Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick looked like he would vaporize the Packers in their regular season opener.
Vick completed 10 of 10 passes in the first half and ran for another 43 yards to help the Falcons to a 21-13 lead. When he led the Falcons to a 31-27 lead in the fourth quarter, it really started looking like Atlanta might beat the Pack in Lambeau Field for the second straight season.
But, Brett Favre showed he's still the class of NFL quarterbacks, as the Packers pulled out a 37-34 win in overtime. "I thought Michael Vick played great," said Favre, who himself completed 25 of 36 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns.
"He runs around a lot more than I do. If I ran around that much, they'd have to carry me out of here."
Vick, the top draft pick two years ago, completed 15 of 23 for 209 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 72 yards.
Several of his passes left vapor trails they were thrown so hard. He made two incredible throws, including one across the field after he rolled to his right.
Had it not been for two dropped passes for touchdowns by his receivers, Vick and the Falcons might have ended the contest in regulation play.
As it was, the game ended tied, 34-34, and Favre, along with running back Ahman Green, drove the Packers for a final field goal by Ryan Longwell, at the 4:15 mark of overtime.
"I told my team we would faced adversity during the season, but I didn't necessarily expect it in the first game," said Packers' coach Mike Sherman. "Atlanta played great. Michael Vick lived up to his billing. To pull out a game like that says a lot, especially about our offensive football team."
Sweating it out
Green said he sweated so much in the game, which was played in the warmest temperatures ever for a season opener at Lambeau, that it made it hard to hold onto the ball. He fumbled twice early in the game.
He also lost so much fluid that he had to get an IV early in the third quarter. "I sweat profusely so that made it tough out there today," Green said.
"I got two bags of fluid through an IV in the locker room, and it helped a lot. I think everybody was tired out there, but we kept plugging along."
Favre said if the game had gone any longer "I would have ended up watching it from the infirmary."
An extra push
Green admitted he helped push William Henderson across the goal line for a touchdown that gave the Packers a 34-31 lead late in the fourth quarter. "When I saw he was struggling to get in, I ran up there and pushed," Green said. "I was tired, but I just put my body in there and pushed."
NFL rules do not allow a player to push a teammate directly ahead, but Green just leaned into the pile, with Henderson in the middle. The play was reviewed by the officials and allowed to stand.
Players of the Game
The overall honor has to go to Vick, who had an outstanding first half and a fine overall game. This guy should become a star for years in the NFL. On defense, give the Atlanta honor to Keith Brooking, who finished with 15 tackles.
{INSERT_RELATED}As for the Packers, give the offensive honors to Favre, and Green, who gained 155 yards on 27 carries. The Green Bay defense didn't play that well, but linebacker Hardy Nickerson gets the honor for leading the Packers with 10 tackles.
Plays of the Game
The list of big plays in this game could fill up a column in itself. Here are five of them:
- Atlanta's Brian Finneran dropped a sure touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. A score would have given the lead back to the Falcons at the time..
- With 5:54 left, Favre looked like he was about to be sacked when he ripped out of the grasp of a Falcon lineman and scrambled for four yards. Favre fumbled, the ball rolled another four yards and Donald Driver recovered the ball for a first down. The play was reviewed and allowed to stand. "I told the guys in the huddle that was the only time I was cheered for fumbling the football," Favre said later. "Somebody asked me if I did it on purpose. I told them I wasn't smart enough to think that fast."
- The Falcons' Jay Feely kicked a 52-yard field goal with five seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
- The Henderson touchdown mentioned earlier has to qualify as a big one, especially since it survived a review.
- Rookie Javon Walker made a key reception in the drive that set up Longwell's winning field goal. "That was a big catch," Sherman said. "Javon is an unusual rookie. His maturity is beyond his years."
Goats of the Game
Atlanta's Gerald McBurrows deserves a set of horns for his costly interference penalty in the first half. It helped set up a Packers' score. Finneran definitely gets a set for his drop of the TD pass.
Green easily could have received a set of horns for his fumble that led to an early Atlanta touchdown, but he redeemed himself as the game went on.
The Big Easy
The Packers travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints next Sunday. Of course, the Pack has had success in the Superdome. That's where they won their latest Super Bowl title. Look for them to beat the Saints by 10.
Gregg Hoffmann writes On The Pack on Mondays, after Sunday games, and on Tuesdays after Monday Night Football games.
