Sep 9, 2007, 20:45 GMT
Green Bay, WI - Mason Crosby hit a 42-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, and the Green Bay Packers capitalized on a pair of Philadelphia special teams blunders to claim a 16-13 win in the season opener for both teams at Lambeau Field.
With time winding down in the game, the Eagles' defense stiffened and forced the Packers to punt. J.R. Reed raced upfield to try and haul in a short kick, but the ball glanced off his body and to the turf.
Jarrett Bush recovered, giving Green Bay possession at the Eagles' 31 with just over a minute to play. Following a couple of runs by rookie Brandon Jackson to wind the clock down, Crosby split the uprights to give Green Bay the win.
Jackson ended with 40 yards on 15 attempts and Brett Favre went 23-of-42 for 206 yards with an interception. Donald Driver hauled in six balls for 66 yards for the Packers (1-0). Favre picked up victory No. 148 for his career, which ties John Elway's quarterback win record.
'I think ultimately you're judged by wins and losses,' said Favre, 'but I think that is an unfair stat to the rest of my team. How can the quarterback, who is one of 53, be labeled with wins and losses and not the center or the safety or whatever? But's that's the way it is and I'm glad there's a lot more wins than there is losses.'
Donovan McNabb, seeing his first real game action since suffering a torn ACL last November, went 15-of-33 for 184 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Brian Westbrook had 85 rushing yards and added 46 more yards receiving for the Eagles (0-1), who are now just 3-6 in openers under head coach Andy Reid.
Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard left in the second quarter with a knee injury, and did not return. He is expected to have an MRI on Monday. Sheppard's replacement, Joselio Hanson, also left with an injury.
The Eagles came sloppily out of the chute, resulting in a 10-point deficit.
The Packers went three-and-out on their opening possession, but Greg Lewis was hit just as he tried to haul in the punt, jarring the ball loose. A wild scramble ensued and the ball caromed all the way into the end zone. When the scrum cleared, Green Bay had possession for the touchdown.
McNabb was intercepted by Nick Barnett in the next sequence, resulting in a 53-yard Crosby field goal for a 10-0 Packers lead.
'Green Bay is a good football team and we respect the things that they did, but I think today we hurt ourselves more than they hurt us,' said Westbrook.
Philadelphia found its rhythm offensively shortly thereafter, and a 37-yard completion from McNabb to Kevin Curtis at the end of the first quarter moved the Eagles deep into Packer territory. David Akers booted a 33-yard field goal moments later to put his team on the board.
On their next possession, the Eagles marched 67 yards on nine plays, and tied the game at 10-10 when McNabb and Jason Avant hooked up for a nine-yard TD completion over the middle.
The teams exchanged field goals in the third to set up the dramatic finish. Akers hit his from 47 yards out to give the Eagles a brief 13-10 lead, and Crosby tied it with a 37-yarder in the final minute of the stanza. Twice on that Green Bay drive, Favre escaped pressure to resurrect the play before pulling off improbable completions.
Game Notes
Packers cornerback Al Harris left in the first quarter with a right elbow injury, but returned in the second quarter...Avant finished with three catches for 54 yards...The Eagles accumulated 283 total yards to the Packers' 215...Green Bay running back Vernand Morency and wide receiver Greg Jennings were inactive.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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