NFL Recap (Tampa Bay-Green Bay)
Posted: Sun September 13, 1998 at 9:11 p.m. EDT
GREEN BAY 23, TAMPA BAY 15
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- New season, same old story as the Green Bay Packers
continued their dominance of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
and extended their Lambeau Field streak with a 23-15 victory.
Brett Favre passed
for two touchdowns, Ryan
Longwell kicked three field goals and the Packers (2-0) forced three
turnovers by Tampa Bay quarterback Trent Dilfer in building a
23-point lead. After the mistakes put Tampa Bay (0-2) in a huge hole, the
Buccaneers scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes.
Green Bay has won 25 straight games at Lambeau Field and is two shy of
tying the NFL record for consecutive home wins held by the Miami Dolphins, who won
27 straight from 1971-74. Green Bay's next home game is Monday, October 5th
against Minnesota.
The Packers have ruled the "Battle of the Bays," winning six straight
in the series and 15 of the last 17 meetings. Last year, the Packers
turned the hat trick on Tampa Bay, winning both regular-season contests and
a divisional playoff showdown.
The Bucs have dropped 10 straight road games to the Packers, including
eight at Lambeau and two at Milwaukee. They began the season with
aspirations of unseating Green Bay atop the NFC Central, but instead opened
the season with division losses to Green Bay and Minnesota.
"I'm very disappointed," said Bucs coach Tony Dungy. "I'm not
disappointed just because we're 0-2, but I'm disappointed over the way we
are playing. These were two big road games and two games in which we were
not very competitive."
Favre hit tight end Tyrone Davis with a
10-yard touchdown pass and Longwell kicked field goals of 38, 27 and 20
yards to stake Green Bay to a 16-0 halftime lead. A 38-yard scoring pass
from Favre to Antonio
Freeman early in the fourth quarter increased the lead to 23-0.
Favre completed 22-of-33 passes for 237 yards and Freeman had five
catches for 83 yards. The Packers had six sacks, including three by
perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Reggie White.
"That's one of the things I wanted to come into this game and do, is
to get three sacks," said White. "I thought we played extremely well up
front, we had good pressure, we shut the run down, and that's what we're
going to have to do to win."
Dilfer fumbled the ball away three times while trying to escape the
Packers' pass rush. He left the game in the third quarter with muscle
spasms, but returned in the fourth and was 20-of-36 for 211 yards. Steve Walsh spelled Dilfer
briefly and was 2-of-4 for zero yards.
"Being 0-2, this was our greatest nightmare," said Dilfer. "There is a
lot of football to go. We have to get better."
Green Bay was bidding for its first shutout in five years before Tampa
Bay rookie Jacquez
Green scored on a 95-yard punt return, the longest in franchise
history, with 6:03 left. Dilfer then hit tight end Patrick Hape with the
two-point conversion.
"The others picked up their blocks and the first lane opened," said
Green. "It gave us a second life."
After forcing the Packers to go three and out, Dilfer completed 6-of-9
passes for 85 yards and capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown to tight
end Dave Moore to pull
Tampa Bay within 23-15 with 1:57 left. But Green Bay's Bill Schroeder recovered
the ensuing onside kick to seal the win.
Tampa Bay failed to establish any kind of running game. Warrick Dunn was held to
36 yards on 12 carries and Mike Alstott added just 10
yards on six carries.
"When you can't run the football, that hurts," said Dunn. "And we had
too many turnovers."
Green Bay's Dorsey Levens, still showing the rust of a preseason
holdout, had just 43 yards on 18 carries, but caught eight passes for 46
yards.
"His timing is off and that's from missing the preseason," said
Packers coach Mike Holmgren. "When he hits his stride, we will be much
better offensively."
Roell Preston
returned the opening kickoff 48 yards to the Tampa Bay 45 to set the tempo
for the Packers. A 14-yard pass from Favre to tight end Mark Chmura to the Tampa
Bay 19 set up Longwell's first field goal five minutes into the game.
The Packers then capitalized on Dilfer's first turnover. Packers
defensive tackle Santana
Dotson slapped the ball away from Dilfer after racing inside Tampa Bay
guard Frank Middleton
and rookie Vonnie
Holliday recovered for Green Bay at the Tampa Bay 14. One play later,
Favre fired a scoring pass to Davis to give Green Bay a 10-0 advantage
midway through the quarter.
"When Tyrone went into the flat, I think they backed off, thinking
we'd try to shoot one in the end zone," said Favre. "He just came
underneath. If you're not ready for it, you can be caught on it."
The Bucs appeared to settled down and drove inside the Green Bay 25.
But this time White charged into the Bucs backfield and knocked the ball
away from Dilfer and Packers linebacker George Koonce recovered at
the Green Bay 31.
A 25-yard pass from Favre to Robert Brooks to the Tampa
Bay 16 set up Longwell's 27-yard field goal midway through the second
quarter. His third field goal, a 20-yarder, came as time expired in the
first half and capped a 13-play, 78-yard drive. Favre was 9-of-10 for 81
yards in the drive.
Tampa Bay had an opportunity to shift the momentum in the third
quarter when Green Bay's Mike Prior muffed a punt
and Greg Bellisari of
the Bucs recovered at the Packers 17. But two plays later, Walsh was
intercepted by Green Bay cornerback Tyrone Williams in the end
zone.
In the fourth quarter, Dilfer committed his third turnover. Defensive
end Keith McKenzie
sacked Dilfer at the Green Bay 30 and recovered the ball with nine minutes
left.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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