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| Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 12 noon at Gillette Stadium |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Packers |
0 |
14 |
7 |
7 |
28 |
| Patriots |
0 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
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Packers Player Of The Game
The Packers' defeat of the New England Patriots was truly a team effort, but much was owed to running back Ahman Green. Although he had only one touchdown rushing (he also made an 8-yard TD reception), Green carried the load for the offense. With No. 2 halfback Najeh Davenport inactive due to injury, Green made 31 carries for 136 yards, allowing the Packers to control the ball and the game. Thanks to Green, the Packers won time of possession, 32:13-27:47. Not to be overlooked on defense was rookie Marques Anderson, who made a game-high 12 tackles -- 11 of them solo -- and one interception in his first NFL start.
Patriots Player Of The Game
Although 57 of his 75 yards came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, running back Antowain Smith had four rushes for 35 yards on the Patriots' only touchdown scoring drive.
Stat Of The Game
While the Patriots committed four turnovers (three Tom Brady interceptions and one Brady fumble), the Packers didn't turn the ball over once.
Play Of The Game
It took until the 11:14 mark in the second quarter before the Packers got on the scoreboard. Their second chance came more quickly. After the Packers moved up 7-3, the Patriots were facing first-and-20 at their own 17-yard-line. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dropped back and threw too high to Kevin Faulk in the backfield. Although most players treated it as a dead-ball situation following an incomplete pass, Brady's pass was actually a lateral, and thus the ball was a live 'fumble.' After falling to the turf, the ball rolled unclaimed for several seconds until Packers' rookie Marques Anderson dove for it and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila covered the ball and gave the Packers possession. One snap later Brett Favre hit Ahman Green for an 8-yard touchdown and the Packers were up 14-3. From there, they wouldn't look back.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman --
On overcoming obstacles of injuries: "We met last night, I said, 'hey guys, not a whole lot of people think you can do this tomorrow, but it doesn't really matter. The only guys that matter are the guys in this room.' They went out and proved that today."
On win: "This is a big win for us because we played a very good football team, the world champs. I take my hat off to them, they're a good football team, it just wasn't their day today. It was very satisfying to come in and beat them at this stage."
On game: "We wanted to establish the run game and keep our defense off the field and maintain time of possession. My mother could have figured that part of it out; it's something we needed to do. The fact that we were able to do it is significant."
On security of lead: "With the offense that they have and the weapons that they have and their quarterback, until that clock said double-zero, I wasn't secure."
Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell --
On Patriots' multiple pass attempts down the sidelines: "(Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick was a secondary coach and he knows when you get young guys down there, there's a chance you can get the ball down the edge. It really helped when Bryant Westbrook stepped up big and intercepted one early. That was one in our favor. And then we had a couple balls where our guys made plays. They got us for one (pass) interference (penalty). Overall we came out on top."
On how they won despite playing without several injured starters: "All I know is, Mike Sherman came in and said, we're going to win this football game. He set the goal and it's our job to create a plan that will get us that. That's what we intend to do every week and that's what we did here. The players and the coaches and the way the came together, there was a tremendous focus. You're coming into play the world champs on the road. We had a (winning) streak going and we said let's protect the streak, let's get this win."
On win: "I think it shows you have great leadership at the top with Mike (Sherman). He had a great feel for this team and he directed this team, this game. Everybody jumped on and followed him."
On win: "The greatest part of sports is great team victories. It was a great team victory today and that's what really keeps you going as a coach, the highs that come off of that when people work together. It's a very powerful thing, teamwork is, and that's what we had today."
On importance of early defensive stops to set tone: "I thought it was pretty big, I really did. This is a (Patriots) team that scored in the first two out of three drives against the San Diego Chargers. We knew that could be a possibility, so we wanted to keep our confidence in our guys in case that happened. Our goal was to make one more play than them. For it to come out lopsided like this, I would like for it to, but I didn't know that it would for sure."
Marques Anderson --
On lateral-pass fumble by Patriots: "I was yelling at (Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila to cover the ball), but on the field it's kind of hard for them to hear you. I didn't hear any whistle. The ball was just laying there. I tried to get there as fast as I could . . .
"Anytime there's a screen or a pass that could be remotely behind the line of scrimmage, if you don't hear a whistle, you have to go get it and let the refs decipher that after the play is over."
On win despite playing without several injured starters: "This is like a family. I don't think of it just as a group of guys, it's a family. We came together. We had a couple key injuries, but the guys had to step up. The guys that were prepared to step up, they stepped up and they made some plays and we beat the world champs."
On what win says about team character: "That says something about our whole team. We're not going to skip a beat. We have our eyes on the goal. Our goal is the Super Bowl. We're going to keep on pushing, whether you're a starter, whether you're a backup, we're going to keep on pushing for that goal."
On interception: "It was a play-action. We had scouted the route all week . . . I just got in the throwing lane and (Tom) Brady, I guess he didn't see me, and I made an interception."
Donald Driver --
On win: "We're high, we're going to feed off this. Mike (Sherman) said feed off this until 12:00, after 12:00 we go back to work. We played a great game tonight. We came in more physical than these guys did. We ran the ball well, we caught the ball well, our defense shut them down, our special teams played well. If you've got all three units playing good, you can't lose."
Brett Favre --
On play of defense, playing without several injured starters: "I don't even know if anyone on our team expected the type of play that they showed today. It was just an unbelievable effort. Not that you expect it. Coach gets up and says things like, 'We're going to be fine,' but in the back of your mind you're like, 'we just hope they can hold them.' But the effort displayed today was unbelievable -- hard not to feed off of that."
On Terry Glenn: "I'm glad we've got Terry Glenn, I can tell you that. There were a few boos today, it wasn't as bad, I think, as he expected, or all of us expected. I didn't know Terry before he came to us. I knew who he was and basically, when he got (to Green Bay), it wasn't a like or dislike situation. It didn't take long to figure out how good he was . . . Whatever happened here in the past is in the past. He knows that. We're just tickled to death to have him on our team."
On GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman: "I'm guessing, but one of the toughest things a coach must have to face within his job is day in and day out, week in and week out, is convincing guys that we can win. In college and high school, it's probably a little easier because guys don't know any better. You get guys in their 30s -- I guess you could say adults -- when you're trying to convince them, 'hey, we can got beat the Super Bowl champs with a defense no one's ever heard of,' guys sit there and say, 'yeah,' but they walk out and say, 'Is he crazy?' But somehow he did convince this team that we could win."
On what passing the 300-career-touchdown mark means to him: "I mean it's great, but like I said last week once I passed 40,000 (career passing yards), I wondered if they'd give me anything. I was hoping for maybe a car. I haven't got anything, so I'm assuming over 300 touchdown passes won't get anything. You're probably thinking, it's got to mean something, and it does. It means we're playing, we're producing and we're winning."
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila --
On win without several injured starters: "From the beginning of the season we've had a lot of adversity, so we've had a lot of practice in what it feels like to be playing with adversity."
On recovering lateral-pass fumble by Patriots: "I thought it was an incomplete pass because I was still trying to beat my man and then I saw the ball come out. I didn't know how he threw it, behind or forward. . . Then Na'il Diggs alluded to, 'get the ball.' As soon as he said that, I dropped down and recovered the ball."
Terry Glenn --
On if he's happy to have first game against former team over with: "Very happy. If it would have been later in the season, I don't know what I would have done. I'm glad it's over with. I'm glad we were able to come in here and get a win on the road against a good football team."
On playing against old team: "Deep down inside, this game was on my mind for a long time. That's why I really wasn't concentrating on any type of individual great game. I just wanted to win as a team, because that's what football is all about."
Bryant Westbrook --
On importance of interception: "It was pretty big. They were driving, they were getting into their little groove. Once I go in there, I know how to do something. I didn't think I was going to get too many snaps, but when I went in an knew I had to make a play."
On defense's performance without key starters: "You don't see that most places. You've got all-pros like (Darren) Sharper and (Mike) McKenzie out like that, you don't see that most places. It was a testament to the guys that came in and played. The coaches did a wonderful job of preparing us, they put into situations where we could make plays. You've got to thank everybody because it's a team effort."
GAME NOTES
Today's paid attendance at Gillette Stadium was 68,436.
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End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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David Givens' leaping reception in the back of the end zone, officially a 4-yard pass from Tom Brady, gave the Patriots their first touchdown of the afternoon (5:57, 4th quarter). The Patriots scoring drive was 6 plays, 44 yards. Time of the drive was 2:03.
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On third-and-1, Ahman Green plunged through the line for a touchdown (12:09, 4th quarter). Earlier on the drive Green had a 38-yard rush. The Packers gained possession thanks to Marques Anderson's interception. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 65 yards. Time of the drive was 4:16.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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On second-and-20 from their own 35-yard-line, Tom Brady's pass for David Patten was intercepted by Marques Anderson and returned to the 35-yard-line (1:25, 3rd quarter).
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Brett Favre tossed career touchdown No. 301 to Bubba Franks, a 2-yarder into the back left corner of the end zone (3:50, 3rd quarter). Earlier on the drive Franks caught a 16-yard pass on third-and-2. Favre also hooked up with Donald Driver for a 29-yard gain on the drive, and the Packers benefited from a defensive pass interference penalty. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 94 yards. Time of the drive was 4:05.
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The Packers had an opportunity to move up 14, but Ryan Longwell's 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left (10:05, 3rd quarter). Earlier on the drive the Packers faced fourth-and-3 at the Patriots 35-yard-line, but with pressure coming up the middle, Brett Favre backpedaled and hit Javon Walker for a 10-yard gain.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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After Bowen's interception, the Packers drove into Patriots territory. Javon Walker seemed to make a diving 21-yard grab at the Patriots 28-yard-line, but instant replay ruled that the ball had hit the ground. The Packers were forced to punt (0:36, 2nd quarter).
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Facing third-and-8 at the 43-yard-line, Tom Brady's pass intended for Deion Branch was tipped by Tod McBride and intercepted by Matt Bowen at the Packers 36-yard-line (1:51, 2nd quarter).
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One play after the fumble recovery, Brett Favre hit Ahman Green for an 8-yard touchdown pass (3:03, 2nd quarter). The touchdown pass was the 300th of Favre's career, moving him into a tie with John Elway for third in NFL history. The Packers scoring drive was 1 play, 8 yards. Time of the drive was 0:05.
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Tom Brady's backfield pass for Kevin Faulk was too high and fell to the turf. A lateral pass, the ball rolled unclaimed on the field for several seconds before Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila ultimately recovered for the Packers at their own 8-yard-line (3:08, 2nd quarter). After a TV timeout, the Patriots challenged the ruling on the field. Instant replay confirmed the call on the field.
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Brett Favre hit William Henderson for a 3-yard touchdown pass, Henderson's first touchdown reception since the 2000 season (3:46, 2nd quarter). Ahman Green had five carries for 33 yards on the drive and Bubba Franks had a 15-yard catch-and-run. The Patriots had forced the Packers into a field goal attempt earlier on the drive -- Ryan Longwell made from 44-yards -- but an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on New England gave the Packers another set of downs. Donald Driver made a crucial 9-yard reception on third down. The Packers scoring drive was 12 plays, 76 yards. Time of the drive was 5:50.
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Adam Vinatieri's 32-yard field goal put the Patriots on the scoreboard first (9:36, 2nd quarter). The Patriots' opening drive of the second quarter was in jeopardy facing third-and-10 at their own 36-yard-line. Na'il Diggs got to quarterback Tom Brady on the play, but Brady shook off the strip-and-sack attempt and completed a 13-yard pass to Troy Brown for the first down. A 15-yard face-masking penalty on Bryant Westbrook was also costly for the Packers.
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End of 1st quarter.
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Chad Clifton suffered a possible MCL sprain in his right knee. His return is questionable (3:00, 1st quarter).
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Brett Favre is playing in his 165th consecutive game, the third-longest games-played streak in Packers history. Favre also extends his NFL record for consecutive starts by a quarterback to 163 today.
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Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed his first four passes, but on second-and-8 at the Packers 43-yard-line, Brady's pass intended for David Patten was intercepted by Bryant Westbrook down the right sideline at the 7-yard-line (11:41, 1st quarter).
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Conditions at game time, 61 degrees, light drizzle.
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The following Packers players are inactive for today's contest: Najeh Davenport, Tyrone Davis, Antuan Edwards, Vonnie Holliday, Mike McKenzie, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Jamal Reynolds, Darren Sharper.
Tod McBride will start in place of Mike McKenzie. Marques Anderson will start in place of Darren Sharper. |
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