It had none of the sheer magic which made up their last several meetings, but the to the Green Bay Packers and their legion of fans the win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football last night was nothing short of a thing of beauty.
With the 20-3 victory, Green Bay raised its season record to 6-5 and gave the team its second straight win for only the second time all season, while the loss by the 49ers was their seventh straight setback, burying them deep in the standings of the Western Division and ending any hope they may have had of qualifying for the playoffs.
Most of the 68,304 paying customers had made their way out of the stadium by game's end, leaving only the Packer faithful in attendance to enjoy the soggy, yet satisfying conclusion.
The televised version of the game turned into a three-hour and one minute apology by ABC point men Al Michaels and Boomer Esiason. Their continuous appraisal of the 49ers as a team wallowing in their own demise overshadowed a good, but not great performance for the second straight week by Brett Favre and the Packer offense.
While ABC furiously searched for interesting tidbits on the sidelines the real story was unfolding on the field. ABC's Cameras focused for several minutes on a frisbee dog and the network bored viewers even more with stale sideline interviews with Desmond Howard and former Olympic figure skater Peggy Flemming.
One wonders how many football fans were turned off by Flemming's description of her battle with breast cancer right during an important Packer drive?
The telecast aside, the Packers unspectacularly went about their business of dispatching the pesky 49ers to stay within the thick of the playoff race and just a game out of the Central Division lead. It was a must game for Green Bay, the first of three consecutive "winnable" games the team will need if they are going to have any hope of post-season play.
"We certainly feel like we're coming together as a football team," Packer head coach Ray Rhodes was quoted as saying by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel following the game. "We'll take it one week at a time," he added.
A poorly played first quarter gave fans the impression they were watching two also-rans - two teams that once had it, but now lacked it. The Packers were inept offensively and couldn't seem to stop the 49ers, who marched the ball down the field twice, only to come away with three points.
However, each time San Francisco drove deep into Packer territory during the early going, it was the team's lack of a field general like the injured Steve Young that came back to haunt them.
The 49ers had driven to the Packer 22 yard line when Stenstrom threw an ill- advised pass into coverage and safety Leroy Butler intercepted in the end zone.
When the Packers couldn't move the ball, San Francisco came back again with a 32-yard pass to Jerry Rice and a 15-yard Charlie Garner run to move to the Packer 21 yard line. The drive stalled and they took a 3-0 lead on a Wade Richey's 35- yard field goal.
Green Bay then went deep on its next possession. Favre's bomb down the left sideline to Corey Bradford drew a 47-yard pass interference call against the 49ers and allowed the Packers enough room to finish off the drive.
On a second and three play from the 49er 24 yard line, Favre hit Bradford running free over the middle at the 11. Bradford made linebacker Ken Norton miss and after stumbling, made his way into the end zone.
After stopping the 49ers, Green Bay drove again, but this time Ryan Longwell's 28 yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
The 49ers were again ineffective on their next possession, giving the Packers another chance to add to their lead in the final minutes of the first half.
Favre drove the team down to the 49er 12 yard line, but failed to get the team into the end zone again, this time settling for another Longwell field goal attempt. This time the kicker from the University of California converted and Green Bay clung to a 10-3 halftime lead.
The Packers scored their final touchdown of the game near the end of the third quarter. It took 11 plays that covered 83 yards, but the biggest play was the last.
A confused 49er defense left tight end Tyrone Davis uncovered and in typical playground-like fashion, the heads-up Favre hit him with a quick hitter off the line of scrimmage and Davis ran untouched into the end zone.
The final Green Bay score came when a poor San Francisco punt gift wrapped the ball at the 49er 37 yard line. Seven plays later, the Packers tacked on three more points via Longwell's leg to give them a 20-3 lead as the rains began to fall.
"We couldn't afford to turn the ball over and we had no turnovers. That was a big plus for this offense. It was good to win on the road and on Monday night," coach Rhodes said.
In fact, it was Rhodes' first win on a Monday Night field in eight tries.
Packer general manager Ron Wolf said "We've been struggling on Monday night and it was an embarrassing situation for us. We've got that monkey off our back."
It wasn't a game that will go down in the annals as a great Monday Night Football game, but it was enough to keep Green Bay alive in the NFC Central, setting up a huge game next Sunday when the Packers travel to Chicago.
If the playoffs were to begin today, the Packers would be shut out. St. Louis, Washington, and Dallas, along with the three leaders in the Central, Detroit, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay would be in. That's despite the fact Green Bay has beaten them all this season.
With five games left in the regular season, the Packers chances of playing in the postseason will depend upon how the team competes in their next two games, the first at Chicago and the second at home against Carolina.
Following those games, the Packers will face Minnesota and Tampa Bay, both on the road. A task which may seem insur mountable at this time. The Packers will complete the season against the resurgent Arizona Cardinals at home on January 2.