NFL Old School Game of the Week: Favre Plays Through the Plan to Lead Packers to Upset over Eagles

A hit by Eagles defensive end Reggie White(92) on Packers quarterback Brett Favre would be a game-changing moment for the Packers franchise.

Hall-of-Fame quarterback Brett Favre is undeniably one of the toughest players to ever play in the NFL as evident by his streak of 321 consecutive starts at quarterback over a span of nearly two decades of football, most of them with the Green Bay Packers.

The streak is remarkable as Favre would stay in the lineup despite playing with several injuries such as the case in Week 10 of the 1992 NFL season in a performance that would reward the Green Bay franchise down the road.

The Packers came into the Eagles game with a 3-6 record as under first-year head coach Mike Holmgren who had been hired to end decades of mediocrity as Green Bay had made the playoffs only two times since the retirement of head coach Vince Lombardi following the 1967 season.

In the Packers' third game of the season, starting quarterback Don Majkowski would suffer an ankle injury as Favre, who the Packers had traded a first round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for on February 11th, would take over and lead Green Bay to a 24-23 comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-legend-of.html).

Favre would lead the Packers to a 17-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first start but Green Bay would lose four of their next five games as the team seemed poised for another losing season.

While the Packers were trying to seek relevance in the NFL, the Eagles were looking to return to the postseason under second year head coach Rich Kotite, who took over for Buddy Ryan after he was fired following the 1990 season after leading the Eagles to three straight playoff appearances.

The Eagles would miss the 1991 playoffs despite a 10-6 record as starting quarterback Randall Cunningham was lost for the season after he tore the ACL in his left knee after a hit by Packers linebacker Bryce Paup.

Two months before the 1992 season began, tragedy struck for the Eagles as Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jerome Brown was killed in a car accident as the team would retire Brown's number #99 and declare they would "Bring it home for Jerome" and win the Super Bowl in Brown's memory.

The Eagles got off to a 4-0 start before losing three of their next five games as tensions rose between Kotite and the team, especially the defense led by All-Pro defensive end Reggie White, remained loyal to Ryan

Despite their recent struggles, the Eagles seemed confident they would get back on track against the Packers as evident by Cunningham's postgame quotes after being benched during Philadelphia's 31-10 win over the Raiders when asked whether or it not he would get the start against Green Bay by saying "It's not like we're playing Minnesota or the Giants or the Cowboys or the Redskins".

The Eagles would get the ball to start the game as they would drive into Green Bay territory before punting the ball to the Packers, who would take over at their 15-yard-line as Favre would complete his first two passes of the game for 26 yards, then found tight end Jackie Harris for an eight-yard completion only for him to fumble the football after a hit by Eagles linebacker Byron Evans as strong safety Rich Miano would recover the fumble to give Philadelphia the ball at their 47-yard-line.

From there, the Eagles would advance to the Packers' 17-yard-line until the drive stalled as Philadelphia would settle for a 34-yard field goal by Roger Ruzak to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead with 2:20 left in the first quarter.

The Packers would begin their next possession at their 32-yard-line as Favre would complete a 11-yard pass to fullback Harry Sydney when Favre separated his left shoulder after being driven to the ground by White.

Favre would stay in the game as it was his non-throwing shoulder that was injured as he would hand the ball off to running back Vince Workman on the next play from scrimmage as Vince would took it up the middle and explode for a 44-yard run to put the Packers at the Eagles' 13-yard-line as Workman would run for one yard on the final play of the second quarter.

The second quarter would begin with Favre, bad shoulder and all, completing a seven-yard pass to Harris to set up 3rd & 2 at the five-yard-line where Favre would connect with wide receiver Sterling Sharpe for a five-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 7-3 lead 52 seconds into the second quarter.

 Following a Philadelphia punt, the Packers would take over at their 20-yard-line as Favre would go a perfect 5-of-5 on the drive as he completed five passes to five different receivers for 57 yards on the 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with an one-yard touchdown run by Workman to extend Green Bay's lead to 14-3 with 2:21 to go in the second quarter.

The Eagles would try to put some points on the scoreboard before the end of the first half as they would drive from their 21-yard-line to the Green Bay 41-yard-line until Cunningham was sacked by Packers linebackers Johnny Holland and Tony Bennett for a six-yard loss to force a Philadelphia punt.

Favre would take a knee to end the first half with the Packers on top 14-3 as Green Bay would get the ball to start the second half, though they would have to do it without Workman, who left the game with a separated left shoulder.

Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe would catch seven passes for 116 yards and score one touchdown.

The Packers would go three-and-out to give the ball back to the Eagles at their 23-yard-line as Cunningham would complete two passes to Roy Green for 31 yards and scramble for 13 yards that got 15 yards added to the run because of a late hit by Packers linebacker George Koonce as Philadelphia would cap off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run by running back Heath Sherman to cut the Green Bay lead to 14-10 midway through the third quarter.

The Packers would start their next drive at their 19-yard-line as Favre would complete two passes to Harris for 31 yards while Darrell Thompson would reel off a 33-yard run to move Green Bay to the Philadelphia 17-yard-line until Favre was picked off by Eagles linebacker William Thomas to end the drive Packers' threat to increase their lead.

After the Eagles would go three-and-out, the Packers would get the ball back at their 43-yard-line as Green Bay would convert on three straight 3rd down conversions as Favre would find Sharpe for nine yards on a 3rd & 3 at the 50-yard-line, followed by a 19-yard completion to Harris on 3rd & 12, and then another 19-yard completion, this one to Sharpe to give Green Bay a 1st & goal at the Philadelphia three-yard-line.

Favre would then fake a handoff and toss a three-yard touchdown pass to Thompson to increase the Packers lead to 21-10 with 10:37 left in the fourth quarter.

It would take the Eagles 24 seconds to get back into the end zone as Sherman would catch a screen pass from Cunningham and turn into a 75-yard touchdown to cut the Packers' lead back to four points at 21-17.

Following a Packers punt, the Eagles would get the ball back at their 11-yard-line as the drive would begin with a four-yard run by Sherman to set up 2nd & 6 when Cunningham threw deep for Fred Barnett where he drew a pass interference penalty on Packers cornerback Terrell Buckley to move the Eagles 34 yards to the Green Bay 46-yard-line.

Cunningham would try to connect with Barnett again on another deep pass which drew another pass interference penalty, this one on the other starting cornerback, Roland Mitchell, to give the Eagles a 1st & goal on the Packers' two-yard-line when running back Herschel Walker would punch it in for the touchdown to give Philadelphia a 24-21 lead with 5:45 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Packers looked to respond on their next drive but after two incomplete passes to begin the drive, Favre would be picked off again, this time by Evans, who returned the interception 13 yards to the Green Bay 20-yard-line, giving Philadelphia a chance to deliver the knockout punch with another touchdown.

However, Sherman would fumble the football when he was hit by Packers free safety Chuck Cecil as strong safety LeRoy Butler would scoop up the loose ball and run it back 17 yards to the Green Bay 27-yard-line, giving Favre another chance to lead the Packers to the game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown with 5:17 left in the game.

After completing a seven-yard pass to Sydney to start the drive, Favre would connect with Sharpe for a 34-yard completion to give Green Bay a 1st down at the Eagles' 32-yard-line where a holding penalty on Miano where give the Packers five extra yards and a fresh set of downs at the Philadelphia 27-yard-line.

Thompson would carry the ball on the next three plays gaining 16 yards until a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass would force the Packers to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Chris Jacke to tie the game at 24 with 1:31 left in regulation.

The Eagles would take over at their 11-yard-line with 1:25 to go and two timeouts in their pocket as Kotite went for the conservative approach as Walker would run the ball on 1st down as he gained nine yards as the Eagles seemed content to run out the clock and send the game in overtime.

But on the next play from scrimmage, disaster would strike as Walker was hit in the backfield by Green Bay defensive end Don Davey, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Holland to give the Packers the ball at the Eagles' 23-yard-line with 43 seconds to go and already in field goal range.

Thompson would run for no yards as the Packers would drain the clock to three seconds before calling timeout with three seconds to go as Jacke would come on to attempt the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out.

Jacke's kick was true as his 41-yard field goal split through the uprights as time expired with the Packers pulling off the 27-24 upset as Green Bay improved its record to 4-6 while the Eagles record dropped to 6-4.

Chris Jacke(13) is held up by defensive end Robert Brown after his game-winning field goal.

After the game, Cunningham apologized for his pregame remarks saying he "ran his mouth too much" while linebacker Seth Joyner criticized Kotite for his late-game management saying "Anytime you play conservative in this league you're setting yourself to lose" as it looked like the Eagles' season was falling apart.

However, the Eagles would win five of their last six games of the regular season, including a four-game winning streak to end the regular season, to finish the season with a 11-5 record and earn a Wild Card berth as the Eagles would win their first playoff game since winning the 1980 NFC Championship Game as Philadelphia would score 26 points in the 4th quarter to knock off the New Orleans Saints 36-20(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-eagles-stun.html).

The Eagles would be eliminated the following week as they would fall to the Dallas Cowboys 34-10 as the Eagles would not return to the postseason under Kotite who would be fired after the 1994 season.

As for the Packers, the win over the Eagles began a six-game winning streak as Green Bay would finish the season with a 9-7 record but not enough to qualify for the postseason as a 27-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings prevented Green Bay for making the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

However, during the offseason, the Packers would sign White as a free agent as Reggie cited Favre's performance against the Eagles as a reason to sign with Green Bay as he was inspired by Favre's toughness.

With White anchoring the defense and Favre entrenched as the team's starting quarterback, the Packers would make the playoffs six years in a row which included two NFC championships and a 35-21 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI for Green Bay's first NFL championship in 29 years.