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Green Bay vs. Minnesota
11/06/00 - Packers Win 26-20
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| Safety Darren Sharper hauls in one of his two interceptions on the night. |
Nearly 60,000 fans remained standing in the rain at 11:30 Monday night. The
game had ended more than ten minutes earlier.
As the song "YMCA" blared over the PA system, people clapped and sang,
unconcerned that the downpour now was the strongest it had been all evening.
One by one, Packers players concluded television interviews and jogged off
into the tunnel as the cheers grew louder.
Wide receiver Antonio Freeman was the last player off the field.
He had stayed on the field to answer questions from dozens of reporters, who
were eager to inquire about the game's final play, a sequence that is sure
to be remembered as one of the greatest finishes to take place on hallowed
Lambeau Field and which gave the Packers a 26-20 overtime victory over the
Minnesota Vikings.
The outlook appeared bleak as Vikings kicker Gary Anderson lined up to kick
a game-winning 32-yard field goal with 7 seconds left in regulation and the
score knotted at 20. But after Green Bay called a timeout, which allowed
the steady rain to further drench the turf, holder Mitch Berger was unable
to control the snap, and Anderson was denied the opportunity to close the
game.
A desperation pass by Berger was intercepted by cornerback Tyrone Williams
with no time remaining, sending the game into the extra period.
After winning the crucial coin toss and electing to receive the overtime's
opening kickoff, the Packers took control at their own 18-yard line. A
10-yard run by Ahman Green gave his team a first down, but he gained just one yard on the next play, and Brett Favre's incomplete pass to Green on
second down resulted in a third-and-9.
On the next play, receiver Bill Schroeder found a crease in the Vikings secondary, hauling in a 22-yard catch before taking a vicious hit from safety Tyrone Carter.
Two Green rushes later, the Packers were faced with a third-and-4 from the
Minnesota 43.
Favre dropped back to pass and quickly lobbed the ball up the right
sideline, where Freeman was being shadowed by Vikings cornerback Chris
Dishman, who tipped the pass off his right hand and then his left arm.
Freeman, who was sliding after making a head-first dive for the throw,
corralled it as he remained on the ground at the 15-yard line, with the ball
caroming off his shoulder and facemask before being controlled by the
receiver's extended right hand.
As the veteran receiver watched Dishman run past him, Freeman alertly jumped
to his feet and raced to the end zone.
In a scene of hysteria, players and media rushed the field while replay
officials determined that Freeman had indeed made the unbelievable catch.
Explained Freeman after the game: "Brett threw the ball, the wind took it
and moved it around a little bit, and it hit his right hand, hit his
shoulder pad and rolled off, and as I was falling back, I got an early
Christmas gift I guess, and it fell in my hand. It's a good thing I stayed
with the play. I realized nobody had touched me, and I just got up and took
it on home."
"It was designed to go to Free on a slant route," Favre said. "We ran it
earlier on the first play of a previous drive for about 12 yards. Had it
not been for a wet ball, we probably would have continued to run a slant,
but we backed off, they gave us a new ball. Free was playing with a lot of
confidence, and he just got my attention real discreetly and gave me a slant
and go signal. I think he had a feeling that Chris (Dishman) was going to
jump the slant, and I went with it.
"If your star player wants the ball, give it to him. He made a play. I
don't even know if you can call it a play. That was remarkable,
unbelievable."
Freeman finished the game with 5 catches for 118 yards, including a key
33-yard reception on the Packers' first touchdown drive. He also drew a
28-yard pass interference call in favor of the Packers on the same drive.
The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout all four quarters, as the
teams exchanged first-half field goals and then short touchdown passes - the
Packers' score coming on an unconventional 5-yard underhand toss from Favre
to Green as the quarterback was being taken down to the ground.
"We practice that one all the time," joked Favre.
Anderson's 48-yard field goal with no time remaining in the first half gave
Minnesota a 13-10 advantage, but the Packers' Ryan Longwell answered with a 31-yard kick six minutes into the third quarter.
Moments later, the Vikings grabbed the momentum back from the Packers with a
45-yard touchdown pass from starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper to running
back Robert Smith, who also rushed for 122 yards on 24 carries.
However, Allen Rossum took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the Minnesota 2, and Green, led by fullback William Henderson, powered the ball through the right side and into the end zone two plays later to tie the score.
Although the Vikings prevented big plays from Green, the third-year back
nevertheless was effective, gaining 68 yards on 23 carries and catching 5
passes for 34 yards.
"It was a fight, it was a fight to the bitter end," said Green. "They were
hitting, just like I expected. The d-line and defensive backs were clogging
that hole. On some plays I had a clear shot, and on some plays, I had to
put my head down and take it."
Green's second touchdown finished the scoring until Freeman struck in
overtime.
According to Favre, the win will go down as one of the all-time classic
match-ups.
"It rates up there towards the top, I will admit that," the quarterback
said. "I don't know if I've ever been a part of anything like that."
Admittedly, even the three-time MVP had doubts as to whether Freeman
actually made the spectacular catch.
"I'm looking around," said Favre, "and (Freeman) gets up running, and I'm
going, 'What is he doing?' I didn't even know he had the ball. So I run
down there and jump on him, and during all the mayhem, I just kind of
whispered to him, 'Hey, did you catch it?' "
As for Packers Head Coach Mike Sherman, the win is what matters.
"I'm pretty happy to win this football game for myself, the staff and the
team who works so very hard," said Packers Head Coach Mike Sherman. "We did
have some opportunities earlier in the game that we didn't take advantage
of. I think the key thing is we made a play at the end to win football game,
and that is something we haven't done in previous weeks."
Because of the Monday night contest, the Packers will have a short work week
to prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who they'll face Sunday at 3:15
p.m. CST.
Noteworthy
With his two touchdown passes on Monday, Favre moved into a tie for 10th
place on the NFL's all-time touchdown passes list. He now has 247 passing
scores, sharing the spot with Boomer Esiason.
Favre, who was 17-of-36 for 235 yards in his 134th straight start, also
moved pass Jim Everett into 11th place in all-time completions with 2,849.
Safety LeRoy Butler played in his 100th straight game, the second longest such streak next to Favre's run.
Sherman said after the game that defensive back Antuan Edwards left the game
with bruised ribs.
Vonnie Holliday was also injured, spraining both of his ankles. However, the defensive end was able to return to the game.
Linebacker Brian Williams was a late scratch from the lineup due to lingering soreness in his previously injured knee.
Game Highlights (Real Audio)
Packers-Vikings archived complete game broadcast (Real Audio)
Post-Game Audio Clips
Head Coach Mike Sherman (RealAudio)
QB Brett Favre (RealAudio)
WR Antonio Freeman (RealAudio)
DT Santana Dotson (RealAudio)
RB Ahman Green (RealAudio)
FB William Henderson (RealAudio)
DT Russell Maryland (RealAudio)
CB Tyrone Williams (RealAudio)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
MIN: G.Anderson 30 yd Field Goal is GOOD.
2nd Quarter
GBP: R.Longwell 24 yd Field Goal is GOOD
MIN: D.Culpepper pass to C.Carters for 11 yds and TOUCHDOWN (G.Anderson Extra Point is good)
GBP: B.Favre pass to A.Green for 5 yds and TOUCHDOWN (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
MIN: G.Anderson 48 yd Field Goal is GOOD.
3rd Quarter
GBP: R.Longwell 31 yd Field Goal is GOOD
MIN: D.Culpepper pass to R.Smith for 45 yds and TOUCHDOWN (G.Anderson Extra Point is good)
GBP: A.Green run for 2 yd TD (R.Longwell Extra Point is good)
4th Quarter
No scoring
Overtime
GBP: B.Favre pass to A.Freeman for 43 yds and TOUCHDOWN
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