Brett Favre threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third to lead the Green Bay Packers to an important 28-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the first ever meeting between these two teams. This was Favre’s 100th consecutive start in a streak that started in Week 4 of the 1992 campaign. Wide receiver Antonio Freeman caught nine passes for 103 yards and a score to help the Packers end a two-game losing streak. Today we look back at the three-touchdown game for Brett Favre which led the Packers past the Ravens.
Brett Favre Three Touchdown Day to Lead the Packers Past the Ravens: The Buildup
The Packers entered this game with a 4-2 record but had dropped their last two games to division opponents and concern was growing about the team’s inconsistent play.
The Ravens had also lost their last two games and entered with a 2-4 mark. Their offense had scored a total of 14 points in those two defeats, and they hadn’t scored a touchdown in 11 quarters entering this game. The Baltimore defense was playing well and had only given up a total of 28 points in the two losses.
The Packers needed to get back on track while the Ravens needed their offense to wake up to save their season and get back into the AFC playoff hunt.
Green Bay would be without starting running back Dorsey Levens and would be relying on backup Travis Jervey to move the football on the ground. Safety LeRoy Butler was hampered by an ankle injury but was able to play.
A Fast Start
The Packers got off to a fast start thanks to their special teams. Baltimore won the toss and went three-and-out. Kyle Richardson punted and Roell Preston fielded it for Green Bay at his own 29. Preston returned the kick 71 yards for a touchdown, zig zagging past several potential tacklers along the way. The Packers led 7-0 before the game was even two minutes old.
“That’s what I try to do for the team,” Preston said after the game. “I try to change the game right off the bat.”
Freeman was excited by Preston’s score. “When I saw him going down that sideline, I said, ‘He called his shot. He delivered.’” Freeman said.
“He’s a great return guy, but not a lot of people know about him,” tight end Tyrone Davis added. “He’s a threat to score every time he touches the ball. I think that was a little breakout for him as far as punt returns are concerned.”
The Packers went to a no-huddle offense on their second drive to try to keep the Ravens defense off balance. Eventually, it worked.
Late in the first quarter, Favre got the Packers offense going again. He hit tight end Mark Chmura three times on this drive for 27 yards and hit Davis for 13 and running back Raymont Harris for 12 more. The drive ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to Freeman which gave the Packers a 14-0 lead.
Brett Favre Three Touchdown Day to Lead the Packers Past the Ravens: Holmgren Loses His Cool
In the second quarter, the Packers offense struggled to move the ball. Ray Lewis was taking away the Packers ability to run wide with Jervey. In fact, the running back ran the ball 29 times for just 72 yards.
Then, when offensive tackle Ross Verba was called for three penalties in the first half including two on one drive, Packers coach Mike Holmgren got upset. He took Verba out of the game in favor of backup Matt Willig. Verba was flagged twice for lining up too deep off the line of scrimmage and once for holding. When he arrived on the sideline, Holmgren yelled at him for 30 seconds straight loud enough that the fans on that side of the field could here him.
“He was pretty upset, and rightly so,” Verba admitted after the game. “I think I had three penalties in a row right there. It got the crowd fired up.”
“That type of penalty, in my opinion, is a tough one to accept,” Holmgren explained. “I mean, how hard is it just to line up right? That’s day one, practice one, probably when you’re a freshman in high school.”
“I like to focus my energy on my play calling and my sideline sheets,” Holmgren added. “I don’t like to rant and rave if I can help it. But it was bordering on the ridiculous, I felt. That was unbelievable there for a while. I dealt with it the way I thought it had to be dealt with. I’d rather not do that.”
Later in the second quarter, he also yelled at Favre for throwing the ball over Robert Brooks’ head and safety Mike Prior for committing a 15-yard face mask penalty.
“We shouldn’t have to wait until he gets animated, but I think we responded well,” defensive end Reggie White said after the game.
The Packers led 14-0 at the half. While the offense was stumbling, the defense forced the Ravens to punt on each of their seven possessions in the first half and held Baltimore to just 22 net yards.
Putting the Game Away
The Packers received the second half kickoff and extended their lead in just four plays. After Jervey ran around right end for 16 yards, Favre found Freeman deep for 44 more. After a one-yard run by Jervey, it was Favre to Brooks for 28 yards and a touchdown. The Packers led 21-0.
The Ravens finally started to move the ball on their next possession. A long kick return by Corey Harris gave Baltimore the ball on the Green Bay 48. Then, Jim Harbaugh replaced starter Eric Zeier at quarterback and led the Ravens on a seven-play, 27-yard drive. Matt Stover’s 38-yard field goal got Baltimore the road team on the board and cut the lead to 21-3.
Midway through the third quarter, Butler intercepted Harbaugh and gave the Packers the ball at the Baltimore 27. Favre capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown scramble and the Packers led 28-3.
The Ravens scored their first touchdown in 11 quarters midway through the fourth quarter on a 46-yard pass from Harbaugh to Jermaine Lewis but that was as close as the game got. The Packers won 28-10.
Brett Favre Three Touchdown Day to Lead the Packers Past the Ravens: The Aftermath
The Packers forced the Ravens to punt on each of their first eight possessions. They did it by blitzing early and often with Butler chasing the quarterback on five of the first six plays despite his bad ankle.
“LeRoy’s a great player. He has a good feel for what needs to happen and what needs to be done,” defensive tackle Santana Dotson said. “Talking as a defense, we just felt that whatever we did, we wanted to be aggressive. Whether blitzing or rushing the passer, we wanted to play more aggressively and make things happen. I think that was the biggest difference today.”
“We brought a lot of guys today. We brought linebackers, we brought him, we changed it up a little,” said defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur. “LeRoy’s a big-play guy – when he makes big plays, it’s kind of contagious. We have other guys that do that, but LeRoy has a great knack for making big plays. Today he made some exceptional plays.”
Overall, the game wasn’t pretty, but the Packers were happy with the win. “We wanted to get back on track,” Freeman said. “We had to get this one and build from it. This one’s in the books; now we can hopefully build from this.”
“Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the bottom line is what we got,” Holmgren said. “After a couple tough losses, winning the football game was very important for us. We were sloppy in some areas, no question about that, but it was a great win for us. We needed it.”
The Packers would finish the season with an 11-5 record and would return to the playoffs for the sixth straight season. This was the first time the team faced the Ravens and Favre starred in his 100th consecutive start.
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