The Packers could say they planned it this way, planting Ty Detmer and James Willis along with coaches Ray Rhodes and Jon Gruden in Philadelphia to sabotage the feared Dallas Cowboys.
They haven’t been able to beat the Cowboys themselves, but their benchwarming ex-teammates Detmer and Willis did Sunday and the ramifications are huge.
Now, no matter what happens over the next two weeks, the Cowboys cannot take a lead for home-field playoff advantage over the Packers even if they beat them in Dallas for the seventh straight time. Had the Cowboys (5-4) defeated the Eagles and then beaten the 49ers this week to get to 7-3 while the Packers lost to the Chiefs, they would have been in position to grab the lead for the NFC home field against the Packers during their Monday night game Nov. 18.
As the Packers (8-1) travel to Kansas City and Dallas the next two weeks, they must worry about the 7-2 49ers and Eagles, but they already have beaten both teams and thus hold playoff tiebreakers.
The Packers are embarking on their second three-game road trip of the season as they continue through the toughest schedule in the NFL. But they are not the only contender facing a tough stretch. The 49ers host the Cowboys and go to Washington in two weeks. The Eagles have the Bills and then the Redskins at home. The Packers don’t face the Redskins, but the Redskins have games against the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys in an 11-day span Nov. 17-28. So with the Cowboys now at a relatively safe distance, the Packers are able to breathe easier.
Detmer, who backed up Brett Favre for four years and got into only seven games, outplayed Troy Aikman in Texas Stadium on Sunday and ran his Eagles record to 4-0 in relief of injured Rodney Peete, who may never get his job back.
“Ty’s a good football player,” Packers coach Mike Holmgren said. “I never wanted him to leave and under the old rules, he wouldn’t have. I’m very happy for him. He can play.”
Had the Packers known that Favre would have to spend time in a clinic for treatment of dependence on painkillers last May, they say they would have tried much harder to entice Detmer to re-sign with them as a free agent. As it turns out, the Packers might be better off that he left because Peete was 1-3 against the Cowboys. Peete suffered a knee injury against the Cowboys Sept. 30, opening the way for Detmer.
Willis was the Packers’ fifth-round draft choice in 1993 and played two years in Green Bay before joining former Packers defensive coordinator Rhodes in Philadelphia. Willis’ interception in the end zone and lateral to Troy Vincent on a 105-yard touchdown return sealed the Eagles’ victory.
To further illustrate how a Packer year is shaping up, another ex-Packer, linebacker Bryce Paup, got a sack Sunday to help the Bills hand the Redskins their second loss, putting the Packers alone at the top of the NFC.
Brumfield better: Bengals offensive lineman Scott Brumfield is regaining the use of his legs and could be released from a Baltimore hospital later this week if all continues to go well, his doctor said Monday. Brumfield, 26, injured his neck when he collided with a teammate during Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. “We’re guardedly optimistic about his prognosis,” said Andrew Pollak, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at the University of Maryland’s shock trauma center.
Brumfield, who was in fair and stable condition Monday, sustained a concussion of his spinal cord. He was able to move his arms well and was slowly regaining strength and movement in both his hands and legs, the doctor said.
Ty one on: Philadelphia is falling in love with Detmer, who earned the nickname “Pocket Rocky” in a radio contest. Despite his size (listed at a generous 6 feet, 190 pounds), his toughness is becoming a growing story. During his senior year at BYU, he separated both of his shoulders in a game against Texas A&M and stayed in the game. Said Rhodes on Sunday: “He took one of the worst whuppings I’ve ever seen a quarterback take. When you separate both of a guy’s shoulders and he stays in the game and continues to fight, that’s showing a lot of heart.”
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Something lost: When the Bengals rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Ravens 24-21, it would have been a game that reverberated around the whole state of Ohio for weeks had the Ravens still been the Cleveland Browns. Instead, it was just another game between two 3-6 teams. Tradition takes time.