The Green Bay Packers faced a dilemma entering their Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers at Milwaukee County Stadium. Starting linebackers John Anderson and George Cumby were out with injuries and the 49ers offense emphasized the pass. So, Packers head coach Bart Starr and defensive coordinator John Meyer came up with an original solution: they played Pro Bowl wide receiver James Lofton as a spare defensive back. Amazingly enough, the new defense worked, and the Packers ended up beating the 49ers 23-16. Today we remember the time James Lofton played defense for the Green Bay Packers.
James Lofton Played Defense for the Packers: The Leadup to the Game
The Pack entered the game with a 3-5-1 record. The team got off to a slow start but were 2-2-1 in their last five games and at least seemed to have found a way to be competitive.
Quarterback Lynn Dickey was healthy for the first time since 1977 and was enjoying his best season of his career to date. The running game was steady with former first-round pick Eddie Lee Ivery and newly signed free agent Gerry Ellis providing a solid backfield combination. But, the star of the offense was wide receiver Lofton, who was on his way to the first of six seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards.
The 49ers were in their second season under Bill Walsh. The team was struggling with a 3-6 record but was one year away from winning their first Super Bowl. Walsh had difficulty deciding between veteran quarterback Steve DeBerg and second-year man Joe Montana. DeBerg got the nod against the Packers.
The defense remained the biggest problem for the 49ers, and it ranked near the bottom of the league in most categories.
The Packers needed a win to try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Because the NFC Central had no dominant team, they could still be in the hunt for the division title with a win.
The Strategy
With the two starting linebackers out of the lineup, the Packers started the game with a 5-1-5 defensive alignment as their base. On obvious passing downs, that’s when they went to a 3-1-7 formation with Lofton often filling in as the seventh defensive back. The Pro Bowl wideout played deep center field so he didn’t really need to know much about the defensive play calls.
“It was his idea, really,” Meyer said after the game. “We were short of defensive backs because of injuries, and it seemed like a good idea. I wasn’t worried about Lofton getting hurt on defense. He’s a big strong guy, and he’s such a great athlete.”
James Lofton Played Defense for the Packers: A Struggle at the Start
The new defense didn’t work well at first. The 49ers led the game 13-0 after the first quarter. DeBerg found wide receiver Freddie Solomon for a 20-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. It was set up by a fumble by Ivery. The Packers blocked the extra point which kept the game at 6-0.
Then, DeBerg found Solomon deep again on a 44-yard pass that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Lenvil Elliott. The Packers were down by two scores.
However, the Green Bay defense rallied. The 49ers offense gained 177 yards in the first quarter, but they would pick up just 199 more for the rest of the game.
A Second Quarter Rally
The Packers managed to get back into the game with a second quarter rally. Kicker Tom Birney made a career-long 50-yard field goal to make it 13-3.
Then, the Packers went on an 82-yard drive to get their first touchdown of the game. Dickey found Lofton for 20 and 17 yards to spark the drive. Terdell Middleton scored from a yard out and the Packers trailed 13-10.
Then, right before the half, Dickey completed eight successive passes for 60 yards. Birney added a 39-yard field goal with eight seconds left to tie the game 13-13 at halftime.
James Lofton Played Defense for the Packers: A Strong Second Half
Late in the third quarter, the Packers started to move the ball again. Loften caught a 37-yard pass on this drive to set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Ellis early in the fourth quarter. The Packers now led 20-13.
The 49ers managed to get back in the game on a 24-yard field goal by Ray Wersching. Now, the Packers lead was down to four points at 20-16 with 10:39 left on the clock.
The Packers put the game away after a big play by safety Johnnie Gray. The 49ers were driving when Elliott fumbled at the Green Bay 22. Gray scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 30 yards to the 49ers 48. That set up a 32-yard field goal by Birney which closed out the scoring with a little more than two minutes left in the game.
The Aftermath
The win improved the Packers record to 4-5-1. Lofton did not make an interception on defense, but he did catch eight passes for 146 yards in the game. The Packers also ran the ball well with Ivery gaining 91 yards on 15 carries and Ellis adding 83 yards on 17 runs.
Lofton was pleased with the job he did on defense. “I really wanted to hit somebody,” Lofton admitted. “I was getting tired of getting hit myself. I wanted to turn things around.”
DeBerg tried to downplay it. “I didn’t notice Lofton in there, really,” he told reporters. “I wouldn’t want to throw to him anyway.”
Lofton made the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. It was also the first of six straight Pro Bowl appearances for the future Hall of Famer. While he would not play defense again, he stepped up and helped a shorthanded Green Bay defense in this game which has largely been forgotten 44 years later.
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