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Green Bay vs. St. Louis
11/24/96 - Packers Win 24-9
Box Score
Encumbered by a two-game losing streak, and clearly "out of sync" in the first half of their debut visit to the Trans World Dome in St. Louis, the Packers subsequently seized upon three big plays to abruptly turn the game around.
In arrears 7-0 following a Rams touchdown, a development shortly compounded by a safety when quarterback Brett Favre was sacked in the end zone, the Green and Gold promptly proceeded to convert the latter into a positive.
When Craig Hentrich delivered the mandatory post-safety punt to the Rams, an enterprising Mike Prior wheeled into St. Louis territory, fielding the "free kick" on the bounce and keeping it tightly in hand despite being swarmed over by a gold-and-blue horde, gave the Packers excellent field position at the St. Louis 37-yard line.
The Packers weren't able to maximize the opportunity by reaching the end zone, but did come away with a 37-yard, Chris Jacke field goal on the final play of the first half, cutting the Missourians' lead to 9-3 and, more importantly, igniting Green Bay hopes of a "comeback."
Cornerback Doug Evans then triggered a major second half revival when, on the second play of the third quarter, he picked off a Tony Banks pass and raced 32 yards down the right sideline for score-tying touchdown. Jacke then kicked a conversion that gave the Packers what proved to be a permanent, 10-9 lead.
Another timely turnover came one exchange later, with linebacker Brian Williams recovering a Banks fumble at the St. Louis 20-yard line. Favre completed the project in five plays, hitting tight end Keith Jackson with a 6-yard strike for the score.
On the Packers' next possession, which Desmond Howard enhanced with a 29-yard punt return to the St. Louis 38, Favre capped a 9-play drive with one of the season's more titillating maneuvers. On a play designed to go the tight end, Favre found Jackson covered. Reversing his field and scrambling to his left to buy time, he eventually found running back Dorsey Levens in the end zone and hit him for the evening's final touchdown with only 52 seconds gone in the fourth quarter. Jacke's third conversion added the 24th point.
In the first 30 minutes of the evening, the Packers struggled painfully on offense, settling for a mere 48 yards at the intermission, including just 10 rushing, and only 2 first downs.
In the second half, however, they accumulated 13 first downs, 178 yards of offense and, more important from the bottom line perspective, 21 points.
The defense also took command on the other side of the football, limiting the Rams to just 84 net yards over the last two periods.
Favre, shrugging off his first half frustrations, managed to finish the night with some respectable numbers - 25 completions in 37 attempts for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns. His only "regrets" came via a pair of deep interceptions - one in each of the third and fourth quarters - which deprived him and his teammates of two more possible scores.
Along the way, he found a way to "reach" his newest target, recently signed wideout Andre Rison. So effective was he, in fact, that Rison emerged as the Packers' leading receiver with 5 catches for 44 yards. |
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