NFL Old School Game of the Week: The Legend of Brett Favre Begins

Brett Favre starting his 16-year reign as the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback when he took over for Don Majikowski in the Packers' 1992 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

September 20, 1992 is a day that will live in hearts for some fans or infamy for his critics, as it was the game that started the legend of future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Brett Favre in a game that would be a microcosm of his career.

After finishing up his college career at the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

But after spending a year on the bench, Favre was traded to Green Bay for a first-round pick in the first big transaction by new general manager Ron Wolf and first-year head coach Mike Holmgren.

Favre was going to be the quarterback of the future for Green Bay as incumbant starter Don Majkowski had been plagued by injuries the previous two seasons after he led the Packers to a 10-6 record in 1989.

“The Majik Man” was the starting quarterback as the Packers began the 1992 season but after dropping the first game to the Vikings and trailing 17-0 at halftime to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second game, Favre inserted into the game and had his chance to take the reins as the Green Bay quarterback.

However, Favre could only lead the Packers to three points in the 31-3 loss which drop Green Bay to 0-2.

Majkowski was announced as the starter for the Packers’ third game as Green Bay played host to the 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals who were also led by a first-year head coach, David Shula, son of Hall-of-Fame head coach Don Shula.

Majkowski was poised to redeem himself and establish himself as the Packers’ leader but on Green Bay’s sixth offensive play of the game, he sprained ligaments in his left ankle after a sack by Bengals defensive tackle Tim Krumrie.

When Majkowski had to be helped off the field, Favre was forced into action and take over the Packers offense, hoping this time he would Green Bay to some touchdowns.

Favre was able to drive the Packers to beyond the Bengals’ 30-yard-line on two possessions in the first quarter but was unable to get any points for Green Bay as Jacke missed a 32-yard field goal and then lost a fumble when he was hit by Kumrie, who ended up recovering it for Cincinnati at the Green Bay 26-yard-line.

Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason completed only 11 of 23 passes for 128 yards and threw one touchdown pass, but was intercepted twice.

The Bengals converted the fumble into points as Jim Breech made a 20-yard field goal to cap off a 13-play, 72-yard drive to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

About three minutes later, the Bengals special teams unit put more points on the board, this time in the form of a touchdown as rookie wide receiver Carl Pickens returned a Green Bay punt 95 yards for a touchdown that increased Cincinnati’s lead to 10-0.

Following the Pickens touchdown, Favre led the Packers past the Bengals’ 30-yard-line for the third time in the half on a drive that was extended by a roughing-the-punter penalty on Bengals linebacker Alfred Williams.

However, the Bengals defense only allowed a field goal, a 37-yarder by Jacke, which made it a 10-3 game in favor of Cincinnati as the first half came to a close.

Favre and the Packers’ offensive struggles continued in the third quarter when Jacke missed another field goal, this one from 47 yards out, and Favre losing his second fumble when he was sacked by Bengals safety Darryl Williams, with linebacker Ricardo McDonald recovering it for Cincinnati at the Green Bay 26-yard-line.

Three plays later, Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason connected with running back Eric Ball for a 17-yard touchdown that pushed the Bengals lead to 17-3 with just 1:31 left in the third quarter.

It looked bleak for the Packers as the 4th quarter began with Green Bay having only gained 165 yards on 10 possessions and scoring only three points.

Green Bay needed a spark and they got on special teams courtesy of rookie Terrell Buckley, when he returned a Bengals punt 58 yards for a touchdown to cut the Cincinnati led down to seven points at 17-10 with 12:43 to play in the final period.

The Bengals responded to the touchdown with a 11-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with a 34-yard field goal by Breech to push the Cincinnati lead back into double digits at 20-10(double-click to play)

After the Bengals field goal, the Packers took over at their 12-yard-line needing a score of some kind to stay in the game.

It appeared the Packers were going to have punt as they faced with a 3rd-and-6 at the 16, when Favre scrambled for a 19-yard gain to give Green Bay a 1st down at their 35-yard-line.

Favre followed the scramble by completing three straight passes to give the Packers a 1st-and-goal at the Bengals’ seven-yard-line.

Then on 2nd-and-goal from the five-yard-line,Favre found Sterling Sharpe in the end zone for his touchdown pass as a Green Bay Packer, but more importantly brought Green Bay to within three points, 20-17 with 4:11 to go in the fourth quarter.

The touchdown seemed to turn the momentum in favor of the Packers as the defense forced the Bengals to punt the ball back, only to have Buckley fumble the punt which was recovered by Ball giving the ball back to Cincinnati at the Green Bay 35-yard-line.

The Bengals kept on the ground as Fenner ran the ball five straight times for 17 yards to set up a 36-yard field goal that would make it a six-point game and force the Packers to score a touchdown.

However, Breech missed the field goal only to have it nullified by all things a false start on the Bengals, pushing Cincinnati back five yards, but giving Breech another attempt to increase the lead.This time, Breech made the kick from 41 yards to make it a 23-17 game with 1:07 to go in the game.

Even though they had driven down the field for a touchdown on their previous drive, it was going to be tough for the Packers as they had no timeouts in their pocket and had to start from their 8-yard-line when Robert Brooks stepped out of bounds with the ensuing kickoff.

From the Green Bay 8, Favre hit a 4-yard pass to fullback Harry Sydney, drawing some boos from the Lambeau Field faithful, fearing their Packers were moving too slow.

But on the next play, Favre found Sharpe for a 42-yard gain that put Green Bay at the Bengals’ 46-yard-line.

Following the big play, Favre hit Vince Workman for 11 more yards, then ran up to the line and spiked the ball at the Cincinnati 35 with 19 seconds remaining.

As the Packers prepared for the next play, Sharpe had to come off the field after injuring his ribs on his 42-yard catch, being replaced by Kittrick Taylor, who had not caught a single pass during the game.

But Taylor would became a part of history as he caught Favre’s laser pass in the end zone for the 35-yard touchdown that tied the game at 23 with 13 seconds remaining(again, double-click to play).

After Taylor made the catch, Favre took off his helmet and ran around the field in celebration, but had to compose himself as he to be the holder for the extra point attempt.

Favre composed himself and held the ball for Jacke, who made the extra point that gave Green Bay a 24-23 win, the first for head coach Mike Holmgren.

After his heroics against the Bengals, Favre became the starting quarterback for the Packers, a spot he held until the end of the 2007 season, a span of 252 games.

Favre would break numerous NFL records over his 20-year career and irritate numerous fans with his waffling on retirement in the latter years of his career.

But for better or worse, all the Favre madness began with the Packers’ 4th-quarter comeback win against the Bengals.