Packers Player Of The Game
With a passer rating of 122.2, quarterback Brett Favre proved that he's still among the best in the NFL. Completing 23 of 33 passes, Favre tallied 278 yards and four touchdowns, including a crucial 40-yard strike to Robert Ferguson that helped lead the Packers from behind. Favre's first touchdown pass of the day set a Packers record, marking is 23rd consecutive game with a touchdown pass.
Chargers Player Of The Game
LaDainian Tomlinson averaged only 2.6 yards per carry, but the running back still turned in an impressive performance. Leading the Chargers with 11 receptions, Tomlinson had 144 yards receiving and two touchdowns, one of them a 68-yarder that gave the Chargers the lead in the fourth quarter.
Stat Of The Game
The Packers won the turnover battle 4 to 1.
Play Of The Game
There were a handful of clutch plays that contributed to the Packers' victory, but it was the 40-yard strike from Brett Favre to Robert Ferguson early in the fourth quarter that halted the Chargers' momentum while allowing the Packers to regain the lead at the same time. Later in the fourth quarter, Grady Jackson forced a Drew Brees fumble at the 1-yard line that set up another Packers touchdown. And not to be overlooked was Darren Sharper's second-quarter interception inside the 2-minute mark that not only prevented the Chargers from scoring, but sparked a Packers scoring drive.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman -
On injuries: "Mike McKenzie hurt his ankle in the first half and I didn't even think he was going to be able to go out in the second half, so what he was able to do was extraordinary. Javon Walker bruised his left knee in the game and was able to return. But fortunately we haven't had any big injuries in this ballgame."
On Najeh Davenport's 45-yard kickoff return: "I thought a key play in the game, to be honest with you, was when they went ahead 21-17 and Najeh Davenport and the kickoff return unit -- which, they were challenged this week to be better -- they responded with a great return. And then we came with that quick strike to Ferguson on that second play that put us ahead. And I thought that was the key turning point in the game for us."
On playoff situation: "They pretty much know. We didn't even talk about Minnesota or Seattle or whatever other scenarios are out there. That's not relevant to us at this present time. What is relevant is us and how we take care of our business. We can't take care of other people. So we never even discussed that, we just know that we have to go to Oakland ... and hopefully play well."
On performance: "I feel like we're playing at a high level of intensity, but we made a lot of mistakes today that need to be corrected on both sides of the ball. We put up some points, but we need to play better. There are some things that we have to correct ... There are some things we can work on. I don't think we're clicking on all cylinders as of today."
On Donald Driver: "It's just opportunity. There were some opportunities there and he made the most out of them. Brett was able to get him the football. There wasn't anything that we schemed to get him the ball more than usual."
On team's confidence: "It's a confident locker room, but we have a lot of work to do to get ready for the next two ballgames. There's a lot of football to play, obviously. But we have approached the second half of the season one game at a time and that works for us. We're just not a bright enough group to handle any more than one at a time. So we've just got to have our focus on Oakland right now and we'll go from there."
Brett Favre -
On team's making Brett Favre beat them: "I don't blame them. You know, I'm old and washed up. That doesn't bother me."
On playoff situation: "I would be a fool to sit here and tell you that we're not aware of what took place today. But a lot like our season up to this point, our guys really haven't paid much attention to what is going on. We're not good enough, I don't think, to worry about that. In my opinion, the teams and the players that worry about what everyone else is doing are the ones that are going to be watching when the playoffs start. And, hey, I know we control our own destiny, but from the first game of the year we controlled our own destiny. So we know what we have to do. I think what you'll see from this team is what you've seen all year. You'll see a team give great effort and do everything they possibly can do. If we get in, we get in, but all we can be concerned with right now is Oakland."
On falling behind: "You know what, when they went up, honestly I knew they had taken the lead but I honestly wasn't concerned. I can point to numerous games and drives in the past where I wasn't concerned. Once as a player you start saying, 'Okay, now we've got to do it,' it's too late. Or, 'Okay, they've taken the lead, now we have to answer.' You should always answer. Why wait until all of a sudden they jump ahead? ... If we wouldn't have scored after they answered and went ahead, we had no one to blame but ourselves. I really wasn't concerned about that. I thought we would score."
Robert Ferguson -
On teams forcing Brett Favre to beat them: "They must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. How can you say you're going to make Brett Favre beat you? He's been doing it for years. So anyone who says they're going to make Brett Favre beat them, we're going into the game with a smile on our faces."
On Donald Driver's performance: "It was great. It's what, Week 14, Week 15? He's ready to lead us into the playoffs. We've been expecting that of him all year and that's what we continue to expect. He's very capable of it. A lot of people have been saying this and that about him, but when you get him the ball he's going to make something happen."
Mike Flanagan -
On moving into playoff position: "If we don't win out, what good is it? We've had so many opportunities and we've squandered so many of them, I think everybody right now isn't looking too far ahead. We have to come back out to California ... In this league, don't take anything for granted. We've got to come back and play next week."
On teams forcing Brett Favre to beat them: "I like my chances. If you want to load up and take away the run and that's all you're focused on, give the ball to Brett, you go right ahead. He didn't get those MVPs and Super Bowls just because he's a good looking guy. If everybody thinks they've got a scheme for it and that's what they want to do, go ahead. If you take away one facet of our game, our other one is going to come around. We may not be as consistent as we'd like to be, but eventually it's going to come around."
Grady Jackson -
On turnovers: "That's the big difference. When we win the turnover battle, we win the game."
Ryan Longwell -
On breaking Packers all-time scoring record: "The Packers are one of, if not the most storied franchise in the NFL. To have a record like this, which is a pretty big deal and to be above the names that I'm above is very humbling and very satisfying at the same time."
Hannibal Navies -
On LaDainian Tomlinson: "That guy there is an incredible player. I've never played against him (before), this was my first time playing against him. He's going to be a dominant player in this league. I mean, we were focusing on him all week and he still hit some big plays on us. So we couldn't stop him, he hit some big plays on us. But all in all, turnovers helped us win."
Mark Tauscher -
On falling behind: "We recognized that we stunk. The quarter, you can't spin it any other way, we were god awful in that third quarter. If we were going to finish playing that way we were going to get killed. And we knew that something had to change."
On Minnesota and Seattle losses: "That stuff doesn't matter. We didn't know what was going to happen. The only thing we knew was that we needed to win the game or else everything else was a moot point. We got our end done and then some other teams helped us today and that was obviously pretty nice."
Mike Wahle -
On teams saying they want to force Brett Favre to beat them: "They've been saying that for the last couple weeks and he's been burning them for the last couple weeks. So keep talking. I don't know why you'd ever want to say anything bad about that guy. That's absolutely idiotic to challenge him in any way if you're an opponent because he just steps up. He had another great day today and he's a phenomenal player."
GAME NOTES:
End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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With defenders hanging on him, Robert Ferguson pulled in Brett Favre's 16-yard touchdown pass on third-and-12 to add to the Packers lead, 38-21 (3:58, 4th quarter). Earlier on the drive, Donald Driver made a 20-yard catch. Ahman Green had a 34-yard run. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 70 yards. Time of the drive was 3:15.
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One play after Hannibal Navies' fumble recovery, Brett Favre hit Ahman Green for a 1-yard touchdown to increase the Packers lead, 31-21 (8:37, 4th quarter). The Packers scoring drive was 1 play, 1 yard.
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Facing first-and-10 at the San Diego 20-yard line, Drew Brees was sacked by Grady Jackson, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Hannibal Navies (8:42, 4th quarter). The Packers take over at the San Diego 1-yard line.
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Facing second-and-8, Brett Favre hit Robert Ferguson for a 40-yard touchdown to regain the lead, 24-21 (11:18, 4th quarter). Najeh Davenport had a 45-yard kickoff return. The Packers scoring drive was 2 plays, 42 yards. Time of the drive was 0:52.
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Facing second-and-6, LaDainian Tomlinson caught a Drew Brees pass near midfield and ran the rest of the way for a 68-yard touchdown to put the Chargers ahead, 21-17 (12:10, 4th quarter). The Chargers scoring drive was 2 plays, 72 yards. Time of the drive was 0:54.
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Drew Brees hit LaDainian Tomlinson for a 7-yard touchdown and then found David Boston for the 2-point conversion to bring the Chargers within 3, 17-14 (14:56, 4th quarter). The Chargers scoring drive was 10 plays, 53 yards. Time of the drive was 4:50.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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Facing third-and-10 at the San Diego 42-yard line, Brett Favre's pass for Robert Ferguson was tipped by Donnie Edwards and intercepted by Stephen Cooper. After Cooper's 25-yard return, the Chargers take over at their own 47-yard line (4:46, 3rd quarter).
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Facing second-and-12 at the 50-yard line, Drew Brees dropped back and was hit by Chukie Nwokorie, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Gilbert Brown (5:08, 3rd quarter). The Packers take over at the San Diego 42-yard line.
The fumble recovery by Brown is the first of his career.
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Steve Christie's 26-yard field goal cut into the Packers lead, 17-6 (8:52, 3rd quarter). The Chargers drove as close as the Green Bay 7-yard line, but were shut down after that. The Chargers scoring drive was 11 plays, 71 yards. Time of the drive was 6:08.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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Facing first-and-goal, Brett Favre found Donald Driver four a 7-yard touchdown, 17-3 (0:33, 2nd quarter). Earlier on the drive, Driver made an 18-yard catch on third-and-2. Javon Walker had receptions of 8 and 18 yards on the drive. Tony Fisher had a 19-yard catch-and-run. The Packers scoring drive, which began courtesy of Darren Sharper's interception, was 7 plays, 70 yards. Time of the drive was 0:44.
Brett Favre has now thrown a touchdown pass in 23 consecutive games, setting a Packers record.
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Facing third-and-10 at the Green Bay 14-yard line, Drew Brees' pass was intercepted behind the line of scrimmage by Darren Sharper. Sharper then fumbled the ball, but Al Harris recovered. The Packers take over at the Green Bay 30-yard line (1:17, 2nd quarter).
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Ryan Longwell's 32-yard field goal increased the Packers lead, 10-3 (8:59, 2nd quarter). The Packers started in Chargers territory thanks to Marques Anderson's fumble recovery. Donald Driver made a 13-yard catch. William Henderson had a 9-yard catch. Tony Fisher had a 12-yard run following an 8-yard loss on an end-around to Robert Ferguson. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 24 yards. Time of the drive was 3:56.
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Facing third-and-12 at the Chargers 39-yard line, David Boston caught a Drew Brees pass, but fumbled when Al Harris wrapped him up. Marques Anderson recovered. The Packers take over at the San Diego 38-yard line (12:55, 2nd quarter).
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End of 1st quarter.
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Steve Christie's 20-yard field goal put the Chargers on the scoreboard, 7-3 (6:02, 1st quarter). The Chargers had first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, but Packers defense shut them down after that. Marques Anderson forced a scrambling Drew Brees out of bounds at the 2-yard line on third down. The Chargers scoring drive was 9 plays, 74 yards. Time of the drive was 4:57.
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Ahman Green's 4-yard touchdown run capped off the game's opening possession and put the Packers on the scoreboard, 7-0 (10:59, 1st quarter). Najeh Davenport set the drive up with a 37-yard kickoff return. Donald Driver had two key third-down catches: a 16-yarder on third-and-6 and a 23-yarder on third-and-6. The Packers scoring drive was 8 plays, 60 yards. Time of the drive was 4:01.
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The following Packers players are inactive for today's game: Derek Combs, Brennan Curtin, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Kenny Peterson, Jamal Reynolds, Marcus Spriggs, Erwin Swiney, Marcus Wilkins. |
