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Green Bay vs. Chicago
12/27/98 - Packers win 16-13
The Green Bay defense scored once and created three turnovers as the
Packers defeated the Chicago Bears for a record tenth straight time
Sunday, 16-13, at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Packers finish the season 11-5 and head to the playoffs for a record
sixth straight time. They face the San Francisco 49ers in the first-round
wild card game.
With one minute left in the game and the Packers clinging to a
three-point lead, the Bears had the ball on the Green Bay 33 yard line.
The Packers desperately needed someone to make a big play.
Pro Bowl safety LeRoy Butler delivered. He blitzed from the left side,
untouched, hit Stenstrum, forced him to fumble and recovered the ball.
"Earlier I missed him good on the same blitz," Butler said. "It was
great. It came at the right time when they didn't expect it. They kinda
forgot about me on that last drive."
The Packers defense started the game on fire, attacking aggressively to
create turnovers. On the first play from scrimmage, end Vaughn Booker
beat his man to the inside, then swatted the ball out of the grasp of
Bears quarterback Steve Stentstrum.
After the Bears drove down the field, Packers cornerback Tyrone Williams
intercepted a Stentstrum pass to Bobby Engram.
On the Bears' second drive, Butler got in Stenstrum's face, despite being
held, and Reggie White drove 6-7, 340-pound left tackle James Williams
into the backfield, blocked the ball as it left Stenstrum's hand, and
Keith McKenzie caught the pop-up poss and ran it in 33 yards for a
touchdown.
(147K) |
Packers Radio Network with the call!
Keith McKenzie runs back the INT for a TD! |
The Packers led 7-0.
The Bears bounced back. Linebacker Anthony Collins intercepted a batted
Brett Favre pass and returned it to the Green Bay 17. In Favre's defense,
the ball hit receiver Antonio Freeman in the chest, but Freeman's arms
were tied up by cornerback Terry Cousin.
Running back James Allen, who had 163 yards against Baltimore the
previous week, only managed 60 yards against the Packers. But he made the
Packers pay for the interception when he caught a flare pass in the flat,
juked cornerback Tyrone Williams in the open field, and dove into the end
zone for the touchdown to even the score, 7-7.
The Packers offense really struggled without starting wide receiver
Robert Brooks, Pro Bowl tight end Mark Chmura and speedy tight end Tyrone
Davis. They gained only three first downs and less than 100 yards passing
in the first half.
After Jeff Jaeger nailed a 29-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead,
Packers kicker Ryan Longwell missed a 39-yarder wide right.
The Bears marched down the field, but Jaeger missed a 48-yarder wide
right before the end of the half.
The Packers offense came alive in the second half. Favre led his team
down the field on the first drive with short-yardage passes. On the
twelfth play of the drive, Favre took the snap at the Chicago eight yard
line and threw a perfect fade pass to the corner on the right side to
receiver Antonio Freeman, who caught the pass over single-coverage for
the touchdown.
(290K) |
Packers Radio Network with the call!
Antonio Freeman catches his 14th TD of the season! |
Freeman finishes the season with a career-high 84 catches for 1,424
yards. He also caught 14 touchdowns.
Longwell missed the extra-point for only the second time this season, and
the Packers' lead was 13-10.
Jaeger pulled the Bears even with a 21-yard field goal.
"It was a typical Bears-Packers rivalry," center Jeff Dellenbach said.
"We came out flat in the first half. We knew we had to control the ball
and make things happen."
With the score tied, the Packers made enough happen to get to the Chicago
one yard line. But after Bears linebacker Barry Minter nailed running
back Dorsey Levens in the air on a third-and-goal dive, the Packers
settled for an 18-yard Longwell field goal.
Then, with his team ahead 16-13, Packers Coach Mike Holmgren took Favre
out of the game to rest him for next week's playoff contest against the
49ers. Favre finished 16 for 22 for 153 yards, two interceptions and one
touchdown. Doug Pederson took over for Favre, and went three-for-four
passing the ball.
But Pederson made a crucial mistake late in the game. The Packers had the
ball and were trying to run the clock out with three minutes left. But
Pederson tripped while attempting to hand the ball off and fumbled. Bears
linebacker Lemanski Hall recovered at the Chicago 42 with 2:45 left.
But Butler and the defense held.
"(Defensive Coordinator) Fritz (Shumur) is an aggressive guy," Butler
said. "The thing about it, he makes the call at the right time. We just
like to get after them and let the chips fall where they may."
"We have a lot of work to do," Coach Mike Holmgren said. "We have got to
play better than we played today. The playoffs are an all-new level. It's
different."
"We just want to start over fresh," Butler said. "We can't wait. We don't
care where we play them. In an emotional game, we can build on this going
into next week."
Scoring Summary
- 1st Quarter
- GBP: 33 yard McKenzie INT return (Longwell kick) (7:57)
- CHI: 14 yard Stenstrom pass to J.Allen (Jaeger kick) (:38)
- 2nd Quarter
- CHI: 29 yard Jaeger FG (3:54)
- 3rd Quarter
- GBP: 8 yard Favre pass to Freeman (missed PAT) (8:19)
- CHI: 21 yard Jaeger FG (2:29)
- 4th Quarter
- GBP: 18 yard Longwell FG (9:49)
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