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PACKERS HOST DETROIT IN NATIONALLY TELEVISED SUNDAY NIGHT CONTEST
THE GAME: Having forged into a tie for the NFC Central Division lead on the strength of their most complete performance to date, the Green Bay Packers (6-2) return to Lambeau Field next Sunday evening (November 2) to launch the second half of their National Football League season in a nationally televised (ESPN), prime-time matchup with division rival Detroit (4-4).
Kickoff for the contest, a season ticket sellout (60,790), will be 7 o'clock, CST.
The Packers, pursuing a third straight NFC Central title, find themselves energized for the stretch run by the resounding success of their most recent venture, one which saw them invade New England's mist-shrouded Foxboro Stadium and subdue their Super Bowl XXXI opponents, 28-10, in a 'Monday Night Football' confrontation hyped as a rematch of last January's Super Bowl.
Leading by a modest 14-10 margin at halftime, the Packers put together two long, clock-consuming scoring drives in the second half while holding the potent Patriots scoreless to prevail impressively.
By way of that success, they now share the division lead with the Minnesota Vikings, also 6-2 following a 10-6 decision of Tampa Bay over the weekend. The Buccaneers are now third with a 5-3 record, followed by Detroit (4-4) and the Chicago Bears (1-7), who registered their first victory of the season, shading the Miami Dolphins in overtime, 36-33.
In facing the Lions, the Packers will be attempting to square accounts with the only division rival to have defeated them in the first half of the season. Detroit posted a 26-15 win in their first meeting of the year at the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome September 28.
Monday night's victory was the Green and Gold's third straight since that misadventure and padded their overall, regular-season record to 30-10 over the past 2.5 seasons, a .750 winning percentage.
THE TV-RADIO COVERAGE: Mike Patrick will call the play-by-play and Joe Theismann will provide the analysis for the ESPN telecast of Sunday night's game, with Mark Malone as the field reporter. Fred Gaudelli is the producer.
The game also will be aired along the Packer Radio Network (Jim Irwin, Max McGee and Larry McCarren) and nationally over the CBS Radio Network, with Brad Sham calling the play-by-play and John Dockery offering the analysis.
THE SERIES: Sunday evening's encounter will find the Packers and Lions reaching a plateau of sorts in meeting for the 135th time in regular-season play. Only twice in NFL history have two teams been matched in 135 games, the Packers' storied series against the Bears ranking as the granddaddy of all rivalries with 154 meetings. Earlier this season (September 14), the Lions played the Bears for a 135th time.
The Packers hold a 9-game advantage in their "relationship" with the Lions, having won 68 games while losing 59, the latter total including the Lions' 26-15 victory in their first meeting of the 1997 season, played at the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome September 28. There also have been 7 ties.
The Green and Gold also have twice faced off in postseason competition. Green Bay has won both of those confrontations, 28-24 on the wings of a last-minute, 40-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brett Favre to wide receiver Sterling Sharpe in a wild card playoff at the Silverdome on January 8, 1994, and 16-12 in another wild card matchup December 31, 1994, a game which saw the Packers' defense hold the incomparable Barry Sanders to a minus one-yard rushing (in 13 attempts) to set an all-time NFL playoff record.
One of the NFL's longest uninterrupted series, it has seen the Packers and Lions meet annually since 1932, when the Detroit franchise was located in Portsmouth, Ohio, and the team was known as the Spartans. The franchise subsequently was sold in 1934 and moved to Detroit.
THE COACHES: In 5.5 seasons as Green Bay's eleventh head coach and while becoming the third winning field leader in Packers history, joining team founder E. L. "Curly" Lambeau and the storied Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren already has compiled an imposing record. Overall, the former 49ers offensive coordinator has amassed 64 victories compared to only 34 defeats, a .653 winning percentage, the totals including a 57-31 mark in regular-season competition and a 7-3 mark in postseason play.
In the process, he has led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 1960s, to four consecutive playoff berths for the first time in club history, and to back-to-back NFC Central Division championships in 1995 and 1996, also for the first time since the "Lombardi Era" of the '60s.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his success has been his glittering record in the Packers' Lambeau Field home, where he has led them to 35 victories in 39 games, an astonishing .897 percentage.
Bobby Ross, at the midpoint of his first season as head coach of the Lions, also has been a winner in the NFL. He is the possessor of a 51-37 record for five-plus seasons. Off to a 4-4 start in Detroit, he spent his first five NFL seasons in San Diego, where he led the Chargers to AFC Western Division championships in 1992 and 1994 -- and into Super Bowl XXIX against the Dallas Cowboys following the '94 season.
Earlier, he fashioned a 94-76-2 record as a head coach in the college ranks, leading Georgia Tech to a national championship (UPI) in 1990.
THE RECORD STREAK: A victory Sunday night would enable the Packers -- who already have established a Lambeau Field record with 19 consecutive victories -- to tie the second-longest home field victory streak in NFL history...20 in a row...a distinction also held by Green Bay. The 1929-32 Packers won 20 straight under team founder E. L. "Curly" Lambeau. The league record is 27 straight, established by the Miami Dolphins from 1971 through 1974.
Overall, the Packers have won 26 consecutive games in "Lambeau," including three postseason and four preseason games.
CONNECTIONS: Chuck Priefer, special teams coach for the Lions, held the same position on the Packers' coaching staff under Forrest Gregg during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Steve Hermans, the Lions' video director for the past 20 years, is a Green Bay native.
THE LAST TIME: The turnover proved the Packers' undoing in their first '97 meeting with the Lions -- at the Pontiac Silverdome (September 28). Two interceptions led directly to 10 Detroit points and an expensive lost fumble, recovered by the Lions at their own 2-yard line, deprived the Green and Gold of a potential touchdown late in the third quarter.
In combination, they were enough to sabotage the Packers despite a highly productive offensive performance -- a season-high 396 net yards (289 passing and 107 rushing).
Another key factor was their inability to possess the football in the fourth quarter, normally a major strength. The Lions' offense controlled it for most of that final period -- 12 minutes and 25 seconds overall -- largely because of a decisive, 12-play drive, capping the march with a 39-yard Jason Hanson field goal with only 1:30 remaining in the game.
The Packers had erected an early 6-0 lead on a pair of Ryan Longwell field goals, but Detroit linebacker Reggie Brown intercepted a Favre pass in the second quarter, tipping the ball in the air and then pulling it in -- and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. Hanson's subsequent conversion sent the Lions up, 7-6, and they were to lead the rest of the way.
Apparently poised to regain their early momentum, the Packers launched the second half by driving 54 yards in 8 plays to their only touchdown of the game. It came on an unusual maneuver, one which saw a Favre pass batted in the air and then ricochet into the hands of wide receiver Bill Schroeder, in the end zone, for a 7-yard touchdown. The Packers' 2-point conversion attempt -- on a pass from Favre to tight end Reggie Johnson failed -- and their scoring for the afternoon, as it turned out, had been completed.
Favre ended the day with 22 completions in 43 attempts for 295 yards -- falling just short of a 15th 300-yard game which would have tied him with Lynn Dickey for the team's all-time record -- and one touchdown, with 3 interceptions.
Halfback Dorsey Levens was responsible for all 107 of Green Bay's rushing yards in 16 attempts, a 6.7-yard average.
Middle linebacker Bernardo Harris paced the Green Bay defense with 11 stops, 6 of them solos.
Barry Sanders led the Lions' 173-yard running attack with 139 yards in 28 carries.
THE FAVRE FILE: Continuing his relentless march through the Packers' record book, quarterback Brett Favre eclipsed another club career record during Monday night's victory over the New England Patriots. His fourth completion of the evening -- a 20-yard pass to Derrick Mayes in the first quarter -- was the 1,809th of his 6-year Green Bay career, breaking the Packers' all-time record of 1,808, set by Bart Starr over a 16-year playing career (1956-71).
It is the fourth team career record which now reposes in Favre's collection. The others: Most career touchdown passes, 165; most games throwing 4 or more touchdown passes (11); and highest career passing percentage (61.5).
His three-touchdown performance against the Patriots marked the 27th time he has thrown 3 or more touchdown passes in a regular-season game during his NFL career.
THE (NFC) STATISTICAL UPDATE: On the strength of perhaps his strongest overall performance of the season, Brett Favre vaulted from fourth to second place in the National Football Conference passer ratings via his efforts against New England Monday night. His 90.1 rating leaves him behind only San Francisco's Steve Young (113.7) in the NFC.
Favre's lofty mark is based upon 161 completions in 274 attempts for 1,926 yards and 18 touchdowns, the latter figure finding him tied with Oakland's Jeff George and New England's Drew Bledsoe for most TD passes thrown in the NFL this season, with 8 interceptions.
Teammate Dorsey Levens, with a 100-yard performance against the Patriots, holds fourth place in NFC rushing with 696 yards in 149 attempts, a 4.7-yard average. He also ranks fourth in total yards from scrimmage with 846, including 150 receiving yards.
Levens also ranks second only to Detroit's accomplished Barry Sanders, in the NFC, in the production of first downs. He has accounted for 44 first downs (35 rushing and 9 receiving), one fewer than Sanders, and is tied with Philadelphia's Ricky Watters for runnerup honors at this point.
Flanker Robert Brooks, coming off one of his more productive outings (6 catches for 67 yards and one touchdown), is tied with Chicago's Bobby Engram for seventh place among receivers with 39 receptions for 609 yards, a 15.6-yard average, and 3 touchdowns.
Strong safety LeRoy Butler is tied for fifth in interceptions with three.
Rookie placekicker Ryan Longwell also remains among conference leaders, standing fourth in scoring with 62 points, having made all 20 conversions he has attempted and 14 of 16 field goal attempts.
Fellow Packers specialist Craig Hentrich is second among NFC punters with 45.7-yard average for 35 punts, 10 of which he has deposited inside the opponents' 20-yard line, and Bill Schroeder continues to rank as one of the conference leaders in both punt returns (third with a 12.4-yard average for 24 runbacks) and sixth in kickoff returns (with a 24.9-yard average for 15 returns).
As a team, the Packers rank tenth in the NFL as a whole on offense (16th in rushing and eighth in passing) and 22nd on defense (25th against the run and 15th against the pass).
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