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Favre, Packers Rally To Championship Game

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2008

GREEN BAY, Wis. Seattle coach Mike Holmgren was once an idol in Green Bay. Mother Nature is a goddess known for her power over weather.

Neither could compete with quarterback Brett Favre, Green Bay's ultimate football deity.

Favre scoffed at the notion of Holmgren, the former Packers coach, coming into Lambeau Field to relive his old glory. The quarterback's hot passing hand melted the snow that blanketed Green Bay and threatened to slow Favre's passing attack. And just for kicks, Favre fought off good, old-fashioned bad luck after his team fell behind by two touchdowns four minutes into Green Bay's NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle.

Once again, Favre rose above every obstacle in front of him to guide Green Bay (14-3) to victory. This time, it was a 42-20 win Saturday against Seattle (11-7), moving the Packers within one victory of their first Super Bowl appearance since 1998.

Green Bay will play the winner of today's game between the Cowboys and the Giants in next week's NFC Championship Game. If Dallas wins, Green Bay will be on the road, but the Packers will host if New York pulls off an upset.

"Getting down 14-0, I thought, 'Oh boy. This ain't too good,' " Favre said. "Once again, we overcame. We made plays when we needed to make them. We were resilient. Whatever you want to call it.

"How far that carries us, that remains to be seen. We probably have surprised a lot of people, including me."

Favre was amazed to learn Green Bay's 42 points set a team record for points in a playoff game. The Packers' 28 first-half points tied a team postseason record set against St. Louis in 1983.

What is equally astonishing is the short NFL résumé of most of Green Bay's players.

Green Bay had the youngest NFL team for the second consecutive year. Only 17 of Green Bay's 53 roster players had participated in a playoff game before Saturday.
However, none of those young players folded after Seattle turned two fumbles by running back Ryan Grant into touchdowns. In fact, they fought back like seasoned veterans, and Grant ran for 201 yards and three TDs.

"I think that's something where this team has grown," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "Last year, I think we took little steps every single week getting there. This year, we've won lots of close game, where sometimes last year we weren't able to get it done. I think you have to give our coaches a lot of credit for not panicking, or pointing fingers at players, and players weren't pointing fingers at coaches. We knew we could make this thing right."

Green Bay also needed a big play to continue its turnaround after tying the game at 14. That is when Packers safety Atari Bigby, a second-year player from the University of Central Florida, stepped up in the second quarter.

Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw a pass to tight end Marcus Pollard, and after a 5-yard gain, Bigby nailed him and caused a fumble that was recovered by Aaron Kampman.

Three plays later, Favre threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, giving Green Bay a 21-14 advantage. More importantly, it gave the Packers enough momentum that they would never relinquish the lead.

"It was a routine pattern. I always tell the guys to play fast and I'm going to back you up," Bigby said. "They threw the ball and before I could blitz, I was on him. … I just drove at him. I just tried to get everything on him.

"They [gave up] two turnovers, and I knew we had to do something big to get back in it."

Outside of Favre's accomplishment, the biggest feat Green Bay had was limiting Seattle running back Shaun Alexander, who had 201 yards against the Packers last season, to nine carries for 20 yards Saturday. The Seahawks had 28 yards rushing.

Seattle's loss ruined a homecoming for Holmgren, who coached Green Bay for seven seasons, going 75-37 and leading the Packers to three straight NFC title games, two Super Bowl appearances and one championship in the 1996 season before his departure in 1998.

The Seahawks' last playoff road victory is against Miami in 1983, the only one in team history. Since that victory, the Seahawks have lost in Los Angeles (1983), Miami (1984), Houston (1987), Cincinnati (1988), Green Bay (2003), Detroit (2005) and Chicago (last season).

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com.

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