Flashback 1998: Packers Tie Team Record for Sacks in Big Play Win Over 49ers

The Green Bay Packers scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and got big plays on both sides of the ball to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 36-24. Brett Favre threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns while the Packers defense tied the team record for sacks in a game with nine including five in the fourth quarter alone. Favre finished the game with 24,720 yards passing in his Packers career, a new franchise record, passing Bart Starr.

“This was a statement game for us,” said wide receiver Antonio Freeman who finished the game with seven catches for 193 and two touchdowns. “We all rallied together. It didn’t matter what anybody on the outside said. It’s what matters from within that locker room, and we still have a lot of confidence in each other.”

Packers Tie Team Record for Sacks In Big Play Win Over 49ers: The Buildup

These two teams met in the NFC Championship Game the previous season with the Packers winning in San Francisco 23-10. Green Bay entered this game at Lambeau Field with a 5-2 mark while the 49ers were 6-1.

“There’s something about this week that makes Coach Holmgren go nuts,” safety LeRoy Butler said about when Mike Holmgren faces his former team. “He warns us before the week starts, but there’s a look and a way about him and it’s not a good thing to get him upset.”

The Packers were on a roll against San Francisco since their playoff win in 1995, winning four straight games.

The winner of this game would have a tie breaker if the two NFC contenders tied for a playoff spot.

The Packers Start Fast

The Packers wasted little time getting on the board. On the first play from scrimmage, Favre found Freeman for an 80-yard touchdown pass. Favre looked right, then turned to his left and found Freeman streaking down the sideline at the Green Bay 40. He went untouched into the end zone for the score.

The Packers defense set the tone on San Francisco’s first possession. Butler sacked Steve Young on first down. On third down, Reggie White trapped Young for a nine-yard loss to force a 49ers punt. It was the first of three sacks he’d have on the day. Punter Reggie Roby muffed the snap which went out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The Packers led 9-0.

The defense came up with another big play later in the first quarter. Pat Terrell intercepted Young and returned it to the San Francisco 31. Pressure by Santana Dotson forced Young to underthrow Terrell Owens. Two plays later, Favre found Robert Brooks down the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown. The Packers led 16-0 and the game was only five minutes old.

Packers Tie Team Record for Sacks In Big Play Win Over 49ers: The 49ers Respond

To their credit, the 49ers responded to the Packers fast start. Young led them on a 15-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. It culminated with a 12-yard touchdown toss to Jerry Rice. The missed extra point kept the Packers lead at 16-6.

A Ryan Longwell field goal extended the Packers lead to 19-6, but Young scored on a one-yard bootleg run to make the score 19-13 at halftime. Defensive end Keith McKenzie bit on the fake handoff that gave Young the edge. The drive was set up by the first of three interceptions by Favre which came on consecutive drives and allowed the 49ers to get back into the game.

Favre Struggles

On the first two drives of the second half, Favre threw interceptions, and the 49ers cashed in. Zach Bronson intercepted Favre and set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Garrison Hearst. Hearst started up the middle, faked out a tackler and ran towards the left side for the score. The 49ers tried for a two-point conversion but that was stopped, and the game was tied 19-19.

Tim McDonald intercepted the third Favre pass and that set up a 20-yard field goal by Wade Richey. The 49ers had first-and-goal at the Green Bay 8. On third down from the 2, White and linebacker Brian Williams stopped Young for a one-yard loss to force the field goal try. The 49ers had the lead, 22-19.

Packers Tie Team Record for Sacks In Big Play Win Over 49ers: The Defense Takes Over

Now it was the Packers turn to answer back. After the 49ers missed a field goal, Favre led the Packers downfield. A 16-yard pass to Brooks and two runs by Travis Jervey for 16 yards set up a 45-yard field goal by Longwell early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 22-22.

Butler sacked Young for an 11-yard loss on the following drive as the Packers pass rush took control of the game. The 49ers recovered the fumble but had to punt one play later.

On the first play from scrimmage, Favre threw a laser to Freeman on the left sideline for a 62-yard touchdown strike. Green Bay led 29-22.

The Packers defense sacked Young twice on the next drive. On the second one, McKenzie forced a fumble which Santana Dotson fell on at the San Francisco 11. On the very next play, Jervey took a pitch running right, cut towards the middle of the field, broke a tackle and ran into the end zone. Jervey finished the game with 95 yards rushing on 17 carries and the score. The Packers were up 36-22.

The sacks kept coming on the next drive. Vaughn Booker and White broke through and caught Young behind the line of scrimmage. That gave the Packers nine sacks for the game, tying a team record.

Reactions

“Fritz [Shurmur] just told us to let it loose out there,” McKenzie said of his defensive coordinator. “He told us not to worry about containing and stuff, just go get the quarterback. And you see what happened.”

“We stepped up this game, and hopefully, if we need to think about every game from here on out like it’s the San Francisco game, then that’s what we need to do,” Booker added. “We set a standard for ourselves, and now that we set that standard, we have to live up to that each week, and anything less than that will be disappointing.”

“I don’t know what happened,” defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday said. “It was like somebody turned on a switch and electricity just ran through the guys.”

The Packers won the game 36-22. The loss left Young with an 0-8 career record against the Packers.

The Aftermath

“Probably the most [drained] I’ve been in a long time,” Favre said after the game. “It was an emotional game – back and forth – and bad things happened to our team. But we responded the way you would hope your team would respond. I’m sure Mike [Holmgren] can’t be happier, not only with the way we came back but against a team that – especially if we were down in the fourth quarter – not many gave us a chance.”

“We’re at the halfway point now 6-2. Beautiful. It’s a great place to be, and we’re thankful for that,” GM Ron Wolf said after the game. “We have a lot of life. We didn’t blow them off the field, but I’ll say this: when we had to make plays we made plays, on both sides of the ball. And that’s what a championship team is all about.”

“We can’t stop here,” added Freeman. “We have to keep pushing and fighting and being tough, [because] we want to end up on top.”

The Packers finished the season with an 11-5 mark and made the playoffs as a wild card. They lost their opening playoff game to the 49ers in San Francisco on a controversial call that overlooked a clear fumble by Rice that would have ended the 49ers winning drive.

For this game, the Packers big plays on both sides of the ball overcame Favre’s mistakes.