"Even" (or .500, for that matter) seldom has looked so good...
Now 5-5 in the wake of a critical road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Green Bay Packers have forged to within one game of NFC North-leading Minnesota and materially enhanced their playoff chances, the 6-4 Vikings having lost their fourth straight in the productive weekend process.
Thus reinforced, the Packers also will enjoy home field advantage when they continue their pursuit of playoff status this weekend, hosting the San Francisco 49ers in an inter-divisional matchup at Lambeau Field Sunday afternoon (Nov. 23).
Kickoff for the contest, a customary season ticket sellout (72,515), is set for 12 noon, CST (Wisconsin time).
It will be the first of two games within a five-day span for the Green and Gold, who invade Detroit's Ford Field a week from Thursday (Nov. 27) for a Thanksgiving Day encounter with the Lions.
For the Packers, heartening as the victory over Tampa Bay itself was, the efficient and aggressive fashion in which it was accomplished was equally rewarding, looking down the competitive road.
Locked in a 13-13 tie with the Buccaneers, they mounted a late, length-of-the-field drive to what became the winning touchdown with a remarkable display of "smash-mouth" football and thus depart Tampa's Raymond James Stadium with a victory - a new experience for them, having lost their first five games in the Bucs' new venue, opened in 1998.
In the course of the weekend, the Packers also increased their lead over division rivals Chicago and Detroit to two games. Both of them are now 3-7, the Bears after losing to St. Louis, 23-21, and the Lions after falling to the Seattle Seahawks, 35-14.
Stockton will call the play-by-play for the Fox Sports Network telecast of Sunday's game and Daryl Johnston will provide the analysis. Bob Stenner is the producer and Sandy Grossman directs.
The game also will be aired over the 62-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee voicing the play-by-play and Larry McCarren offering analysis and commentary. The radio broadcast also will be available on www.packers.com for NFL Field Pass subscribers.
For the first time within recent memory, the Packers take a won-lost lead to Lambeau Field Sunday. By virtue of a 20-14 victory over the Prospectors in their visit to San Francisco last December, they now are out front in the series, having won 26 games to the Niners' 25.
There also has been a tie - a 24-24 stalemate in their mutual 1965 finale that looms large in Packers history.
A rare run of success has enabled the Packers to pull ahead in the rivalry of late. Last December's success, on a blustery, rain-swept afternoon in the City by the Bay, was the Packers' fifth straight win over the 49ers - matching their longest such streak in the history of the series.
With postseason play included, it was their ninth win in their last 10 meetings with San Francisco.
Four of those victories came in as many successive seasons - 1995 through 1998 - and the fifth more recently - in January of 2002 when Mike Sherman escorted the Packers to the playoffs in only his second season as Green Bay's head coach, the Green and Gold posting a 25-15 Wild Card victory.
The Packers had the better of it in the first three of those four consecutive postseason encounters, launching the "trifecta" with a highly physical, 27-17 divisional playoff victory over the 49ers in San Francisco following the '95 season.
They followed that success with a 35-14 triumph in a second divisional playoff in Lambeau Field en route to the 1996 Super Bowl and then forged a 23-10 verdict in their rain-soaked NFC Championship Game at 3Com following the 1997 season, a victory that qualified Green Bay for a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance (in SB XXXII at San Diego).
The "streak" came to an end in 1998 in another visit to 3Com for a Wild Card playoff against the Niners. On that occasion, the disbelieving Packers saw a 27-23 lead suddenly dissolve into a 30-27 San Francisco victory - with only 3 seconds remaining - in the numbing wake of a 25-yard Steve Young pass to wide receiver Terrell Owens in the heart of the end zone.
The lone tie in the series played a substantial role in Packers history. The 24-24 standoff left them and the Baltimore Colts tied for Western Conference honors with identical 10-3-1 records, forcing a playoff in Green Bay.
The ensuing playoff became the first overtime game in Green Bay's annals, the Green and Gold eventually prevailing, 13-10, by way of Don Chandler's 25-yard field at 13:39 of the sudden death overtime.
Ahman Green gets the records and most of the yards but humbly shares the credit.
Green ran through San Francisco's stingy run defense for 154 yards on 27 carries in the Packers' 20-10 victory Sunday.
When he was winded, the Packers lost little with backups Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher, who combined for 87 yards on 17 carries.
"I consider it a 1-2-3 punch," coach Mike Sherman said.
Although Green is the NFC's leading rusher, both Davenport (6.3) and Fisher (5.7) have higher averages than Green's 5.2 yards per carry.
"Najeh's 250 pounds and just as fast as I am," Green said. "I told both of them in training camp that they'd be a big part of this. I keep telling them that they're just as important to the offense as I am."
The Packers gained 243 yards on 48 carries for a 5.1-yard average that would have been higher had Brett Favre not taken a knee three times at the end. That's their heaviest reliance on the run since Oct. 4, 1981, when they ran 49 times against the New York Giants.
"No wonder I'm sore," center Mike Flanagan said. "Hey, when it's clicking, it's clicking. It didn't matter who we put back there, those guys were all running hard and making the right cuts."
Green set franchise records with his fourth straight 100-yard game and his eighth of the season. He also surpassed John Brockington as the second-leading rusher in team history, trailing only Jim Taylor.
Green Bay won despite losing safety Darren Sharper (bruised ribs) and linebacker Nick Barnett (ankle) early in the third quarter.
The Packers (6-5) beat the Niners (5-6) for the 10th time in 11 tries behind Favre, who threw two touchdown passes, including a 66-yarder to Javon Walker. That gave Favre at least 20 TDs for the 10th straight season, tying Dan Marino's NFL record.
The Niners' fourth-ranked run defense had allowed just one 100-yard game this season, to Arizona's Marcel Shipp. But San Francisco's undersized front seven was no match for Green.
"He's great," San Francisco linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said. "He's got a little bit of everything. He's strong, he's fast, patient, smart. Obviously, he exploited us today."
Favre, who fumbled three times in a downpour against Philadelphia two weeks ago when the tape covering his broken right thumb got slippery, threw three interceptions in a misty rain despite having practiced with wet footballs during the week.
The 49ers failed to capitalize on the first two before converting his third pickoff into points. Terrell Owens caught a 24-yard pass from Tim Rattay in broken coverage on fourth down to pull San Francisco to 17-10 late in the third quarter.
Owens blew past cornerback Al Harris and safety Marques Anderson, who replaced Sharper and was playing too shallow.
Ryan Longwell's 37-yard field goal with 7:44 left gave Green Bay a 20-10 lead. His 174th field goal broke Chris Jacke's club record.
"It was nice to have it mean something, to put the game away," Longwell said.
Antuan Edwards intercepted Rattay's throw at midfield with 6:08 left and the Packers ran out the clock behind their great ground game.
The 49ers picked off two passes to Bubba Franks deep in Green Bay territory in the first half but self-destructed both times.
Todd Peterson hit the left upright on a 28-yard field goal attempt after Zack Bronson's pickoff put the Niners at the Green Bay 23.
And San Francisco had to punt after committing two penalties following Tony Parrish's interception at the Green Bay 22. The Packers then drove 83 yards in 10 plays for Robert Ferguson 's 16-yard touchdown catch that made it 14-0.
"It just killed us to get no points," 49ers coach Dennis Erickson said.
Favre completed just 10 of 15 passes for 138 yards, and the Packers improved to 6-1 when he throws for less than 200 yards.
Favre, who's gone 19 games without a 300-yard performance, said he doesn't mind watching the Packers go from a passing team to a pounding one.
"From my standpoint, it's fun to watch our offensive line," Favre said. "I would hate to be a defensive linemen against our guys. If one of our offensive linemen don't get you, one of our backs will."
GB:Walker 66-yard pass from Favre (Longwell kick) at 11:31 of the first quarter to make the score 7-0.
GB:Ferguson 16-yard pass from Favre (Longwell kick) at 8:00 of the second quarter to make the score 14-0.
SF:Peterson 24-yard field goal at 2:00 of the second quarter to make the score 14-3.
GB:Longwell 38-yard field goal at 0:00 of the second quarter to make the score 17-3.
SF:Owens 24-yard pass from Rattay (Peterson kick) at 1:33 of the third quarter to make the score 17-10.
GB:Longwell 37-yard field goal at 7:44 of the fourth quarter to make the score 20-10.
