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| Sunday, December 8, 2002 - 7:30 pm at Lambeau Field |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Vikings |
10 |
3 |
9 |
0 |
22 |
| Packers |
0 |
6 |
7 |
13 |
26 |
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Packers Player Of The Game
With Terry Glenn inactive due to injury, second-year receiver Robert Ferguson stepped up to lead Green Bay's receiving corps. Ferguson made six receptions for 105 yards, including two touchdowns -- all career-highs. In the Packers' opening drive of the third quarter, with the team trailing 19-6, Ferguson made three catches -- a 13-yarder, followed by a leaping 15-yarder on a ball thrown behind him, and then a 21-yard touchdown reception. In the fourth quarter he came up big again, hooking up with Brett Favre on a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Also not to be forgotten was the performance of rookie running back Tony Fisher, who rushed for 96 yards and made five catches for 19 yards in his first NFL start.
Vikings Player Of The Game
The Vikings may have gone home losers, but not because of a lack of production from running back Michael Bennett. Tallying 120 yards on 19 attempts, Bennett finished the game with a 6.3-yards per carry average. He also had three catches for 8 yards.
Stat Of The Game
The Packers were 5-for-7 on third down conversions in the second half, including three third-down conversions on the final scoring drive.
Play Of The Game
There were numerous big plays that allowed the Packers to rally from a 15-point deficit, but perhaps none were as important, or as thrilling, as Brett Favre's 40-yard touchdown connection with Robert Ferguson. The play occurred early in the fourth quarter with the Packers trailing 22-13 and facing third-and-13 at the Minnesota 40-yard-line. Favre dropped back, eluded one would-be sacker and just did get off a sidearm pass before two more Vikings tracked him down. Ferguson, who had drifted open in the middle of the field, caught Favre's rocket and sprinted to the right sideline before diving into the front right corner of the end zone. After Ryan Longwell's extra point, the Packers trailed by only 2 and had new life.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman --
On game: "It was a great crowd. Our team was not flat. We turned the ball over twice and we did not make as many plays as we could have, but the guys hung in there and battled the entire game...they just kept battling."
On Robert Ferguson: "He has accepted his role on the team and he has made an impact on special teams. In the last five weeks, he has certainly made the most of his opportunities. I can't say enough about what he did tonight."
On Tony Fisher: "I can't say enough about him. I thought he did a phenomenal job in the ballgame. He really made some nice runs. I can't think of a mistake he made in the ballgame."
Marques Anderson --
On struggle against the run: "It's correctable, because we had our run defense almost where we wanted it on first and second down, but we've just got to continue to try to get better."
On events that led to scuffle at end of game: "I don't know who it was, but somebody came behind me, clipped me from the back and pushed me over, then got on top of me. I don't know who it was. Then all of a sudden their whole bench from the sideline surrounds me ... It was a cheap shot. They pushed me on my back, tripped me. I mean, it wasn't that bad. Who cares? We won."
Na'il Diggs --
On game: "I think we definitely got a reality check today. Just because we won the division, teams aren't just going to come in here and roll over. Or, just because it's cold, they're not going to hand us the football game. I think that's important for a lot of young guys to realize. ... You can't take a coffee break just because it's cold and we're at home."
Brett Favre --
On trailing with 5 minutes left: "I didn't anticipate being in that situation. Minnesota played extremely well - they put us in that situation...of course we helped out. That situation was do or die, and that was one of our bigger drives of the year."
On Robert Ferguson: "He just finally got an opportunity tonight, and that is what this league is all about. And when you get that chance, you have to make the most of it...he is a great kid; a hard worker; he never complains - and those type of guys you can't help but pull for."
On comebacks: "It is always great when you come from behind and win, but if anything it makes you age. I don't want to be remembered as the comeback kid. I feel comfortable having the ball in my hands, but I would rather be up because you aren't always going to win those...we somehow pulled it out. It may be one of the greatest games of my career here. I just hope I don't have to go through it too much more."
On conversation with Chris Hovan: "I just told him good game and see you next year. I think the whole confrontation shows the competitiveness on both sides. They came here to win this football game. We are always going to get their best. To say there is some bad blood between the teams may be an understatement."
Robert Ferguson --
On game: "I just went out there and tried to make plays. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to perform tonight. It was amazing. This was a division game and all of us left ourselves on that field."
On performance: "It has been something I have been concentrating on, to just go out there and make the most of my opportunities - especially tonight."
On if it felt good to have number called today: "Of course. I am a competitor, I want to win and we did that tonight, so it makes it that much more gratifying. At the same time, you always feel good when you come out on the field and play your game."
On if frustrated by sometimes-limited playing time: "It is more a learning situation. I just try to make the most of the situation I am in. The more opportunities I get, the more I feel I can make things happen."
Tony Fisher --
On performance: "I knew I had to come out and just be productive. I'm not Ahman Green by any means, but I tried to come out and make my contribution. I did what I had to do to help this team get a win."
On game-winning touchdown: "When I saw the defensive alignment, I knew it was going to be wide open. I knew Will (Henderson) and (Tony Carter) were going to go through pretty much untouched so they left a big hole, and I just went through hard."
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila --
On fourth-quarter forced-fumble: "I just hustled until the play was done, I thought I had him twice before I finally made the play, it was all out hustle."
On motivation for game: "Tonight was a way for me to really try to help my teammates, they've been greatly comforting these past few days. It was a good way for me to get back on track, God helped me through these tough times, and so did tonight."
On the fans' support: "That sign (God bless KGB) was inspiring. I don't know of anywhere else where I can get this kind of support, it's an amazing city. I come out here and play for them, and I love to see them supporting me."
On emotions taking the field: "I don't know how I'm going to do this. I just asked God, give me the strength to go out here and try to put whatever is disturbing my personal life and try to help my team. God answered my prayers and gave me the strength that I need to go out there and play."
Tod McBride --
On game: "I'm just happy we got the win, that's the bottom line. I prepared just as I do every week, and I gave it my all tonight. I was calm, confident, and just really wanted to go out there and get it done tonight. We wanted it more."
Marco Rivera -
On scuffle at end of game: "I think what they did was wrong. Their bench cleared out and they ganged up on two of our players. When you see stuff like that happening it's scary ... That's not part of the game ... I don't know what the NFL is going to do, but they need to take a good look at what happened there and justify that."
On Tony Fisher's performance: "I think he's legitimate. I think he proved that last week, he proved that in camp, and this week he just added to his value on the team. He made this team as an undrafted free agent and you have to give him all the credit in the world. He plays hard. He's got a lot of confidence and he's only going to get better."
Darren Sharper --
On interception return: "Every time I get the ball I try to score points, regardless of the situation, I was trying to help our team out in regards to the point differential. I wanted to score."
On defense: "We've been stepping up when we need to all year. When it's time for us to step up and it's crunch time, we've seemed to be able to make stands. We'd like to get to the point where we're dominating for all four quarters, of course, but right now we're finding ways to win, and there's nothing wrong with that."
On game: "This was one of the scariest games I've been in, because they were up the whole game. We didn't play well, again. We didn't come out fast. We came out flat and they got up. ... Rush defense was not good at all, but we found a way to win."
On interception return: "I really could have scored if I really wanted to, but after a while I bumped into one of my players and I said, okay, it's just time to lay down. And I got a little tired, too."
GAME NOTES
Temperature for tonight's kickoff was officially 11 degrees (six degrees with the wind-chill). Since 1959 (from which point records are available) only eight Packers regular season home games have been colder at kickoff. Including playoffs, only 10 Packers home games have been colder at kickoff.
Temperature at the second-half kickoff was 7 degrees, with a wind-chill of 2.
In games played December 15 or earlier, it's the sixth-coldest Packers home contest.
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By throwing for 214 yards tonight, quarterback Brett Favre went over the 3,000-yard mark for the 11th consecutive season, extending his own NFL record. Dan Marino is next with nine straight seasons of over 3,000 yards passing.
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Tonight's win marked Favre's 26th career game-winning comeback (his third of the season - also vs. Atlanta and Carolina). With the win, he maintained his perfect record at home (34-0 - 28-0 regular season, 6-0 playoffs) when the temperature is 34 degrees or below, including victories over Miami and Chicago.
**
Kicker Ryan Longwell's first second-quarter field goal pushed him over the 700-point threshold for his career. He becomes just the fourth Packers player to accumulate such a total. The immortal Don Hutson is the team's all-time leader with 823 points. Chris Jacke (820) and Paul Hornung (760) follow.
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End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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Darren Sharper's interception and 66-yard return sealed a Packers' victory (0:00, 4th quarter). The Packers are undefeated at Lambeau Field this season.
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Tony Fisher's 14-yard touchdown run gave the Packers their first lead of the night with just over a minute to play (1:06, 4th quarter). The 2-point conversion attempt failed. The Packers' 85-yard scoring drive unfolded in nine plays and included three third-down conversions. The first was a 16-yard reception by Javon Walker on third-and-2. The second came via a 28-yard pass interference penalty on third-and-2. The last was an 8-yard scamper by Brett Favre on third-and-7. Time of the drive was 3:26.
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Brett Favre eluded a would-be sacker and gunned a pass to Robert Ferguson in the middle of the field, who took it to the end zone for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown (10:48, 4th quarter). Donald Driver made a fantastic 10-yard reception on third down earlier in the drive. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 54 yards. Time of the drive was 2:36.
At the end of the drive, Ferguson had tied his career best with 5 receptions. His two-touchdown performance is the first of his career.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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Gary Anderson's 37-yard field goal that just cleared the crossbar extended the Vikings' lead to 9 (6:00, 3rd quarter). Michael Bennett broke loose for a 35-yard run that accounted for the majority of the Vikings' offense on the 6-play, 41-yard drive. Time of the drive was 1:57.
**
Robert Ferguson's 21-yard reception in the front left corner of the end zone helped to bring the Packers within a score of the lead (7:57, 3rd quarter). Ferguson's grab was his third of the drive. Earlier he made a 13-yard reception, which he followed by an amazing 15-yard grab on a pass thrown high and behind him. The Packers scoring drive was 8 plays, 67 yards. Time of the drive was 3:32.
**
Daunte Culpepper ran into the end zone from 3 yards out to give the Vikings a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half (11:29, 3rd quarter). Cletidus Hunt blocked the extra point try to keep the Packers within 13 points. Moe Williams had the big play of the drive, a 44-yard run down the right sideline. The Vikings scoring drive was 7 plays, 74 yards. Time of the drive was 3:31.
The blocked point-after try was the first for the Packers since Nov. 29, 1998.
**
End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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The Packers got a yard away from the end zone, but had to settle for Ryan Longwell's 19-yard field goal to end the first half trailing by 7 (0:00, 2nd quarter). Earlier on the drive, Donald Driver picked up 17 yards, using a Brett Favre block, on a reverse handoff from Tony Fisher. Robert Ferguson had a clutch 8-yard catch to help the Packers convert on third-and-8. The Packers scoring drive was 12 plays, 51 yards. Time of the drive was 5:22.
Longwell's field goal was his 13th consecutive make, tying his personal best. The Packers team record is 17.
**
Ryan Longwell's 33-yard field goal put the Packers on the scoreboard (6:43, 2nd quarter). Bubba Franks had two catches for 15 yards, while Donald Driver had one grab for 15 yards. Tony Fisher had an 11-yard run. The Packers scoring drive was 11 plays, 59 yards. Time of the drive was 6:12.
On the drive, Brett Favre completed a 4-yard pass to Tony Carter that gave him 3,000 yards passing on the season. That's Favre's 11th straight 3,000-yard season, extending his NFL record in that category. Dan Marino is second with 9 seasons.
Ryan Longwell's field goal made him the fourth player in Packers history to score 700 points in his career.
**
The Vikings took over at the Green Bay 25-yard-line after Greg Biekert's interception, but the Packers' defense held them to a field goal. Gary Anderson's 22-yard kick put Minnesota up 13 (12:55, 2nd quarter). The Vikings scoring drive was 6 plays, 19 yards. Time of the drive was 2:05.
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End of 1st quarter.
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The Packers' third possession ended in a turnover. Brett Favre's pass intended for Javon Walker bounced off of Walker and Corey Chavous before Greg Biekert came down with the interception at the Green Bay 23-yard-line (0:00, 1st quarter).
Donald Driver was injured earlier in the drive. He was taken into the locker room for X-rays on his elbow.
**
Daunte Culpepper found Randy Moss along the back of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown pass to extend the Vikings' lead (1:02, 1st quarter. The Vikings started their drive at the Green Bay 30-yard-line after a Brett Favre fumble. D'Wayne Bates had a pair of receptions worth 21 yards to set up the scoring play. The Vikings scoring drive was 4 plays, 30 yards. Time of the drive was 2:00.
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The Packers' second possession ended when Brett Favre fumbled while cocking his arm to pass. Chris Hovan recovered at the Green Bay 30-yard-line (3:02).
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After the Packers went three-and-out on their first possession, the Vikings mounted a scoring drive that ended with Gary Anderson's 23-yard field goal (6:16, 1st quarter). D'Wayne Bates had a pair of receptions worth 25 yards that helped the Vikings to a first-and-goal situation at the 9-yard-line, but the Packers defense held Minnesota to the field goal. The Vikings scoring drive was 12 plays, 65 yards. Time of the drive was 6:50.
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Playing in his 172nd consecutive regular season game tonight, Brett Favre extends the second-longest such streak in team history. Only Forrest Gregg played in more consecutive regular season games for the Packers, holding the record at 187. Also tonight, Favre extends his NFL record for consecutive regular season starts by a quarterback to 170. That's the longest active streak among NFL players at any position.
**
The official game temperature at kickoff is 11 degrees. Since 1959 (from which point records are available) only eight Packers regular season home games have been colder at kickoff. Including playoffs, only 10 Packers home games have been colder at kickoff.
In games played December 15 or earlier, it's the sixth-coldest Packers home contest.
Game-time temperature including wind-chill is 6 degrees.
**
The following Packers players are inactive for tonight's contest: Gilbert Brown, Terry Glenn, Ahman Green, Alcender Jackson, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Jamal Reynolds, Marcus Wilkins, Tyrone Williams
Tony Fisher will make his first NFL start in place of Ahman Green. Javon Walker will start in place of Terry Glenn.
Rod Walker will start in place of Gilbert Brown.
Tod McBride will start in place of Tyrone Williams. In his seventh NFL season, this will be the first missed game in Williams' pro career, breaking a streak of 108 straight games played (116 including playoffs). |
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