Packers Player Of The Game
Making his second consecutive start, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila applied constant pressure on Redskins' quarterback Patrick Ramsey. Gbaja-Biamila finished the game with 8 tackles, two of them opportune sacks. KGB's first sack -- with Washington facing first-and-10 at the Green Bay 30-yard-line -- helped hold the Redskins to a field goal. His second sack occurred in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble that led to the Packers' only second-half touchdown. Ahman Green also had a solid game, notching the first three-touchdown game of his career.
Redskins Player Of The Game
Not only did Derrius Thompson lead Redskins' receivers with five catches worth 89 yards, he also was a formidable threat to run, making four carries for 48 yards (12-yard per carry average).
Stat Of The Game
The Packers recovered four Redskins fumbles, turning two of them into scores. Early in the fourth quarter, the Packers took over after Todd Franz recovered a fumble forced by Tod McBride and drove 16 yards to set up a 41-yard Ryan Longwell field goal. Later in the final period, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila forced a fumble that was recovered by Rod Walker. Three plays later, Ahman Green had his third touchdown of the night. The last time the Packers recovered as many as four opponent fumbles in a single game was Dec. 12, 1999, vs. Carolina.
Play Of The Game
It's not the play Packers fans will want to remember, but certainly no play bore more significance than a second-and-6 play early in the third quarter, when the Packers allowed their only sack of the night. On the play, Washington's LaVar Arrington slipped into the backfield and ran down Brett Favre. As Favre was spun to the ground, the quarterback twisted and sprained his left knee. Playing in his 166th consecutive game, Favre was unable to return due to injury for just the fourth time of his career.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman --
On Brett Favre injury: "As it turns out, Brett sprained his left knee. There is some swelling, but not a lot of it. It looks like he's going to be OK. Obviously there was a lot of concern by us on the sideline, but it appears he's going to be OK. He has a sprained knee. We're going to MRI it tomorrow and see if there's anymore swelling that could occur and go from there. As of now, we don't anticipate ruling him out of the Monday night game against Miami, but we'll have to further evaluate him tomorrow."
On adversity: "I can't say enough about the players that took the field today because we keep getting a number of adverse situations presented to us and they respond so well. I take my hat off to the coaches and players in that locker room. They've done a fantastic job of handling things as that come up. In this game, we had a couple things that didn't go our way early and then to lose our starting quarterback, we all know what he means to our football team, to be able to respond to that type of challenge, that might have been as big a challenge as they had to respond to. The Redskins are a good football team - a young quarterback turned the ball over too many times, but their defense is a good defense and they gave us everything we could handle.
"I was pleased again the way Doug Pederson stepped in and did the job he did and had a critical third down completion to Javon Walker and really moved the chains for us and got us down there. Can't say enough about Mike Flanagan going in there and playing left tackle against Hall of Famer Bruce Smith. Our young defensive line continues to apply pressure, our linebackers and DB's played well. I can't say enough about the way the team responded to the adversity that they were presented with today and it's a credit to the coaches in that room and the players."
On reaction to Favre carted off field: "I asked someone if they had the classified ads so I can see if there's another job out there because it's a little hard to work around here without No. 4. Doug went out there a did a great job and it's a tribute to the backup quarterback because anyone that's watched us practice knows the backup quarterback doesn't get hardly any work in practice, but for some reason, this week we gave him more than we normally do. My stomach dropped when we lost our quarterback as it would with any player, but because of how this season is to all our players."
On being 6-1: "I'm just happy to be 6-1 right now with a bye and have our guys go home and enjoy that part of it. If you don't win this game, it's a long two weeks. We lost last year to Minnesota previous to the bye and it wasn't a whole lot of fun. I'm so happy that those guys can enjoy the week and enjoy the time off their going to get and feel good about themselves and maybe in the next two weeks appreciate what they've done and at the same time maintain that hunger to do more and do something really special this season. We're almost halfway through the season, we haven't won anything yet, we have a long way to go, a lot of games to play against good teams. We can't do anything but hopefully look to the future to do better and hopefully win some more football games."
On confusing Redskins' quarterback Patrick Ramsey: "I have a lot of respect for Patrick Ramsey and watching him on tape. He's going to be one heck of a quarterback. He's an extremely tough guy and has great poise in the pocket. He, like every young quarterback, goes through some growing pains. We did try to confuse him and wanted to put a little bit of pressure on him and I think we were able to do both of those things at different times."
On the turnover margin: "We talk about it every week and how important it is to get your hands on the football and be obsessive about the football. When you're on defense and offense has the ball, it's as much your ball as it is theirs. Just because they have possession doesn't mean you can't take it away from them. I think our guys have responded well, they've done the same thing in practice. What they are doing in the game, they've done in practice. We're in an all-time high - practice-wise - on creating turnovers. I think it becomes kind of a feeding frenzy if you can get it going that way and certainly we've done a good job of getting on the football."
Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell --
On message to team after Favre went down with injury: "I think you really don't have to say a lot. Our guys know that we need to step up and make some plays, leave our offense with the right field position to finish that game off. Everyone did a great job and Doug (Pederson) did a good job on offense."
On being 6-1 going into bye: "It's a nice start. We still have a lot of work to do, so we're going to get some things done in this bye week. We have a high standards for this football team in the second half."
On if defense had gone into game trying to force more fumbles: "Stripping the ball is something we talk about during training camp and back in the spring. We're always looking to improve in that area, but we practiced it extra this week, extra drills for our players, and they responded and got the job done."
On penalties: "There were some untimely penalties today, that's not us. That's not something we'll accept. We'll look at it, we'll correct it and make sure our guys use better judgment next time."
On defense stepping up after Favre left due to injury: "I felt like there was some energy. I thought the whole place got behind us, all our fans, and our defense played inspired at that time."
Marques Anderson --
On multiple penalties charged to defense: "I don't know how many penalties we had, but they only had 9 points. They were getting first downs, they weren't capitalizing. We were getting turnovers, we were capitalizing. That's what wins games. Of course some games you're going to get those calls, but you have to have enough character to shake it off and just line up and play."
On if defense talked about stepping up after Favre injury: "That was the first thing we talked about. We have to help the offense out, we have to win this game, and that's what we did. That's the beautiful thing about the Packers is you ask something of them, and they respond. Whether it be individually or as a unit, the Packers deal well with adversity. We understand that during the season there's going to be adversity, there's going to be injuries, and people have to step up."
On roughing-the-passer penalties: "Those are hard calls. You can't ask a player to come on a full-fledged blitz and just stop. You have to keep playing. Those are going to happen in the game and you can't let them affect you. I think that's the thing that our defense really does good job of."
Na'il Diggs --
On defensive game plan: "We had a little different game plan coming in because we had a rookie quarterback coming into a loud situation like Lambeau. We tried to mix it up on him. We had a lot of guys make big plays and we were able to do a real good job of keeping him off balance."
On the importance of volume in the stadium: "The fans played a huge part in tonight's win. They really helped us keep (Ramsey) off balance. He wasn't able to make his checks properly, guys weren't able to communicate very well, it just really helped us out."
On forced fumbles: "That's something we work hard on in practice every day. We really stress the importance of getting our hands on the ball, day in and day out. We don't go nice on the takeaway situation, and I think we all understand what a big equation that is in whether or not we win."
Donald Driver --
On feeling going into the bye week: "It feels good. You can't complain. I've been here four years and I don't remember being 6-1. I remember 4-3 and things like that, but it feels good. I'm just going to love this and get ready for, in two weeks, Monday Night Football."
Brett Favre --
On how he feels: "Not too bad, all things considering."
On whether he'll be able to play Nov. 4 vs. Dolphins: "It's an injury, from what I understand, it is possible to play with, especially since we don't play again for two weeks. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm going to play. I expect to, but it's just kind of a wait and see thing...and rehab...and see how it feels."
On the play on which he was injured: "I was trying to get my foot out from underneath me. Fortunately, it's not as bad as it may have looked or felt. Yeah, I knew I was...I've never been in that position before."
On the injury itself: "A sprained knee. I've got to do some more tests tomorrow - MRI. I'm not real familiar with knees - LCL or something like that."
On the play of Doug Pederson, was he proud of him?: "Absolutely. That's what this team expects of Doug. I know he expects that out of himself. I was upset for a couple reasons - that I couldn't play anymore - there wasn't concern at all from my standpoint that Doug could do the job and I think everyone felt that way. He came in, even though we had the lead, in really a tough spot. Regardless of what people think, Washington's defense is very good...very good. That's not the problem with their team. To come in that situation, with the game still in question, to play the way he did... As he came in the locker room afterwards, I, as well as everyone else, told him how good a job he did. But like I said, that's what's expected of Doug. He knew we could do it and he did."
On his initial concerns after being injured: "The main concern was how severe the injury was. I felt like I could go back in, wanted to go back in, but like I said, I'm not familiar with knee injuries. Dr. McKenzie, on the sideline, did some tests and told me that possibly there was a tear, if not a tear in the LCL and the ramifications of going back out with that tear, you'd basically leave the ACL wide open for injury and obviously you tear that and you're done. As much as I wanted to play, that information there was enough to not fight it. I played for so long and avoided serious injury for such a long time to have to come out of any game, whether or not you play the following week, is upsetting. It's almost expected, not only for myself, but from everyone else, that you'll be there. When you're not, it's not that I don't feel like I'm contributing anymore or lost for any period of time, it's just, 'What do you do now?' No one wants to leave with an injury, whether it be for a career or for a game, and I think from my standpoint, if there's one person in this league who really doesn't want to leave with an injury, it's me. I know it happens, but it's still tough to digest."
On how much pain he's feeling now: "It's not real painful now, it was more painful when it actually happened. That's the deceiving part of it. Once I got to the sideline, it felt a little bit better, which I understand knee injuries are kind of that way. It still hurts and it's real stiff right now. The concern is that even though there is a little bit of pain, you have no stability. Whatever ligament is torn, you lose stability there and then further damage is done easily by no stability. When Dr. McKenzie said that, I understood. He said there would probably be more pain, probably not as bad as the initial injury, but there will be more pain tomorrow, more stiffness, more swelling. It's more of a 2 or 3 day period and then it's more strengthening - to see if the ligament can come back."
Mike Flanagan --
On his start at left tackle: "I did enough to get the job done. I know when I take a look at the tape, I'll see I made a lot of mistakes, but I think overall I did alright. It was enough to get a win."
On his overall performance against Bruce Smith: "I mean, you've got to be honest about this, he's one of the greatest of all time, and at best I'm an average tackle. I'm a lot more comfortable on the inside, but this is the way it had to go. Coach asked me to do this, and I'm just here to help any way I can."
Ryan Longwell --
On difficulty facing Doug Pederson replacing an injured Favre: "I think it's very difficult, but if you prepare as hard as he does it gives you a better chance to do so. Like I said, he prepares hard and studies hard and does what he does today. There's a reason why he's the backup here is because he's the best there is."
On field goal attempt aborted because of high snap: "The snap was just high enough where Doug was pulled off the ground enough where the rhythm, we couldn't have got it back down, so it was a 'fire' call (broken play)."
On good timing, considering injuries, of bye week: "Brett's just the latest in a long line. We need a lot of guys to get healthy. But you've got to like where we are. This is the best we've been since I've been here. We went to the Super Bowl my first year at 5-2 at the bye."
Marco Rivera --
On if team can survive without Favre by running the ball, should injury keep him out: "That's hard to say. We're 6-1 right now, we're feeling good. I think Brett will be fine. It hurts that he went down, but if Doug's going to go in there, he's going to play hard. He's been a starter in this league. He knows what he's doing and he knows the offense. We have good personnel. We're going to keep plugging away and whatever happens, happens."
On Favre's attitude after injury: "It was more of him being upset because he got injured. With Brett, you don't see pain in his face, he just gets upset because of the situation that happened. He knew that that he had to come out and Doug had to go in, so he was obviously upset."
Frank Winters --
On Favre's injury: "I really haven't talked to him, I haven't had the opportunity. But knowing Brett, he'll bounce back. If anyone can get ready to play in two weeks, he'll be the guy. I'm sure he'll be out there in two weeks and we'll go from there . . . He's a tough guy. He's played in pain throughout his whole career."
On if thrill of victory was ruined by Favre injury: "A win is a win. Anytime you win in this league on Sunday you celebrate. You work too hard during the week, and there's a lot of guys on this team who work hard and play, and you hate to see guys get hurt, but it's part of this profession. You can't take away from the other 44 guys who dressed today who played well and played hard and did a lot of great things."
GAME NOTES
End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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Ryan Longwell made his third field goal of the night, this time from 28 yards out, to give the Packers a 21-point advantage (0:22, 4th quarter). The Packers scoring drive was 9 plays, 27 yards. Time of the drive was 5:36.
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Making good on the Ramsey fumble, the Packers increased their lead on Ahman Green's 8-yard touchdown run (7:45, 4th quarter). Donald Driver had a 16-yard reception earlier on the drive. The Packers scoring drive was 8 plays, 23 yards. Time of the drive was 1:14.
Green's rushing score marked the first three-touchdown game of his career.
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Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila forced his way through the Redskins' line and hit Patrick Ramsey to notch an 11-yard sack and force a fumble, which Rod Walker recovered (9:02).
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Ryan Longwell's 41-yard field goal increased the Packers' lead to 11 (9:21, 4th quarter). Javon Walker's 20-yard reception on third-and-10 brought the Packers into the red zone. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 16 yards. Time of the drive was 3:31.
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On third-and-3, Patrick Ramsey completed a 9-yard pass to Kevin Lockett, but Tod McBride forced Lockett to fumble at the end of the play. Todd Franz recovered at the Redskins 39-yard-line (12:52, 4th quarter).
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End of 3rd quarter.
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With the Redskins facing second-and-6 at their own 45-yard-line, Hardy Nickerson and Nate Wayne sacked Patrick Ramsey (2:02, 3rd quarter). In the process, Wayne stripped Ramsey and recovered the fumble. The Packers took over at the 37-yard-line.
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James Tuthill helped atone for his earlier miss by kicking a 31-yard field goal through the uprights (5:55, 3rd quarter). The Redskins scoring drive was 8 plays, 38 yards. Time of the drive was 4:20.
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Favre sprained his left knee. He will not return. Over Favre's 166 consecutive games played, this will mark only the fourth time in his career that he will not finish the game at quarterback.
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On second-and-6, Brett Favre rolled out to pass but was sacked by LaVar Arrington. In the process, Favre injured his left leg. Favre was replaced by Doug Pederson (11:30, 3rd quarter).
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After a 47-yard pass from Patrick Ramsey to Derrius Thompson brought the Redskins to the 6-yard-line, the Packers defense pushed Washington backward. James Tuthill came on to try a 30-yard field goal, but his attempt struck the left upright and was deflected no good (12:12, 3rd quarter). The Packers took over at their own 20-yard-line.
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On third-and-5, Ahman Green caught a Brett Favre pass and fought his way for a first down, but LaVar Arrington forced Green to fumble at the end of the run (13:26, 3rd quarter). The Redskins recovered at their own 47-yard-line.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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Ryan Longwell's 36-yard field goal extended the Packers' lead (1:23, 2nd quarter). Green Bay started the drive near midfield after the Redskins' failed fourth-down try. Ahman Green had a pair of rushes worth 14 yards. Robert Ferguson drew a pass interference flag on the defense, while Donald Driver was flagged with offensive pass interference. The Packers scoring drive was 5 plays, 37 yards. Time of the drive was 2:03.
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Gilbert Brown forced his way through the line to help keep Patrick Ramsey short of a first down on his fourth-and-1 sneak attempt (3:26, 2nd quarter). The Packers took over at their own 45-yard-line.
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After numerous Redskins penalties helped move the Packers to the 2-yard-line, Ahman Green rushed up the middle for his second touchdown of the day (5:07, 2nd quarter). The Packers' drive started with an 11-yard run by Green and an 11-yard reception by Donald Driver. William Henderson also had a 6-yard reception before the Redskins were flagged for pass interference, face-masking and lining up the neutral zone. The Packers scoring drive was 5 plays, 73 yards. Time of the drive was 2:50.
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James Tuthill finished off a Redskins drive that included three first downs via penalty by kicking a 53-yard field goal that brought Washington within 1 (7:57, 2nd quarter). The Redskins scoring drive was 12 plays, 40 yards. Time of the drive was 5:23.
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The Packers couldn't capitalize on Diggs' fumble recovery. After driving to the 23-yard-line, penalties pushed the Packers backward. Ryan Longwell lined up to attempt a 43-yard-field goal, but a high snap forced holder Doug Pederson to throw the ball away (13:20, 2nd quarter). Pederson's pass attempt was his first since the 2000 season, when he was with Cleveland.
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End of 1st quarter.
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On second-and-10 at midfield, Patrick Ramsey failed to deliver a handoff to Stephen Davis, leading to a Redskins' fumble (0:28, 1st quarter). The loose ball was recovered by Na'il Diggs at the Redskins 49-yard-line.
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Ahman Green broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown rush that put the Packers ahead after their first offensive possession (4:21, 1st quarter). Green had three additional carries on the drive worth 15 yards, plus an additional 15 yards due to a face-masking penalty. David Martin had a 7-yard reception on third-and-5 at the Redskins 31-yard-line. The Packers scoring drive was 8 plays, 69 yards. Time of the drive was 4:29.
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Playing in his 166th consecutive game today Brett Favre ties Willie Wood for the second-longest games-played streak in Packers history. Only Forrest Gregg played in more consecutive games for the Packers, holding the record at 187. Also today, Favre extends his NFL record for consecutive starts by a quarterback to 164.
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James Tuthill's 25-yard field goal put the Redskins on the scoreboard first (8:50, 1st quarter). The Packers appeared to have the Redskins stopped when Patrick Ramsey threw an incomplete pass on third-and-18, but an illegal contact penalty on Marques Anderson gave the Redskins 5 yards and an automatic first down. Darrius Thompson started Washington's drive with a 26-yard end-around rush, and also caught a 9-yard pass in the Redskins' opening possession. The Redskins scoring drive was 12 plays, 64 yards. Time of the drive was 6:10.
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Temperature at kickoff is 44 degrees.
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The following Packers players are inactive for today's contest: Chad Clifton, Najeh Davenport, Tyrone Davis, Antuan Edwards, Vonnie Holliday, Mike McKenzie, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Darren Sharper.
Tod McBride will start in place of Mike McKenzie. Marques Anderson will start in place of Darren Sharper. |
