While Favre falters, defense carries Packers to victory
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers don't have a running game, and Brett Favre is beginning to play like a 38-year-old quarterback. So why are they the NFC's second-best club?
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| Green Bay's impressive defense carries the Packers to victory. (US Presswire) |
While Favre gets a raft of attention -- and rightly so -- it's the Packers defense that has the club 5-1 as it enters a bye week. It shut down Philadelphia in the season opener, holding the Eagles to 13 points, and it shut off the Redskins in the second half of Sunday's 17-14 victory.
"We're out there trying to make things happen," cornerback Al Harris said. "We know Brett sometimes tries to put the team on his shoulders and carry it. But that's a big burden, and we want to be there so he doesn't have to do too much."
Trust me, they were there when Favre wasn't Sunday. They produced three turnovers, including two in the second half, and absolutely chocked off Washington in the fourth quarter.
Let us count the ways:
• On third-and-one at the Washington 36, Clinton Portis is stuffed for no gain. The Redskins punt.
• On the next series, Portis is stuffed again -- this time on first-and-10 at the Washington 13. He fumbles, and linebacker A.J. Hawk recovers.
• With just under seven minutes left and the Redskins facing fourth-and-2 at the Green Bay 33, they go for the first -- with quarterback Jason Campbell throwing a short pass to the right flat. Ladell Betts catches it, but linebacker Nick Barnett catches Betts -- for no gain. "I had the back, and I wasn't going to let him get away," Barnett said. "They ran the same play to (Mike) Sellers in the first half, and he dropped it. You can fool me once, but you can't do it twice."
• With just over four minutes left, the Redskins take over first-and-10 at their 29. On the first play, Campbell fumbles. On the second, he completes a short pass for a 4-yard loss. On the third, he's sacked. They punt again. Total yardage in three snaps: minus 7.
• Now the Redskins have the ball with just over a minute left, but nothing changes. Campbell throws two incompletions and is sacked before dumping an 11-yarder to Betts on fourth down. End of threat. End of game.
"We made the plays when we needed to," defensive end Aaron Kampman said, "and that was the difference in the ballgame."
No one, of course, made more big plays than cornerback Charles Woodson, and since we're beginning to pay attention to the Packers defense, maybe we should start noticing the former All-Pro. All he did was produce an interception and pick up a Santana Moss fumble and run 57 yards for the game-winning score.
