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Green Bay vs. Oakland
9/12/99 - Packers win 28-24
Packers Pull Out Emotional Win
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| DE Vaughn Booker had one of four Packers sacks of Raiders QB Rich Gannon during the Packers 28-24 victory over the Oakland Raiders. |
The post-game hug said it all. Upon entering the locker room, Head
Coach Ray Rhodes sought out quarterback Brett Favre and hugged him and
thanked him for delivering a come from behind 28-24 win over the Oakland
Raiders in the opening game of the 1999 season.
The Packers trailed for most of the contest, leaving the 59,872
screaming cheeseheads with little to cheer about, however, it was the
Packers who drew first blood. Bill Schroeder lined up wide right, ran a 4-yard slant pattern, Favre zipped the ball to him, and the Pack led 7-0.
The Raiders would answer that drive with a 41 yard field goal by Michael
Husted. The Silver and Black would follow that with an interception
which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Randy Jordan. The Green and Gold
would head into the locker room trailing by a 10-7 score.
Dorsey Levens fumbled on the ensuing Packer possession to give Oakland good field position to start their next drive. After two running plays, the Raiders decided to test one of the rookie cornerbacks. They lined James Jett up across from Mike McKenzie. Gannon tried to exploit the rookie, but McKenzie was up for the challenge as he intercepted the pass
in the end zone, giving the Packers possession on their 20-yard line.
It was McKenzie's first career interception. And more importantly, it
kept the score tight at 10-7.
The Raiders received the kickoff to open the second half, but were
forced to punt after a sack by Santana Dotson and strong defensive pressure by Vaughn Booker and Brian Williams. On the ensuing drive, the Packers took over on their own 12-yard line. On third down, Favre found
Antonio Freeman over the middle for a 51 yard gain, but the home team would pay the price, as Favre jammed his right (throwing) thumb on the helmet of a defender. He would remain in the game, but it was clear the tough quarterback was in pain. He would go on to complete 2 of his next 3 passes including a 12 yard touchdown strike to a wide open Freeman, giving the Packers a 14-10 lead.
The teams would trade punts. The Oakland Raiders, led by Rich Gannon,
were facing a third and 9 from the Packer 44-yard line, James Jett lined
up wide right, Fred Vinson lined up across from him. Jett used his world class sprinting speed to get by the rookie cornerback and give Oakland a first down, knocking on the Packer goal line. Once again, the seesaw tilted toward the Raiders sideline, as they opened up a 24-14 bulge with 10:52 remaining.
This time it was Brett Favre marching his offense down the field
completing 6 of 7 passes. The drive may have stalled if not for a
successful challenge by Rhodes and his staff. Favre threw a pass to
tight end, Tyrone Davis, which was initially ruled incomplete. Heeding the advice of the coaches in the coaches' box, Rhodes challenged the call. Upon further review the call was reversed and the Packers had a first down at the Oakland 14-yard line. Favre then found Freeman open 6 yards down the field. On the ensuing play, Favre scrambled left, then right, and let the ball fly toward the back of the end zone. Corey Bradford dove in front of Antonio Freeman, and caught his first NFL touchdown pass closing the margin to three points.
Still trailing by three points, the defense knew they had to get the
ball back to give the offense a chance to win the game. And it did.
The defense rose to the occasion forcing two punts on the Raiders next
two possessions.
If you give Brett Favre and the Packer offense too many chances to win a
football game, they will find a way to win it. The Packers started with
1:51 remaining on the clock, no time outs to use, and a wounded
quarterback holding the reins to the offense. Favre executed an
economical and precise drive, wasting very little time, spreading the
ball around to his various weapons. The drive culminated with a 1-yard
touchdown catch by Jeff Thomason with 11 ticks remaining on the clock.
Of note in Favre's performance, the final drive was the fourteenth time
Favre has led a come from behind drive to win a game, additionally, this
was the 14th four-touchdown pass performance of his career, moving him
into third place on the NFL's all-time list, behind Dan Marino (21) and
Johnny Unitas (17). He also climbed the all-time NFL touchdown pass
list moving past George Blanda into 16th place on the list. With the
accolades, the respect of his coach and the exhaustion of the victory,
Favre broke down in the post-game press conference.
Defensively, Brian Williams tied a career high with 16 tackles in today's game, a feat previously accomplished three seasons ago against Tampa Bay.
Audio Highlights
Packers vs. Raiders Game Highlights (Real Audio)
Head Coach Ray Rhodes Press Conference (Real Audio)
QB Brett Favre Press Conference (Real Audio)
Offensive Coordinator Sherm Lewis (Real Audio)
DE Vaughn Booker (Real Audio)
CB Antuan Edwards (Real Audio)
WR Antonio Freeman (Real Audio)
LB Bernardo Harris (Real Audio)
CB Mike McKenzie (Real Audio)
WR Bill Schroeder (Real Audio)
S Darren Sharper (Real Audio)
TE Jeff Thomason (Real Audio)
LB Brian Williams (Real Audio)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GBP: 5 yard TD pass; Favre to Schroeder (Longwell kick) (9:16 elapsed)
Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 4:17
OAK: 41 yard Husted FG (12:03 elapsed)
2nd Quarter
OAK: 1 yard TD run; Jordan (Husted kick) (4:06 elapsed)
3rd Quarter
GBP: 12 yard TD pass; Favre to Freeman (Longwell kick) (8:18 elapsed)
Drive: 9 plays, 88 yards, 3:30
OAK: 5 yard TD run; Wheatley (Husted kick) (12:32 elapsed)
4th Quarter
OAK: 1 yard TD run; Jordan (Husted kick) (4:08 elapsed)
GBP: 8 yard TD pass; Favre to Bradford (Longwell kick) (7:40 elapsed)
Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 3:32
GBP: 1 yard TD pass; Favre to Thomason (Longwell kick) (14:49 elapsed)
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 1:40
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