Pack beat 'Skins 17-14

This was a telling game, as noted in my pre-game post. The Packers' statement coming out of this game was that they have a solid defense. A defense that came up big when it mattered most, a defense that generated turnovers, including a turnover that turned into the game winning points courtesy of Charles Woodson, who had a very good game.

We'll analyze this a bit more later, the good as well as the bad -- and there was enough of both in this game. But for now, all we need to know is the Pack is 5-1 going into the bye week, a couple games ahead of its next nearest foe in the division. We may regret the fact that that total could and should be 6-0. But at the start of the season if anyone had said the team would be going into the off week with only 1 loss, especially looking at the schedule, I think every Packers fan would have said, "We'll take it!" And so we shall. And if the Cowboys lose to the Patriots today, we could be tied for the best record in the conference. Not bad. Not bad at all.

So let's just enjoy this one for a while. More later.

Packers Win! Yowza!!!

Well, Packer fans, it wasn't pretty that's for sure. NFL Network announcer Chris Collinsworth even made the comment that if this was Brett Favre's last game at Lambeau Field he didn't think he'd be watching replays of this one with his grandkids one day. Despite outgaining the ViQueens 319 yards to 104 and limiting them to a franchise-low three first downs, the Pack was down 7-6 in the second half until about a minute-and-half left in the game when rookie kicker Dave Rayner booted the game-winning 44-yard field goal. Love those kickers!

The Pack led 6-0 at half, but went down 7-6 when one of Favre's 50 passes was picked off and returned for a touchdown; it appeared as if there was an incorrect route run by rookie Greg Jennings. The Pack again shot themselves in the foot when Bubba Franks fumbled the ball as he was fighting to get into the end zone with about 8-1/2 minutes remaining. Oh Bubba...

But the Packers defense played inspired football once again. They were aided by the play of the 'Queens rookie QB who played like, well, a rookie.

So, at 7-8, and on a three-game winning streak, the Pack is still alive in the playoff hunt believe it or not. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel compiled the following info to show who we should be rooting for and against going down to the last weekends of play. Of course, we still have to beat Da Bearz to close out the season and keep it all alive.

"You want:

* New Orleans to beat the New York Giants
* Washington to beat St. Louis
* Carolina to beat Atlanta
* Seattle to beat San Diego

There are a number of scenarios in which the Packers (7-8) can get into the playoffs, including ones where they wind up in a three-way tie with teams from other divisions and win tiebreakers because of a superior conference record. But it's all predicated on them beating Chicago in their season finale next Sunday at Soldier Field.

The scenario that seems most likely should the Packers beat the Bears would be the New York Giants losing twice, the St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons losing once and the Seattle Seahawks winning once.

If you really want to pore over the possibilities, here are a couple of links to help you: the detailed breakdown on the NFL conference standings and the NFL tie-breaking procedures."

Whew! Packers 17 - Lions 9

OK, the Packers won an ugly game 17-9. But they WON! Two wins in a row. And -- finally -- their second home win!

Detroit had 3 turnovers, the Packers 4 (3 interceptions and a fumbled snap). The Packers also had 9 penalties vs. 2 last week in San Francisco. The offense just didn't look in sync most of the day but, when they needed it, they came up with enough first downs and enough points. The defense really won this game, with 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. But they also had 6 sacks and kept the Lions out of the endzone all day long, even after one of the Pack's interceptions (a bobble by Ahman Green) gave them the ball on the Packers' 12-yard line. Al Harris covered the Lions' best receiver, Roy Williams, all day long and only allowed 1 catch for 11 yards in the first half. Charles Woodson had another pick, tying him for the league lead in takeaways with 7.

So, my pick on the score was a bit off. That's what I get for listening to all those pundits. But the Pack beat the spread -- for those who care about such things. And they go to 6-8 on the season, keeping them on the "Still Alive" playoff board. The ViQueens are up next on Thursday evening, again at Lambeau. That's a big game. The Packers will have to play much better on both sides of the ball to win that game. Something tells me, they will.