When quarterback Brett Favre hit Carlyle Holiday on a slant route for a 21-yard gain late in the second quarter on Sunday, he became the NFL's all-time leader in pass completions.
Not one to concern himself with records, Favre didn't know about it until referee Ed Hochuli quietly congratulated him on the field.
"I said, 'I have no idea what you're congratulating me for, but thank you,'" Favre said. "So I did know because of him."
The pass to Holiday was the 4,968th completion of Favre's career, surpassing Dan Marino's NFL record of 4,967. Favre finished the game 20 of 37 for 174 yards with three interceptions in Sunday's 17-9 victory over Detroit, putting his completion total at 4,974 with two games left this season.
"I'm more concerned about the three I completed to their team and the fact that we won," Favre said. "I'm thankful I've had a chance to play this long and to have an opportunity to break a record that's been held by a guy like Dan Marino is quite an honor, but I'm more pleased that we won the game."
It's somewhat fitting that Holiday would be the player to make the record-breaking reception. Acquired on waivers from Arizona less than two weeks ago, Holiday is one of many new faces the Packers have rotated through the receiver position this season due to injuries and other circumstances.
Holiday finished the game with three catches for 36 yards and how has four catches as a Packer. He's the 16th different player to catch a pass from Favre this season.
"It's amazing, really," said Holiday, a former quarterback at Notre Dame. "Two weeks ago I was in Arizona, and now I'm here catching passes from Brett Favre.
"He's a Hall of Famer, and for me I just have to keep on taking advantage while I'm here."
Green surpasses 8,000 yards
Ahman Green's 19-yard run in the third quarter put him over the 8,000-yard mark as a Packer, making him just the second running back in team history to reach the milestone.
The other is Jim Taylor, the franchise's all-time rushing leader with 8,207.
Green finished the game with 22 carries for 79 yards, and the 19-yard run was his longest of the day. Green now has 8,049 yards in his career in Green Bay, putting him just 159 yards away from breaking Taylor's franchise record.
Green is also just 54 yards shy of 1,000 on the season. Should he get them, it will mark his sixth 1,000-yard season and break the tie he has in that category with Taylor.
Wacky punt play technically doesn't count
In a turnover-filled game, the ball bounced Green Bay's way on a critical punt in the second quarter, but statistically the most exciting part of the play never happened.
{sportsad300}With the Lions backed up to their own 1-yard line after Cullen Jenkins' third sack, the Packers were looking to get great field position in a 3-3 game. But Charles Woodson was hit in the back on the punt return by long snapper Don Muhlbach, forcing a fumble that Detroit's Alex Lewis scooped up.
But Lewis was hit immediately by Donald Lee and coughed it up, with Green Bay's Charlie Peprah recovering at midfield.
The Packers took advantage of the good fortune, driving 53 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead touchdown with 5:35 left in the first half.
On the play, the Packers were called for an illegal block before the first fumble. With Green Bay ultimately retaining possession at the end of the play, the penalty was enforced from the spot of Woodson's initial fumble, and officially the fumbles were wiped from the scorebooks.
Walter, Coston sub in
Late in the second quarter, left tackle Chad Clifton left the game with a shoulder stinger, and the Packers had to shuffle their offensive line for one series.
Left guard Daryn Colledge moved to left tackle to replace Clifton, while Tyson Walter came off the bench to play left guard. Two plays later Favre was sacked, though it was unclear exactly where the protection breakdown occurred.
Clifton went to the locker room for treatment and returned for the second half.
Then in the third quarter, center Scott Wells got stepped on and lost his shoe. He came out of the game to fix the footwear, and right guard Jason Spitz moved over to center while Junius Coston came in at right guard.
"I wear high tops, and I lace them all the way up, but it came off anyway and I didn't want to mess up the tempo because they're always on us about the tempo," Wells said. "I think it took about three plays to get it back on because it was knotted up so many times."
Wells was back in before the series ended.
Streak against Detroit reaches 15 years
The Packers have now beaten Detroit every time the teams have met in the state of Wisconsin for the past 15 years, a streak of 16 games.
This includes a 13-0 mark at Lambeau Field, with the 1994 Wild Card playoff game the only postseason meeting, and a 3-0 record at Milwaukee County Stadium.
The last time Detroit won a game on Wisconsin soil was in 1991, a 21-17 decision on Dec. 15 of that year at Lambeau.
