D-I football stumbles, NFL rumbles
by Ken Ryan
Staff Writer
Green Bay 33, Kansas City 22 – It was a wild one in Kansas City. Green Bay held a 6-0 lead until the final minute of the first half when quarterback Brett Favre was intercepted by Benny Sapp. The pick set up a pass interference penalty on Green Bay safety Atari Bigby in the end zone. One play later, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson gave Kansas City a 7-6 halftime lead. The see-saw battle had just begun. Packers linebacker AJ Hawk intercepted Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, setting up a 13-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Greg Jennings from Favre. The Chiefs responded with a beautiful 30 yard screen pass for a score by Johnson to regain the lead at 14-13 with 11:11 left in the ball game. After a beautiful one-handed catch for 49 yards by Green Bay’s Donald Driver, Mason Crosby gave the Packers a 16-14 lead on a 32 yard field goal. The Chiefs bounced back once again despite Johnson leaving with a foot injury. Tony Gonzalez continued his monster day by catching a 17-yard score. With the two-point conversion successful, the Chiefs lead 22-16 with 5:18 remaining. But as Green Bay has done all year, they responded with a big play. The culprits were a usual duo. Favre and Jennings hooked up for a 60-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 23-22 with 3:05 left. Perhaps the key point came in the next series when Packers coach Mike McCarthy successfully challenged a long Chiefs completion to the Green Bay 42. The receiver was ruled out of bounds. Forced to punt, Green Bay cornerback/punt returner Charles Woodson took the kick back to the Kansas City 30 yard line, setting up Crosby’s 4th field goal, this one a 45-yarder for a 26-22 lead with 1:40 to go. Woodson’s scintillating 46-yard interception to the house put the game away with under a minute remaining.
Review of the Key-Matchup – Gonzalez was no match for Bigby and Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga and for that matter Woodson. Hawk did a respectable jobon him, but at the end of the day the perennial Pro-Bowler had ten catches for 109 yards and a score. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, he was their only weapon in the pass game.
The Telling Statistics – The two teams combined for 42 points in the final quarter and 11 seconds, Green Bay scoring 17 in the final 3:15…Favre posted the maximum passer rating of 158.3 in the second half…Green Bay has 25 penalties in the past two games, including 13 on Sunday…The Green Bay defense had five sacks, forced two turnovers, and held the Chiefs to 234 total yards…With the win, Favre’s first against the Chiefs, he has now beaten all other 31 teams in the league, joining Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only others to have done so…Kansas City and Denver, where the Packers have both win in a span of 5 ½ days, have the two best home records in the NFL since 1990.
This week – Green Bay stands at 7-1, atop the NFC North by one game over Detroit and tied with Dallas for the top record in the NFC. The Packers welcome to town hated-rival Minnesota, whom the Packers beat 23-16 in the Twin Cities in week four when Favre set the touchdown record. The Vikings stand at 3-5, hot off their upset 35-17 win over San Diego when rookie phenom Adrian Peterson ran for an NFL single-game record 296 yards and three touchdowns. Minnesota’s quarterback situation is up in the air as starter Tavaris Jackson was knocked out of Sunday’s game with a concussion. Former Badger standout Brooks Bollinger finished the game on Sunday under center. It will be the first game at Lambeau Field in a month.
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(1)Ohio State 38, (21)Wisconsin 17 – Top-ranked Ohio State jumped out and scored on the first possession of the game, but Wisconsin did not fold and got to halftime with the score manageable at 10-3. UW came out of the break with two long touchdown drives, the first capped off by a beautiful 28-yard sliding touchdown catch by Travis Beckum from Tyler Donovan. Donovan connected with fullback Chris Pressley for a three-yard touchdown in the middle of the third quarter to put Wisconsin up 17-10. Then the Badgers decided it would be a good idea to not defend the run. Ohio State answered with back to back touchdown drives, capped off by 31 and 30 yard scoring scampers by Chris Wells. After a miscommunication on a punt, UW’s Ken DeBauche was tackled at the Badger 23. Four plays later, Todd Boeckman connected with Brian Robiske for eight yards to put Ohio State up 31-17 with 10:05 left in the game. Another Wells touchdown, this one from 23 yards out, sealed the deal.
Review of the Key-Matchup – UW’s interior offensive line held up respectably against the run, but did little to protect Donovan. OSU middle linebacker James Laurinaitis was all over the place.
The Telling Statistics – Donovan was sacked nine times…Wells ran 21 times for 169 yards (an astronomical 8.0 yards per carry) and three touchdowns… Laurinaitis had 19 tackles.
This week – Michigan (8-2, 6-0) comes to Madison for senior day on a eight-game win streak since their humiliating start. The Wolverines, ranked 12th in the nation, perhaps are looking ahead to next weekend’s match up with the undefeated Buckeyes. Wisconsin fell out of the polls. And at 7-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, the Badgers need to win this game and next week at hapless Minnesota to give themselves a great chance for their fourth straight New Year’s Day bowl game.
