| 
 1997
|
Regular
Season December
20, 1997 Bills 21
Green Bay 31
Attendance: 60,108
Steve Tasker was ejected from his retirement game and Brett Favre nearly made an early
exit himself. Favre was slow in getting up after getting plastered on his first pass, but
he bounced back to throw two touchdown passes as the Green Bay Packers beat the Buffalo
Bills 31-21. Favre put a scare into the Packers and their fans as he lay writhing on the
grass after a hard hit by defensive end Phil Hansen. "It kind of knocked the wind out
of me, bruised my sternum or whatever you call it," Favre said. "It scared me
more than anything. I couldn't breathe there for a few minutes."
| Scoring
Summary |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
| Bills |
0 |
0 |
8 |
13 |
21 |
| Green Bay |
14 |
7 |
3 |
7 |
31 |
First Quarter
GB T. Davis Recovered
Muffed Punt (Longwell Kick), 13:23
GB Freeman 4 Pass From Favre (Longwell Kick), 3:19
Second Quarter
GB T. Davis 2 Pass From Favre (Longwell Kick), 7:26
Third Quarter
GB FG Longwell 35, 3:38
BUF A. Smith 5 Run (Reimersma Pass from Van Pelt), 0:23
Fourth Quarter
BUF A. Smith 1 Run (Pass Failed), 11:24
GB Sharper 20 Interception Return (Longwell Kick), 4:42
BUF Van Pelt 1 Run (Christie Kick), 2:06 |
In a regular-season finale that had no bearing on the playoff picture, the Packers kept
their momentum going-despite a clumsy second half by their substitutes-in stretching their
winning streak at Lambeau Field to 26. Flanker Robert Brooks joined Antonio Freeman in
giving the Packers two 1,000-yard receivers for the first time in their 78-year history.
Dorsey Levens fell 39 yards short of Jim Taylors 35-year-old record of 1,474 rushing
yards. Playing into the fourth quarter, Levens gained 71 yards on 22 carries. Rookie
Darren Sharper tied the team record for most defensive touchdowns in a season (three) with
a 20-yard interception of an Alex Van Pelt pass in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo finished the season 6-10 and Tasker said good-bye a little early. Tasker
decided not to catch a punt deep in his own territory less than two minutes into the game.
As he got out of the way, the ball bounced inside the 5-yard line and grazed the back of
Bills' Raymond Jackson and caromed into the hands of Tyrone Davis for a Packers TD>.
Referee Mike Carey immediately signaled the score, and the usually easy going Tasker
protested. He was ejected for accidentally bumping back judge Tom Sifferman. "It's
not really the way I wanted my career to end, obviously," Tasker said. "But it
was my fault and it is a rule. Even though I had no intention of pushing an official, it
is a rule."
| Game
Breakdown |
|
BUF |
GB |
First Downs
Rushes-Yards
Passing
Punt Returns
Kickoff Returns
Interceptions Ret.
Comp-Att-Int
Sacked-Yards Lost
Punts
Fumbles-Lost
Penalties-Yards
Time of Poss. |
21
21-51
274
3-37
5-77
0
24-45-3
1-10
7-29.6
3-1
10-93
27:52 |
14
34-102
170
2-25
4-83
3-69
17-28-0
1-15
6-45.0
3-3
13-115
32:08 |
| Individual Statistics Rushing
Buffalo, Thomas 7-28, A. Smith 10-20, Van Pelt 2-4, Holmes 2-(minus 2), Green Bay, Levens
22-71, Hayden 7-33, Henderson 1-3, Pederson 3-(minus 4), Favre 1-(minus 1)
Passing Buffalo, Van Pelt 23-44-3-255, Mohr 1-1-0-29, Green Bay Favre
12-18-0-156, Bono 5-10-0-29
Receiving Buffalo, Early 7-120, Johnson 4-44, Riemersma 4-42, A. Smith
4-32, Moulds 3-31, Reese 1-13, Holmes 1-2, Green Bay, Freeman 6-63, Brooks 4-83, Henderson
3-18, Chmura 2-17, T. Davis 1-2, Levens 1-2
Missed Field Goals Green Bay, Longwell 45
(WR) |
|
