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| Packers quarterback Don Majkowski ran for two touchdowns and threw another in the Packers' upset win over the 49ers. |
But if you talk to Packers fans, they will tell you about an magical season that Majkowski lead Green Bay on in 1989.
Majkowski arrived in Green Bay in 1987 after a four-year career at the University of Virginia where Majkowski helped the Cavaliers to their first ever bowl game in 1984 where the "Hoos" beat the Purdue Boilermakers 27-24 in the Peach Bowl.
Majkowski was selected in the 10th round of the '87 draft and spent the next two years splitting time with Randy Wright as the Packers' starting quarterback as Green Bay went a combined 9-21-1 over that two-year span.
In fact, the last two decades were considered the dark ages for the Packers has they made the playoffs only twice and four winning seasons since they won the first two Super Bowls.
Majkowski would win the starting job as the 1989 season and with his ability to create plays with his arm and legs, Majkowski earned the nickname the "Majik Man" as he lead Green Bay to a 5-5 record, with four of those wins coming by a field goal or less, including a memorable 14-13 win over the Chicago Bears that became known as the "Instant Replay Game" as Majkowski hit Sterling Sharpe for a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left after instant replay overturned the referees' call of Majkowski stepping beyond the line of scrimmage to throw the pass.
This win and the others like it dubbed the '89 Packers as the "Cardiac Pack" as they traveled to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in Week 11.
Not only were the 49ers the defending Super Bowl champions, but they had the best record in the league at 9-1, with their only loss being a 13-12 loss to their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams.
Even though they had a first-year head coach in George Seifert, the 49ers still had Joe Montana at quarterback, Roger Craig at running back, Jerry Rice and John Taylor at wide receiver, and an underrated defense that was lead by safety Ronnie Lott.
With the 49ers riding a six-game winning streak and Majkowski limited because of an hyper-extended knee, the Packers were not given much of a chance as they were listed as 11-point underdogs to beat the 49ers in San Francisco.
But to quote legendary ESPN anchor Chris Berman, that is why they play the games.
The Packers got the ball to start the game and used their running game to drive down the field as running back Brent Fullwood carried the ball six times for 42 yards on a 10-play, 69-yard drive that took up nearly seven minutes which was capped off with an one-yard touchdown run by Majkowski off a quarterback bootleg to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead.
Getting the ball at their 20-yard-line, the 49ers would drive down the field on the right arm of Montana as he completed all six of his passes for 77 yards with the last completion being a four-yard touchdown to Craig which tied the game at 7 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
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| 49ers quarterback Joe Montana would complete 30 of 42 passes for 325 yards and throw two touchdowns. |
However, the Packers would get the ball when on 2nd & 11, Green Bay defensive back Chuck Cecil intercepted a Montana pass intended for Taylor and returned it 16 yards to the San Francisco nine-yard-line.
After two runs by Michael Haddix picked up five yards, Majkowski went back to pass on 3rd & goal and fired a pass that was tipped by 49ers cornerback Don Griffin, only to fall into the hands of Sharpe for a four-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 14-7 lead with 9:54 to go in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the 49ers' Terry Greer returned the kick 17 yards to the San Francisco 25-yard-line until he was hit by Packers linebacker Mike Weddington, knocking the ball loose which was recovered by Green Bay's Carl Bland to give the Packers the ball at the 49ers' 25-yard-line.
However, the 49ers would dodge a bullet as they not allowed a 1st down, but force a 38-yard field goal attempt by Chris Jacke which hooked wide right to keep it a 14-7 game.
Following an exchange of punts, the 49ers were pinned back as they had the ball at their two-yard-line.
The 49ers would get out of their territory as Montana hit tight end Brent Jones for six yards on the first play from scrimmage, which was followed by a 13-yard run by Craig to give San Francisco a 1st down at their 21-yard-line.
San Francisco would run five more plays, picking up 19 yards when the two-minute hit as the 49ers faced a 3rd & 3 at their 40-yard-line.
That is the 49ers put the ball back in Montana's hands as he hit Mike Wilson for 13 yards to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Packers' 47-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Montana would complete his next four passes, with Taylor catching three of them, for 43 yards until he spiked the ball to stop the clock with 16 seconds left at the Packers' nine-yard-line.
Following the spike, Montana would find Rice in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown, completing a 15-play, 98-yard drive where Montana completed 10 of 12 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 14 with nine seconds left before halftime.
The Packers would take a knee to run out the clock in the first half as they headed to the locker room tied at 14, but having to go defense to start the second half as the 49ers would be receiving the second half kickoff.
However on the third play of the second half, Montana was sacked by Packers strong safety Mark Murphy, causing a fumble that was recovered by nose tackle Bob Nelson to give Green Bay the ball at the San Francisco 44-yard-line.
The Packers would pick up one 1st down when Majkowski connected with Sharpe for 12 yards to start the drive, but would be forced to punt the ball back to the 49ers after Majkowski was sacked on 3rd & 10 by Charles Haley for an nine-yard loss, pushing Green Bay back to the San Francisco 41-yard-line.
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| Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe would catch six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. |
The 49ers would get the ball at their 20-yard-line but would quickly be in Packers territory after Montana connected with Craig for a 44-yard catch-and-run to put the 49ers at the Green Bay 36-yard-line, only to have Taylor fumble the ball at the end of a five-yard catch that was recovered by Packers linebacker Tim Harris.
The Packers would go three-and-out punting the ball back to the 49ers who took over at their 28-yard-line and drive to the Green Bay 36-yard-line until a sack by defensive end Blaise Winter temporarily knocked Montana out of the game and forced Seifert to put backup Steve Young for a critical 3rd & 8.
But Young would be dropped for a seven-yard loss after he was sacked by Harris, forcing the 49ers to punt the ball back to the Packers who took over at their six-yard-line.
Following an one-yard run by Fullwood on 1st down, Majkowski would complete three passes in a row, gaining 36 yards, which was followed by two incomplete passes and then a 12-yard completion to Bland to give the Packers a 1st down at the 49ers' 45-yard-line.
The Packers would go back to the running game as Majkowski handed the ball off to Fullwood two straight times, with the second carry resulting in disaster as Fullwood fumbled the football after he was hit by 49ers linebacker Mike Walter, which was recovered by Matt Millen to give San Francisco the ball at their 43-yard-line.
From there, the 49ers would drive 30 yards in seven plays to set up a 45-yard field goal attempt by Mike Cofer, only to have the kick go wide right, keeping the game tied at 14 as the third quarter came to a close.
Majkowski and the Packers would drive to the 49ers' 13-yard-line when the biggest play of the game occurred.
On 2nd & 8, Majkowski threw a pass that was intercepted by 49ers strong safety Chet Brooks, who returned the interception all the way for a 94-yard touchdown, only to have it called back because defensive end Danny Stubbs lined up in the neutral zone, drawing an offsides penalty allowing for Green Bay to keep the football as they moved five yards closer to the end zone.
After Haddix was stopped for no gain on 2nd down, Majkowksi lined up in the shotgun for 3rd & 3, only to run a quarterback draw up the middle for an eight-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 21-14 lead with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers would get the ball at their 33-yard-line as Montana lead the 49ers down to the Packers' 27-yard-line before Seifert called on Cofer to attempt a 44-yard field goal, which he made to cut the Green Bay lead to 21-17 with 7:43 left in the game.
The Packers could not pick a 1st down on their ensuing possession, forcing them to punt the ball back to the 49ers who took over in Packers territory at the Green Bay 41-yard-line after a 30-yard punt by Don Bracken and an eight-yard return by Taylor.
With 5:49 left on the clock and needing just 41 yards to pick up for the go-ahead touchdown and with one of the greatest clutch quarterbacks in NFL history at the helm, it seemed inevitable that the 49ers were going to score and take the lead.
Things got off to a good start as Montana hit Rice for eight yards to start the drive, which was followed by a five-yard run by Tom Rathman to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Green Bay 28-yard-line.
But a false start penalty on guard Terry Tausch and a sack by defensive end Robert Brown pushed the 49ers back 14 yards for 2nd & 24 from the Packers' 42-yard-line.
Montana would get the 14 yards back when he hit Rice on 2nd down, only to lose five of those yards when tackle Harris Barton drew a false start penalty leading to 3rd & 15 where Montana connected with Rice again but only for one yard setting up 4th & 14 at the Green Bay 32-yard-line.
That is when Montana dropped back and fired a deep pass for Rice, only to have Murphy knock it down at the Green Bay 10-yard-line for an incompletion that forced a turnover on downs and gave the Packers the ball at their 32-yard-line with 2:02 left in the game.
With the two-minute warning and one timeout in the 49ers' pocket, the Packers would need one 1st down to clinch the game.
Keith Woodside would run for just one yard on 1st down, which was followed by an eight-yard run by Majkowski, setting up a 3rd & 1 with 1:51 left as San Francisco burned its last timeout.
Majkowski handed the ball off to Fullwood, who ran for 15 yards to the 49ers' 44-yard-line to pick up the 1st down and allow for Majkowski to take a few knees to run out the clock as the Packers came away with the 21-17 victory.
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| Packers running back Brent Fullwood carried the ball 16 times for 76 yards, including a 15-yard run that iced the game. |
The loss to the Packers would be the last time the 49ers would lose in the 1989 season as they would win their final five games of the regular season, including a 30-27 thriller over the Rams(Click on the link to read about that game: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-montana.html) to finish the regular season with a 14-2 record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The 49ers would then their dismantle their three playoff opponents, the Minnesota Vikings(41-13), the Rams(30-3), and the Denver Broncos(55-10)on their way to their second straight Super Bowl title and fourth in nine years.
As for the Packers, they would finish with a 10-6 record, their best season since 1972, but would miss out on the playoffs as they finished in a tie for the NFC Central Division title with the Vikings, who had a better conference record than the Packers to give Minnesota the division title while Green Bay finished one game back of the Rams and the Eagles for a Wild Card spot.
Majkowski would finish the season with 4,318 yards to lead the league in passing as he was selected to his first and only Pro Bowl.
The 1989 season would be the high point of Majkowski's career as a torn rotator cuff ended his 1990 season which was followed up with a benching during the 1991 season.
Majkowski won the starting quarterback job prior to the start of the 1992 season but then has previously stated was injured during the Packers' third game of the season and never regained the starting quarterback job.
Majkowski would bounce around the NFL for four more years as he served as a backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts from 1993-94 and the Detroit Lions from 1995-96 before retiring after the 1996 season.
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