The moment of silence for Walter Payton before the game Sunday was followed by moments of silliness by the Packers, and if there was any connection, the Packers weren’t saying.
“I think the Bears had a 12th man out there,” said Paul Wiggin, pro scout for the Minnesota Vikings.
Bears lore will record it that way. There is no better explanation, certainly none more dramatic. Payton’s hand blocked Ryan Longwell’s field goal to preserve the 14-13 win. The snap was low because center Rob Davis is an ex-Bear. The Bears had won in Lambeau Field only four times since Payton retired in 1987, so it was about time.
But the Packers will remember more mundane explanations. After three awful performances in four games, they have plenty to worry about. Nobody mentioned Payton among the culprits responsible for a 4-4 record, the first time the Packers have been as low as .500 at the halfway mark since 1994.
That was when Mike Holmgren coached, as if Ray Rhodes needs another reminder. He got a memo hand-delivered by Holmgren himself just six days earlier when the Seattle Seahawks rudely made themselves at home here. Now the Packers have lost two in a row in Lambeau for the first time since 1991, which was before Brett Favre arrived.
“This is as ugly as it gets for me,” Rhodes said. “It was a game we should win and we didn’t.”
Said Favre: “I figured I’d be in here saying, `Another great come-from-behind win.’ “
Coming from behind is the way the Packers won three of their first four games. But that seems like ancient history as they disintegrate into confusion and sloppiness. They all claim they are running the same offense under coordinator Sherman Lewis, but Favre wore a wrist band as the Packers said they tried to simplify the offense last week.
Favre’s interception in the end zone was his 13th, which may be why Rhodes and Lewis didn’t allow the three-time league MVP to go for it in the end. Instead, they opted for the kicker, who had two field goals blocked in two years under Holmgren and two more blocked in the last six days.
Rhodes said he debated about kicking on third down in case the snap or hold were botched, but decided to have Favre sneak the ball to the middle of the field. Longwell did not blame the snap or hold for his low kick, but neither was picture-perfect unless viewed from a Bears angle.
With a first down on the Bears’ 16, Rhodes did not allow Favre to take a shot at the end zone for three downs, figuring he was already in position to win and was worried about a sack on a blitz.
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“I mentioned it once or twice over on the sidelines,” Favre said. “I used to drive Mike crazy, and I’m probably driving Ray crazy. I believe I can score every play. It’s easy to question after the fact. I would like to have taken a shot, but I’m not criticizing anything.”
Favre said he wasn’t aware that Rhodes was contemplating a kick on third down.
“He would have had a hard time dragging me off the field on third down,” Favre said.
Had Bears kicker Chris Boniol made his 34-yard chip shot to make it 17-13, the Packers would have had to allow Favre to go for the end zone. So maybe Boniol was the 12th man. Maybe Payton blew his kick wide to keep the ball out of Favre’s hand.
The Bears had more than 12 men helping them Sunday, and most of them wore green.
Antonio Freeman dropped another pass that might have gone for six.
Mike McKenzie’s illegal-use-of-hands penalty wiped out an interception by Darren Sharper.
Dorsey Levens ran a fourth-quarter pass route where he knew no Bears defender had a chance–out of bounds.
Also in the fourth quarter, Freeman was called for offensive pass interference in the end zone and blocker Mike Wahle was called for illegal use of hands on the same play.
The Bears outsmarted the Packers on their first touchdown drive by running when Rhodes was playing pass.
“Against run-and-shoot principles, you worry about the pass, and they ran a lot more effectively than I anticipated,” Rhodes said. “Against the run-and-shoot, the last thing you think is the run is going to hurt you. With (Curtis) Enis in the game, he’s the guy who’s going to run. Against some runs, we had our smaller group in there.”
Favre gave the Bears credit when asked.
“You don’t go to Green Bay and Minnesota and win by being average,” Favre said. “They have good talent. I don’t mean this disrespectfully, but they have kind of a no-name bunch, not star players. But I tip my hat to them.”
Favre said he noticed “nothing out of the ordinary on either side” in terms of intensity. Fox-TV’s John Madden said he thought the Packers were “sleepwalking.”
“If you’re playing bad and still winning, no one cares,” Favre said. “Everybody is an expert when you’re down.”
It was Favre’s 117th consecutive start, breaking Ron Jaworski’s record for quarterbacks since the 1970 merger.
“I feel very fortunate to have made it this long, and I hope I make it another 117,” Favre said. “But I also like to win. This is a very unusual situation for us. It wasn’t our day I guess.”
Still, one easy kick and the Packers are celebrating.
“We clearly felt we should be able to go out and get things done against them,” Rhodes said. “And they stymied everything and ran the ball on us.
“When you get in position to win and don’t win it, it kills you. This is a kick in the rear end.”