Packers Player Of The Game
Just over 24 hours removed from the death of his father, Brett Favre turned in one of the most outstanding performances of his storied career. Completing 22 of 30 passes to 12 different receivers, Favre threw four touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating of 154.9 was just south of the maximum 158.3. His 311 first-half yards were a career best, while his 399 total yards were just 3 yards shy of his career high. Also of note, 215 of his 399 yards came on third down. For the game, the Packers were 9-of-15 on third down, including 7-of-10 on third-and-8 or longer.
Raiders Player Of The Game
Linebacker Eric Barton had a game-high 12 tackles, while Jerry Rice led all receivers with 10 catches for 159 yards.
Stat Of The Game
The 548 yards amassed by the Packers offense was the third-highest total in team history. The record is 628 yards, set at Philadelphia, Nov. 11, 1962.
Play Of The Game
On a day filled with memorable plays, it's hard to overlook the Packers' first touchdown. Facing second-and-8, Brett Favre perfectly lofted a 22-yard pass over the hands of Derrick Gibson and into the hands of a diving Wesley Walls in the back left corner of the end zone. The score put the Packers up 7-0, and from there they would never trail. Runner-up honors go to Favre and Javon Walker, who connected on a 43-yard touchdown when Walker jumped up between two Raiders defenders to haul in the pass.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman -
On Brett Favre: "As well as he did, you couldn't draw up a script better than what was drawn up today. You hope when you leave the tunnel and you take the field that he's going to play that type of game, but the chances that happen, unless it's Brett Favre, are probably unlikely. This guy put together a career day, particularly in that first half."
On team: "I'm very proud of the football team. We had to come out here and win this football game. I was very concerned about Oakland. They'd done a great job last week against Baltimore, and we had a lot of concerns about winning this football game. I was proud of how this team responded. Certainly we needed this win to stay in the playoff hunt and we also needed this win for Brett Favre, and I thought his teammates responded very well when he needed it as a teammate."
On Brett Favre: "Adversity strikes all of us. It's not the adversity that affects you, it's how you handle it. And he handles adversity extremely well. His focus and concentration on this football game this evening was extraordinary. When he puts his mind to anything, even off the field, he can accomplish anything he wants to accomplish."
On Javon Walker and Robert Ferguson: "It's the Javon Walker that I think we've seen this season. I think he's coming into his own. I thought Ferguson made some key plays for us. This (Raiders) defense is rated 12th in the National Football League in third-down conversion, winning third down. And we were very concerned coming in on third down and Fergy made some key third-down catches. Javon obviously made some big catches as well, but Walker is very capable of making big plays. When we drafted him we drafted an athlete who has the ability to torque his body and jump and leap and make plays, and he was able to do that today."
On playoff scenarios: "I heard some of the guys talking about the past games this weekend and I said, 'It makes me upset when I hear you guys talking about it. It doesn't mean anything to us. We just have to play. We have to take care of the things we can control and not worry about it.' ... The scenarios, all that stuff, is too confusing. And too much time to spend on something that means nothing. All we have to do is take care of our business."
Donald Driver -
On Brett Favre: "For him to come out and play this game, he's a better man than most of us on this team. We knew that we had to go out and get him everything that he wanted. He wanted this game as bad as we did, and we did it for his dad."
Robert Ferguson -
On Brett Favre: "I saw a tiger in his eyes. He's a strong man. I think Brett Favre and Ray Sherman are two of the strongest men I've ever met ... Brett's huge. He's kind of like our president. Everybody is going to rally around the president. It's hard to say in words what he means to this team, but I think obviously he showed that tonight."
Antonio Freeman -
On Brett Favre's performance: "You can't put a price on it. It's immeasurable. For him to come out and show the tenacity and the determination and the team spirit that he showed today ... it was very easy for him to walk away and to go be with his family, but I think Brett did what his dad would have wanted him to do and that's play the game."
Ryan Longwell -
On Brett Favre: "You just don't realize what he went through all day yesterday, all night and then all day today waiting for a night game. That's about the worst it could be. And what he went through just to get ready for the game, to come out and perform like he did is above and beyond what anybody should have to go through. And then the level he played at it's Favre-esque, you could say. It's the way the guy is."
Doug Pederson -
On Brett Favre's performance: "In one word, it's just awesome. To see a guy be so devastated 36 hours ago and not knowing what to do to come out and play. I mean it's just a great tribute to him, a courageous effort by him, by this team, to stand by him and support him. We knew going out there that he wasn't out there alone, he wasn't out there by himself and the guys rallied around and came through for him."
Marco Rivera -
On Brett Favre: "I think we were feeding off his emotion. He's hands down the leader of this team and we were feeding off his emotion. His level of play today was vintage Brett Favre and that carried over and that trickled to everyone else."
On post-game mood in locker room: "It was emotional. Obviously Brett got the game ball. Everybody gave him a hug. We feel that we're a part of his family and kind of feel for him. We hurt for him. Now he's got to deal with this."
Mark Tauscher -
On Brett Favre: "He was on fire. Everything he did was right on the money today. I think his focus and his execution were at an all-time high ... It was obviously a pretty tough time for our quarterback and for everybody else, but he stepped up. You can't say enough great things about him. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what he does and who he is."
Mike Wahle -
On Brett Favre: "Going into the game I think everyone was just thinking about rallying around our guy. You knew he was going to come out and play with all the heart and emotion that he's ever had. And he had a performance today that they'll write books about someday. It was unbelievable. And I remember in the first half I was just thinking to myself, you never want a guy to be in that situation, but in 10 years I'm going to be pretty damn proud I was part of this game, because it was something special."
Javon Walker -
On Brett Favre: "By him playing, that means he had our backs, so we wanted to have his back too."
On making tough catches: "Any time you've got a pass coming from Brett Favre, you're liable to make history with that pass because he's always breaking records and you just want to be on the other end of it ... If it's a ball that's in the air that we can catch, we'll try to go get it. That's why we're here. We're here to make plays for Brett Favre."
Wesley Walls --
On making plays for Brett Favre: "I tell you what, it wasn't just me. It felt great. And you look around this locker room, each guy to a man felt like we helped him out. Made some plays, and it's incredible. It's an incredible feeling. To first win a game that we had to have, (and) to go out and help your friend who has given so much to this team."
GAME NOTES:
Aaron Kampman forced and recovered an Oakland fumble at the Green Bay 15-yard line (0:49, 4th quarter).
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Michael Hawthorne intercepted Rob Johnson's pass for Jerry Rice. After an 8-yard return, the Packers take over at the Oakland 37-yard line (3:58, 4th quarter). Doug Pederson replaced Brett Favre at quarterback.
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Ahman Green's 7-yard touchdown run added to the Packers lead, 41-7 (4:46, 4th quarter). Earlier on the drive Donald Driver had a 41-yard catch on third-and-8. Antonio Freeman had a 14-yard catch on third-and-10. The Packers scoring drive was 9 plays, 77 yards. Time of the drive was 4:42.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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Facing second-and-goal at the Green Bay 10-yard line, Rick Mirer's pass for Teyo Johnson was intercepted by Michael Hawthorne in the end zone for a touchback. The Packers take over at their own 20-yard line (10:06, 3rd quarter).
The interception was the second of Hawthorne's career and his first with the Packers.
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Ryan Longwell's 27-yard field goal increased the Packers lead, 34-7 (13:00, 3rd quarter). Najeh Davenport opened the drive with a 60-yard kickoff return. Ahman Green had a 19-yard run. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 21 yards. Time of the drive was 2:00.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
Brett Favre's 311 yards passing in the first half are a career high for the opening half.
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Bhawoh Jue and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila each had sacks to force the Raiders to turn it over on downs (0:04, 2nd quarter).
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Brett Favre hit David Martin for a 6-yard touchdown to increase the Packers lead, 31-7 (0:54, 2nd quarter). On the previous play, Javon Walker jumped up between Nhamdi Asomugha and Derrick Gibson for a 46-yard reception. Donald Driver had a 5-yard catch on third-and-5. The Packers scoring drive was 5 plays, 62 yards. Time of the drive was 2:21.
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On fourth-and-1 at the 38-yard line, Rick Mirer's pass for Tim Brown was knocked away by Darren Sharper. The Packers take over at their own 38-yard line (3:15, 2nd quarter).
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Javon Walker jumped up between Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Dorsett to pull down Brett Favre's 43-yard touchdown pass, 24-7 (7:06, 2nd quarter). On the previous play, Robert Ferguson dove to pull in a 27-yarder on third-and-9. The Packers scoring drive was 5 plays, 89 yards. Time of the drive was 2:48.
The touchdown pass was the 30th of the season for Favre, adding to his NFL record of seven 30-touchdown seasons. Dan Marino is second all-time with four.
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Ryan Longwell's 31-yard field goal put the Packers up 10, 17-7 (11:35, 2nd quarter). The Packers reached the Raiders 13-yard line, but Brett Favre was forced to throw the ball away on third-and-4. Earlier on the drive, Javon Walker had an 11-yard catch on third-and-8. Donald Driver had a 33-yard catch on third-and-12. The Packers scoring drive was 10 plays, 51 yards. Time of the drive was 5:28.
During the drive, Brett Favre crossed the 3,000-yard mark for the 12th time in his career. That ties John Elway for second all-time. Dan Marino is first with 13 3,000-yard seasons.
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End of 1st quarter.
Brett Favre's 139-yards passing in the first quarter is the second most of his career for that quarter.
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Charlie Garner made several would-be tacklers miss on his 25-yard touchdown run to put the Raiders on the scoreboard, 14-7 (2:03, 1st quarter). Earlier on the drive, Garner had a 14-yard catch on third-and-3. The Raiders scoring drive was 6 plays, 61 yards. Time of the drive was 3:14.
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Javon Walker slipped behind the secondary to receive Brett Favre's 23-yard touchdown pass that increased the Packers lead, 14-0 (5:17, 1st quarter). On the previous play Tony Fisher took a screen pass and broke a tackle for a 32-yard gain on third-and-12. The Packers scoring drive was 4 plays, 53 yards. Time of the drive 2:13.
Favre's touchdown pass is the 343rd of his career, moving him past Fran Tarkenton for sole possession of second-place in NFL history. Dan Marino is first with 420.
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On second-and-7, Brett Favre faked a handoff and then completed a 21-yard pass to Wesley Walls to put the Packers on the scoreboard, 7-0 (9:18, 1st quarter). Previously Favre completed a 46-yard pass to Robert Ferguson on third-and-11. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 80 yards. Time of the drive was 3:35.
Walls' touchdown reception is the first of his Packers career.
Favre's touchdown pass is the 342nd of his career, tying him with Fran Tarkenton for second in NFL history. Dan Marino is first with 420.
Favre has now thrown a touchdown pass in 24 consecutive games.
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Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila's sack of Rick Mirer on third-and-7 helped force a Raiders punt. After a touchback, the Packers begin their first drive at their own 20-yard line (12:53, 1st quarter).
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The following Packers players are inactive for tonight's game: Derek Combs, Brennan Curtin, Mike McKenzie, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Kenny Peterson, Jamal Reynolds, Marcus Spriggs, Marcus Wilkins.
Michael Hawthorne will start in place of Mike McKenzie. |
