| | | | | | | |  Wednesday, December 5, 2001
Brett runs the show
By Eric Dickerson
Special to ABC Sports Online
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville controlled the play for the first half. Not scoring a touchdown on the opening drive hurt them. Mark Brunell's quadriceps injury and not having a running game are real differences for that team.
|  | | Jimmy Smith caught eight passes for 116 yards in the loss. |
The Jaguars are a totally different team without Fred Taylor, and it showed on Monday night. Taylor is a big-play runner. It's never a good sign when your quarterback has to do most of the running.
I think the defense played well in the first half, really confusing the Packers with zone blitzes and mixing up their coverages in the secondary. But like all the great ones do, sooner or later, you got the feeling Brett Favre was going to burn them.
It started at the end of the first half, on Green Bay's scoring drive. Two pass interference penalties were called, one on a Fernando Bryant interception that was clean. That was a turning point because it allowed the Packers to score before the half. There's a big difference between trailing 13-0 and 13-7 going into the locker room.
Packers coach Mike Sherman said he didn't think his team played well in the first half, but at least they got on the scoreboard. Any time you score like that, it gives your team a boost.
Green Bay did a great job of making adjustments at halftime and playing well in the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, Favre hit Antonio Freeman on the 64-yard pass and put the Packers in scoring position. They didn't get any points out of the drive, but the offense was back in sync.
Field position was a key factor in the first half. The special teams were not good. Ryan Longwell missed a field goal, punt coverage was not good, and guys weren't tackling well. They tightened that up in the second half, and ended up getting a turnover, which resulted in a touchdown.
After Ainsley Battles returned Favre fumble for a touchdown to give Jacksonville a 21-7 lead, I said to myself, "The Packers will still win this game." It was still close enough, and Favre had made some throws that were right off the fingertips of receivers.
Then he hit Bill Schroeder on the bomb to make it 21-14, and on the next drive threw a strike to Freeman near the goal line. That's when you knew the Packers were back in it.
In the two-minute drill, there is no one better than Favre, and he showed why. Sometimes he'll get greedy, but I'll take my chances, because nine times out of 10, Favre will win that football game for you.
When Jacksonville punted the ball to Green Bay with 2:03 left, I knew the game was over, because the Packers had the momentum, the confidence, and they looked like they wanted to win the game more.
Green Bay won this game without a running game. Ahman Green only had 31 yards on 17 carries, but he had 74 yards receiving, giving him 105 yards of total offense. That 100-yard number is important, whether it's all rushing, all receiving, or a combination of both. Jacksonville needed to keep him in the 70-yard or 50-yard range of total offense to have a chance.
The way Favre played, the way the defense played, the Green Bay Packers just would not be denied this victory.
As I've said before, winners find a way to win, and losers find a way to lose. Both sides were illustrated in this game.
Play of the game:
The play that impressed me was Brett Favre's 29-yard pass to Antonio Freeman in the third-quarter that gave Green Bay a first-and-goal at the 3. Everything about that play was perfect. The throw was a rocket, and Freeman ran a beautiful post pattern.
The bench just erupted and the team had a ton of confidence after that play. Two plays later, Favre hit Bubba Franks on the 1-yard touchdown. That play set the tone for the rest of the football game.
Player of the game:
Brett Favre: No doubt he was the player of the game. He came through like the big gun he really is.
Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson is a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football and is a regular contributor to ABC Sports Online.
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Brett Favre looks to duplicate the effort from Monday's second half next week against Chicago.