Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 | 9:49 a.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- With two minutes remaining in regulation, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre walked over to the defense, a lead in hand, a trip to the second round of the playoffs ready to be taken.
He had just directed a touchdown drive to give the Packers a 27-20 lead, but now his former understudy Matt Hasselbeck had the ball for Seattle, and Favre, stocking cap on his head, did the only thing he could do.
"I told the defense 'You guys fight over it; somebody make a play,' " he said.
He did not know it was going to take until overtime to do it. Four minutes 25 seconds into the extra period, Packers cornerback Al Harris returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown and a 33-27 victory Sunday. It was the latest chapter in the Packers' emotional run into the playoffs, and it set up a divisional game Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
For a time, the outcome was increasingly in doubt for the Packers, though Favre showed little concern. After Seattle won the overtime coin flip, Favre gave no more than a shrug after hearing of Hasselbeck's declaration that the Seahawks were going to score.
In the end -- after each team traded three-and-out drives to open the overtime -- Favre was left watching and wondering who on his defense would make the first play as the Seahawks marched toward midfield.
With a record crowd at Lambeau Field roaring and the Seahawks facing third-and-11 from their 45, the Packers' coaches called for an all-out blitz. If the play failed, Hasselbeck could have had a clear shot at a receiver.
But the Packers' rush came and Hasselbeck quickly released the ball toward the left sideline. Harris read the route and darted in front of receiver Al Bannister for the interception, the game's only turnover.
Then Harris galloped for the end zone, thrusting a finger in the air about 30 yards before he crossed the goal line. When he scored, it unleashed a flood of Packers from the sideline.
Favre ended up rolling on the ground with his teammates, a giddy burst of relief for a team that had danced on the edge of disaster in their last two games and has now won five straight.
Seattle was devastated.
"It hurts," said Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, who coached the Packers for seven seasons, including the 1997 Super Bowl champions. "I'll be honest with you, I'm dying inside."
That the Seahawks, who had struggled on the road all season, were even in position to win was something of a surprise. They had contained running back Ahman Green, but Packers Coach Mike Sherman said he thought Favre (26 of 38 for 319 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions) had played one of his best games -- much better, he believed, than Favre's transcendent performance against Oakland the day after his father, Irvin, died two weeks ago.
Late in the second quarter, as the momentum shifted to the Packers, Favre conjured some of his breathtaking passes. The game had been a defensive struggle, with the Seahawks leading, 6-3, as each team settled for field goals.
But with a few snaps of his wrist, Favre had brought the Packers back. He unloaded a bullet pass to Javon Walker for a 44-yard gain from Green Bay's 20. Four plays later, on second down from Seattle's 23, Favre pump-faked as if he were going to throw to the right flat. But tight end Bubba Franks, who was supposed to run a corner route, had adjusted to the defense and ran down the seam.
Favre saw him and launched a touchdown pass so quickly that it surprised even Sherman.
When Seattle could do nothing on its next drive, Favre went to work again. On second-and-6, with a blitz coming, Favre heaved a pass into the swirling wind that Donald Driver leaped for and caught for a 23-yard gain. When Ryan Longwell kicked a 27-yard field goal, it gave the Packers a 7-point lead going into halftime.
Last year, on a snowy January night, the mystique of Lambeau Field was dented when Atlanta walloped the Packers here in the playoffs, a loss that still stings the Packers. When Seattle scored 14 unanswered points to open the third quarter, the Packers seemed on the brink.
Hasselbeck was called Mr. August when he was Favre's backup here, a reminder that Hasselbeck could be brilliant in the preseason. But Hasselbeck has enjoyed a breakthrough season, and even Holmgren, who has tutored both, has taken to comparing him to Favre.
Until the final play, Hasselbeck stayed with Favre, completing 25 of 45 for 305 yards, and on the two third-quarter scoring drives -- both 1-yard touchdown runs by Shaun Alexander -- he was 11 of 14 for 136 yards.
If anything, this was a microcosm of the Packers' defensive struggles. They blitz, but not always well. They are capable of making a big play and they can bottle up the run (the Seahawks had 49 yards on 21 rushes), but they are just as capable of letting a team march down the field. Hasselbeck, in his first playoff start, came close to one-upping Favre.
"Before we go out to the field for a game, one of the things we do is grab hands, look at the guy next to you and say: 'Hey you can count on me today. I'm going to play as hard as I can today for you, for my teammates,' " Hasselbeck said. "I think that is what I tried to do. I just tried to be there for my teammates."
But Favre drove the Packers to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead, and he put them in field goal range to win the game at the end of regulation. When Longwell's 47-yard attempt fell short to force overtime, it only added another layer to the drama that has recently enveloped Favre and the Packers. No wonder Favre stood implacably while the final play unspooled.
"There is only so much you can do," he said. "I knew I couldn't play defense, too."
He had already done enough.
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