packers took the momentum and struck quickly on the next drive. On
first down from the 49ers 33, Freeman lost the defense over the middle
before catching the ball and racing 67 yards into the end zone to give Green
Bay the lead.
"I was able to find a crease in their defense," Freeman said. "Brett
stepped up, improvised and hit me on the run. I was able to catch it and
stay in stride.
"We got off to a 7-0 lead which is something we haven't done probably since
the Arizona game."
San Francisco later tied the game in the second quarter on a 39-yard
touchdown reception by Charlie Garner, but the Packers responded on the next
drive by going 74 yards on 10 plays, climaxing in a two-yard touchdown run
by Ahman Green.
"I thought is was extraordinary," Sherman commented on the effort of Green.
"It was really the catalyst that got us going. I thought both of our backs
did an outstanding job today."
To begin the second half, the Green and Gold took 6:09 to march 80 yards in
11 plays. Dorsey Levens, the other running back to whom the coach referred,
concluded the notable series with a one-yard touchdown run.
For only the second full game of the season, Green and Levens took snaps
together, giving the Packers an imposing backfield duo.
Each has been bothered by injury but hinted Sunday they are capable of
producing big numbers. The tandem combined for 97 yards on 28 carries and
three touchdown runs.
"That's basically how the running game is developing," Green said. "That's
how it's designed to be."
Freeman, who gained 116 yards on 6 catches, led the Packer receivers.
"I've always said, if I can get the ball in my hands five or six times a
game, I can do something productive for our offense and put us in a
situation where we can win games," Freeman said.
Down 21-7, Garcia and the 49ers came racing back.
San Francisco receiver J.J. Stokes scored on a 23-yard catch in the waning
minutes of the third quarter, and Garcia found Terrell Owens for a 16-yard
touchdown 3:24 into the fourth quarter.
However, Green Bay answered again as Green found the end zone for the second
time.
On third-and-goal from the San Francisco one-yard line, Green attempted to
hurdle a pile of Packers and 49ers over the middle. After being knocked
back, he kept his feet and bullied his way across the goal line on the right
side of the line.
"It was basically just smash-mouth football trying to go over them," Green
said. "Will (Henderson) hit his block, and I tried to go over the top, and
they had the leverage on me. I came down still on my feet. I don't really
like to jump, but once I got back on my feet, I told myself I was going to
put it into the endzone. If I have to take everybody with me, they're going
into the endzone."
Though Owens would score again on the 49ers' following drive to knot the
score at 28, Favre and the Packers had all of the time they needed to mount
their game-clinching drive.
The game marked the first time all season that the Packers have not had a
turnover. Such circumstances have routinely left the team in a
come-from-behind position, but Sunday's contest was void of the costly
mistakes of the past.
"We didn't bury ourselves in the first quarter like we've done in the past,"
said Sherman. "Not burying ourselves with turnovers certainly helped us.
Green Bay now will have two weeks to prepare for the Miami Dolphins. With a
bye in next week's schedule, the Packers will have an opportunity to
reacquire key players who have been previously out due to injury, such as
Vonnie Holliday and Corey Bradford.
The win over the 49ers, which puts the Packers' record at three wins and
four losses, will go a long way in building momentum for the team, according
to Sherman.
"I'm certainly happy that we won this game," said the coach. "It certainly
makes the bye week more enjoyable. You build on confidence and hopefully we
can build on that.
Injury News
After the game, Sherman said that the only serious injury was to tight end
Ryan Wetnight, who pulled his hamstring. Wetnight will further be evaluated
on Monday.
Game Highlights (Real Audio)
Packers-Lions archived complete game broadcast (Real Audio)
Post-Game Audio Clips
Head Coach Mike Sherman (RealAudio)
QB Brett Favre (RealAudio)
WR Antonio Freeman (RealAudio)
S LeRoy Butler (RealAudio)
TE Bubba Franks (RealAudio)
RB Ahman Green (RealAudio)
RB Dorsey Levens (RealAudio)
K Ryan Longwell (RealAudio)
CB Tod McBride (RealAudio)
WR Bill Schroeder (RealAudio)
S Darren Sharper (RealAudio)
T Mark Tauscher (RealAudio)
LB Brian Williams (RealAudio)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GBP: B.Favre pass to A.Freeman for 67 yds and TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
2nd Quarter
SFF: J.Garcia pass to C.Garner for 39 yds and TOUCHDOWN (W.Richie Extra Point is good)
GBP: A.Green run for 2 yds TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
3rd Quarter
GBP: D.Levens run for 1 yds TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
SFF: J.Garcia pass to J.Stokes for 27 yds and TOUCHDOWN (W.Richie Extra Point is good)
4th Quarter
SFF: J.Garcia pass to T.Owens for 16 yds and TOUCHDOWN (W.Richie Extra Point is good)
GBP: A.Green run for 1 yds TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
SFF: J.Garcia pass to T.Owens for 37 yds and TOUCHDOWN (W.Richie Extra Point is good)
GBP: R.Longwell 35 yd Field Goal is GOOD
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