Packers Player Of The Game
Ahman Green couldn't have done much more. Averaging 6.2 yards per carry, Green tallied 156 yards rushing on the day on 25 attempts. He also made three catches for 16 yards. About the only time Green was stopped was when he tripped over the leg of teammate Mike Wahle in a fourth-and-goal situation at the 1-yard line in the second quarter. Turning in a solid performance on the defensive side was Mike McKenzie, who had six passes defensed and two forced fumbles. Robert Ferguson accounted for both Packers touchdowns among his four receptions for 65 yards.
Eagles Player Of The Game
When Donovan McNabb wasn't doing it with his arm, he was doing it with his legs. Although sacked eight times, McNabb also gashed the Packers defense for 107 yards on the ground. Passing the ball he was 21-of-39 for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat Of The Game
The Eagles were only 4-of-17 (24 percent) on third down, but converted 2-for-2 on fourth-down opportunities. The Packers meanwhile were much better on third down (10-of-19, 53 percent), but failed to convert their one try on fourth down.
Play Of The Game
There are a handful of plays that contributed to the Packers loss, but more than any the Packers would like to have back the 28-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to Freddie Mitchell on fourth-and-26 with 1:12 remaining in the game. If the Eagles fail to convert on that play, the Packers simply run out the clock and win the game in regulation, 17-14.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman -
On Brett Favre's interception in overtime: "I know that they brought the buck linebacker and the strong safety. They pressured us. He had to get rid of the ball fairly quickly. There was a free hitter coming off that side. But it shouldn't have come down to that particular play. Unfortunately offensively it did. We had a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on."
On decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal inside the 1-yard line in the second quarter: "Very simple. It was less than a 1. We've been aggressive in the past. We had fourth-and-1 against Tampa this year. We made a fourth down against them for a touchdown. We've been very successful on fourth-and-1. This was less than fourth-and-1. If it was a long 1 I wouldn't have gone for it, but it was inside the yard marker. I felt confident with the offensive line, the way they've blocked this year, and our back, who I think is one of the best runners in football, I would be able to get that fourth. It didn't work out. They made a play, we didn't."
On decision to punt facing fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter: "It wasn't less than 1. They called timeout and at that point put their big people in the game. And we used up a (Philadelphia) timeout which I thought would be instrumental in the 2-minute. They put their big guys in the game and I thought if we could pin them down there -- we actually got them in a fourth-and-26, which I thought was a pretty good situation to be in. And so you think you would win on fourth-and-26, we didn't get that done."
On Brett Favre's scramble on third down that came up short in fourth quarter: "Well that was not intentionally to run. He took off running and tried to make the first down and didn't quite get it. He was just scrambling right there. We called a waggle coming off that way to the right, pressure came upfield, he stepped up and ran almost for the first down."
On running play on fourth-and-goal situation inside the 1-yard line: "Well it was an isolation play. That's about as direct as you can get ... It's a downhill play by the back and they penetrated and got us."
On fourth-and-26 play converted by Eagles: "We had pressured (earlier), but we were in a quarters coverage right there to keep things in front of us there. They hit the play, the receiver in the seam. Again, like I said, I would have thought that coverage would be able to take care of that, but we didn't and I have to look at the tape to find out why."
On what effect not making the first fourth-and-1 had on not attempting later fourth-and-1: "Absolutely nothing ... They were in obviously a goal-line mode in the first one. The second one they called timeout and put some bigger people in the game. They had used a timeout, so I elected to punt. It was a longer one. It was a different situation for us because it wasn't as short as the first one was."
On Donovan McNabb's scrambling: "I think that the fact, as I said to our guys, when the game has been on the line, Donovan has taken off and won games with his feet. Obviously he hasn't done it this year. I think he's been schooled up to not put himself in harm's way, but I think in a game like this he elected to make some plays with his feet and he made his fair share of them."
On if the Packers outplayed Philadelphia: "You only outplay a team when you beat them, in my mind, and put points on the board to win a football game. I take my hat off to Philadelphia for what they did today. They won the game here at their place when they had to and they did what they had to do. It's a very difficult loss because I thought our guys -- and we were ready to play this football game. We jumped out, took the lead. I thought we had a lot of confidence, and it's unfortunate we came out on the losing end."
On what he told Brett Favre after the game: I told him I was proud of him, how he played this season. He's had a great year. You're talking about a quarterback who played this season with a broken thumb. We won eight out of 11 games this year with him with a broken thumb. I don't know if there's another quarterback in football that would be able to lead a team that way in that situation. He just continues to build on the legend of Brett Favre. The things that he's been able to accomplish this year under adverse situations I think is extraordinary. It's a credit to him not just as an athlete, but it's a credit to him as a man and what he stands for."
On team heading into 2004 season: "This thing hurts too much to me right now to think about personnel for next season. I'm excited about the football team. I'm excited about the guys we have coming back. I think we have a great nucleus here. We had some growing pains at the beginning of the season that we will not have next year. I believe there's an extreme amount of confidence in our plays. They're certainly disappointed right now, but they don't lack confidence. They feel that they have the ability to play well and play long. It didn't happen today, but it will happen and they'll get their chance next year."
On defense: "They did a great job in overtime for the second week in a row, but (I'm) certainly not pleased with the fact that it went into overtime. I thought fourth-and-26 we were in pretty good shape there. Donovan McNabb has been an excellent fourth-quarter quarterback and he showed that today. Made a throw he had to make and you have to take your hat off to a great player and he made a great play."
On loss: "The thing about this loss, I can't tell you how disappointed I am right now. And, as I said, I'm disappointed for our team. I know how hard they worked and I know how devastating this was. They fully expected to come in and win this football game. An extremely confident group. They really built something special. I've never been on a team where there was so little selfishness. During the course of the season when the receivers weren't catching balls, during the course of the season when our quarterback wasn't throwing a lot of balls, not one player came into my office and said, 'Hey, Coach, we need to throw more or catch more balls,' whatever the case may be. So it's a totally unique group. It's a very unselfish group and I guess that's where my disappointment lies right now because I really wanted this game for them because they worked so hard to get into this game. As far as comparing it to last year, we're light years ahead of where we were a year ago at this time. This team, as disappointing as today is, there will be better days because we're a better football team. The character and the chemistry in our locker room is not going to go away. That's going to be there next year, as well as talent, as well as draft picks and guys who are hurt will come back. So I have tremendous confidence in the future and what we're capable of doing and I just believe in our guys. I think we have a great group of men."
On if there was a whistle blown prior to game-winning field goal: "They did hear a whistle before the made field goal and no explanation was given to me (by the officials)."
Na'il Diggs -
On whistle before game-winning field goal: "I guess they waved it off or whatever happened. We were trying to call timeout ... Half of us were going, half of us stopped because we heard a whistle ... I'm not really sure how many guys went how many guys stopped. I, for one, didn't go. I don't think Sharper went. There were a couple of guys that are pretty important on that block team that didn't go. I felt like the play was stopped. The play was dead."
Mike Flanagan -
On loss: "We had every opportunity in the world and we squandered it today. We didn't do it. But Philly did and you've got to give them credit. I'm upset for myself, for us, at us. Those guys made plays when they had to and we didn't."
Al Harris -
On what happened on fourth-and-26 conversion by Eagles: "It would be easy for me to sit here and point fingers here and there, but no one knows really. They got the first down."
On giving up fourth-and-26: "It hurts. Fourth-and-26 yards, that's like fourth-and-forever."
Ryan Longwell -
On kicking conditions: "It was tough. It was really tough. It was windy. The wind from one open end was just howling in there. That's when David (Akers) missed his first field goal, first 31-yarder, because it was just howling. Between him and I we were both probably about 50 percent going that way in pregame, so it was no surprise when he missed that first one. Then he got two great makes into the same wind to tie it."
Mike McKenzie -
On Packers vs. Eagles: "We can't walk out of here thinking we're better than them. We faced them two times and two times we lost."
On what happened on fourth-and-26 conversion by Eagles: "We're all wondering ... Fourth-and-26. You're talking about going to the Super Bowl, going to the NFC Championship, somehow you've got to find a way to stop them: 24 (yards), 25, 25-and-a-half and some change. Obviously we weren't good enough getting the job done defensively. I think a great burden of the loss has to fall on us defensively. Two times we faced them in came down to the wire with the defense having the opportunity to seal the fate of the team and some how some way we found a way to come up short."
Darren Sharper -
On whistle blown before game-winning field goal: "The referee beside the goal posts blew his whistle. That's supposed to stop play. I've been playing football all my life, but -- ... Everybody on our defense heard it. I went up to the ref and said, 'You blew your whistle.' He didn't give me any kind of good explanation at all. Just tried to say we couldn't call a timeout two times in a row ... We stopped playing. We had a block left on it. I was supposed to go on a block. He blew the whistle, everybody stopped."
Mark Tauscher -
On loss: "Give them credit. They made a ton of plays when they had to. We played a good football game we just didn't make enough big plays when we had to and that's why we lost ... It's tough. This season is such a grind and you put in so much time to get in a position like we had. You know, you've got to start all over and it's tough to swallow. You look at the opportunities that we had and we didn't finish it off."
Mike Wahle -
On fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line: "They got some penetration over there. I had to try to jump around somebody. It's one of those plays where (Green) is just going downhill. He's got a hole he's supposed to go to. I don't know if he got tripped up on me. I know I got tripped up initially."
On if hoped they would go for it on fourth-and-1 in fourth quarter: "Of course we wanted to try and ice the game right there. That was a smart call by Coach. No second-guessing there. It's the smart thing to do."
IN-GAME NOTES
David Akers' 31-yard field goal won the game in overtime, 20-17 (10:12, overtime). The Eagles gained possession on Brett Favre's interception. The Eagles scoring drive was 6 plays, 21 yards. Time of the drive was 2:45.
**
On the Packers' first possession of overtime, Brett Favre's pass was well beyond Javon Walker and was intercepted by Brian Dawkins. After a 35-yard return, the Eagles take over at the Green Bay 34-yard line (12:57, overtime).
**
The Pacers forced the Eagles into a three-and-out to start overtime. Aaron Kampan had a 5-yard sack of Donovan McNabb. McNabb was stopped for a 1-yard gain on second down and Mike McKenzie had coverage on a third-down incompletion. After an Eagles punt, the Packers take over at their own 32-yard line (13:12, overtime).
**
The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to receive to start overtime.
**
End of 4th quarter. The game will go to overtime.
**
David Akers' 37-yard field goal tied the game, 17-17 (0:05, 4th quarter). The Eagles scoring drive included a conversion on fourth-and-26 on a pass from Donovan McNabb to Freddie Mitchell. The Eagles also converted on third-and-7 on a pass to Todd Pinkston. Mike McKenzie defensed two passes in the end zone that would have been game-winning touchdowns for Philadelphia. The Eagles scoring drive was 12 plays, 61 yards. Time of the drive was 2:16.
**
Darren Sharper's sack of Donovan McNabb forced a fumble on third-and-3 at the Green Bay 49-yard line. The Eagles recovered. After an Eagles punt, the Packers take over at their own 15-yard line (7:58, 4th quarter).
**
Ryan Longwell's 21-yard field goal put the Packers up by 3, 17-14 (10:22, 4th quarter). The Packers had the ball first-and-goal at the 7-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal. Lined up in their 'Heavy' package, Brett Favre faked a handoff and hit Javon Walker for a 44-yard gain that brought the Packers into Eagles territory. The Packers scoring drive was 5 plays, 48 yards. Time of the drive was 2:00.
**
The Packers defense forced the Eagles into a three-and-out. Mike McKenzie had coverage of Todd Pinkston on a first-down throw. Na'il Diggs followed with a 10-yard sack. Chukie Nwokorie had a 1-yard sack on third down. After an Eagles punt, the Packers take over at the Green Bay 49-yard line (12:22, 4th quarter).
**
Donovan McNabb eluded two would-be sackers before firing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston that tied the game, 14-14 (14:48, 4th quarter). McNabb had scrambles of 24 and 13 yards on the drive, as well as a 23-yard pass to L.J. Smith, a 15-yarder to Duce Staley, a 12-yarder to Chad Lewis and a 10-yard pass to Pinkston. The Eagles scoring drive was 8 plays, 89 yards. Time of the drive 14:48.
**
End of 3rd quarter.
**
End of 2nd quarter.
**
The Packers tried to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but Ahman Green tripped over the leg of Mike Wahle in the backfield and came up just short of the goal line. The Eagles take over at the 1-yard line (1:56, 2nd quarter).
**
Donovan McNabb's shovel pass to Duce Staley went for 7 yards and a touchdown to put the Eagles on the scoreboard, 14-7 (6:29, 2nd quarter). The Eagles got 45 yards on a pass to Todd Pinkston. Chad Lewis had a 10-yard reception on third-and-3. The Eagles scoring drive was 6 plays, 77 yards. Time of the drive was 3:03.
**
End of 1st quarter.
**
Facing third-and-3, Brett Favre hit Robert Ferguson in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to increase the Packers lead, 14-0 (1:22, 1st quarter). The Packers drive started after David Akers' missed field goal. Tony Fisher had an 11-yard catch-and-run, with help from a Javon Walker block, on third-and-3. Ahman Green had a 26-yard run. Najeh Davenport had three runs for a net of 18 yards. The Packers scoring drive was 8 plays, 77 yards. Time of the drive was 4:19.
**
David Akers' 33-yard field goal attempt missed wide left. The Packers take over at their own 23-yard line (5:41, 1st quarter).
On third down-and-9 on the drive at the 14-yard line, Donovan McNabb was initially credited with hitting Freddie Mitchell for a first down, but an instant replay challenge showed that the ball hit the ground and was an incomplete pass. The call was overturned.
**
One play after Nick Barnett's fumble recovery, Brett Favre hit Robert Ferguson with a 40-yard touchdown pass to put the Packers on the scoreboard first, 7-0 (7:37, 1st quarter). The Packers scoring drive is 1 play, 40 yards. Time of the drive is 0:04.
With the touchdown pass, Favre has now thrown a touchdown pass in 15 consecutive playoff games, extending his own NFL record.
**
Facing third-and-1 at the Philadelphia 44-yard line, Mike McKenzie put pressure on Donovan McNabb who fumbled on the play. Nick Barnett recovered for the Packers at the Philadelphia 40-yard line (7:44, 1st quarter).
**
The Packers offense went three-and-out on its first possession, but the Packers defense answered with another three-and-out stop. Nick Barnett stopped Correll Buckhalter for a 1-yard gain on third-and-3. After an Eagles punt, the Packers take over at their own 15-yard line (11:18, 1st quarter).
**
The Packers defense held the Eagles to a three-and-out on the game's opening possession. Marques Anderson and Mike McKenzie provided coverage on back-to-back incompletions. Cletidus Hunt deflected Donvan McNabb's pass on third-and-10. After an Eagles punt, the Packers take over at their own 15-yard line (14:30, 1st quarter).
**
The following Packers players are inactive for today's game: Derek Combs, Brennan Curtin, Travis Dorsch, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Kenny Peterson, Jamal Reynolds, Marcus Spriggs, Erwin Swiney.
Grady Jackson will start at nose tackle.
Dorsch was added to the roster Saturday night in place of Marcus Wilkins, who was placed on injured reserve. |
