Ryan Longwell became the first in Packers history to score more than 900 points Sunday, but none will be more memorable than his last three of the game.
Longwell's 33-yard field goal as time ran out gave the Packers a 34-31 win over the Vikings that put both teams at the top of the NFC North with 5-4 records. It was the fourth straight win for the Packers, who started the season 1-4.
"It felt great," Longwell said of the game winner. "We've been in a pretty good groove, so I knew we'd have a pretty good shot at getting it."
Longwell went over the 900 points mark with a 43-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half. "The records don't mean that much to me and probably won't until I'm done playing," he said. "I'm not into story lines. My job is to kick the ball and score points for the team."
The winning field goal was set up by some heroics in the last minute of play. After the Vikings had come back from a two-touchdown deficit to tie it at 31, Robert Ferguson returned the kickoff 37 yards, but fumbled. Reserve tight end Ben Steele dove into the pile and came up with the ball.
"There wasn't any doubt in my mind I had the ball," Steele said. "It seemed like an eternity under there (the pile of manhood). People are scratching. I'm cramping up. Until I got the go from the ref that we had it, I stayed there."
Quarterback Brett Favre then linked up with Tony Fisher for a 25-yard pass play that helped set up the field goal. "I have a lot of confidence in Fish," Favre said. "I threw the ball in a catchable place, but not all catchable balls are caught. He made a great catch on it."
The Packers probably should not have been in a position where they had to win it with a last-second field goal. They led 31-17 in the fourth quarter, but when they failed to get a first down on a fourth and one they lost momentum. Daunte Culpepper brought the Vikings back.
"In hindsight, I now would have kicked the field goal and made it a three possession game," coach Mike Sherman said. "We had about 170 yards running the football at that time and I felt pretty confident we would get the first down, but we didn't."
Sherman challenged the ref's spot of the ball after Nick Luchey's run, but also lost that and a timeout with it. The decision could have been very costly, but the Packers pulled it out.
"Things turn out for a reason," Sherman said. "Maybe the confidence I showed the first time that they would get it made them dig a little deeper at the end of the ballgame."
Players of the Game
Give the main honor to Longwell, his holder, Brian Barker, and snapper Rob Davis. They worked together perfectly on the game winner, even though Barker is a relatively new holder since Doug Peterson was lost for the season with an injury.
Steele deserves a mention for his big fumble recovery. So does Ferguson for his return before the fumble.
Brett Favre completed 20 of 29 for 236 yards and four touchdowns. It was his 18th four-touchdown game of his career, which moved him into second place on the NFL all-time list behind Dan Marino.
Fisher deserves a mention for filling in when Ahman Green was injured, scoring a touchdown on a recovery of his own fumble and his clutch catch in the winning drive. Green gets mention for his 145 yards on 21 carries.
On defense, Al Harris stuck to Marcus Robinson like glue for most of the game. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila had a good game, including back-to-back sacks in the fourth quarter.
For the Vikings, Culpepper deserves mention for completing 27 of 44 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns.
Finally, the Packers' Javon Walker gets a special mention, not only for making two spectacular catches, but for hosting a young boy who is terminally ill with cancer before and after the game. The boy had contacted Walker via email. The Packers had kept Walker's treat low key to not draw too much media attention.
Plays of the Game
The winning field goal, the big pass play that set it up and the kickoff return and fumble recovery that started the winning drive deserve the collective honor.
There were probably at least a dozen more in the wild contest, but those should suffice.
Goat of the Game
The Vikings' Chris Hovan, who always has talked a better game than he plays at tackle, struck some UW band members and shouted at the director while the group performed before the game.
Hovan's hit against the band members was the hardest he had all game, as he managed only two tackles and basically was taken out of the game by the Packers' offensive line.
Next Week
The Packers travel to Houston to play in the ESPN Sunday night game. Most of their remaining games are against teams with winning records.
"When we were 1-4, I don't think many people would have bet that we would be 5-4 and tied for first place in our division," Favre said. "We still have a lot of football to go though. Our schedule won't get any easier, you can bet on that."
