1998: Jaguars Edge Bears Thanks to Long Fourth Quarter Drive

The Jacksonville Jaguars opened the 1998 NFL season in Chicago against the Bears on September 6. Much was expected of the Jaguars, who were coming off of an injury-plagued year in 1997 but had nevertheless compiled an 11-5 record to place second in the AFC Central and reach the playoffs for the second straight season. Rigorous Tom Coughlin had been the head coach since Jacksonville entered the NFL as a 1995 expansion franchise, quickly turning the team into a contender. QB Mark Brunell (pictured above) was less mobile in ’97 due to a knee injury but remained a formidable left-handed passer, and he had an excellent pass receiving tandem in wide receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. RB Fred Taylor had been chosen in the first round of the ’98 NFL draft although RB James Stewart, an original member of the team, was starting in the opening week.

Chicago, coached by Dave Wannstedt for the sixth year, was coming off of a 4-12 record the previous year. Erik Kramer was again the starting quarterback and RB Curtis Enis was taken with the fifth overall pick in the first round in an effort to bolster the running game, although he missed nearly all of training camp due to a contract holdout. Veteran RB Edgar Bennett, who had spent the previous five years with Green Bay, was also added to the roster. It was hoped that deep-threat WR Curtis Conway was healthy and would have an impact after missing nine games due to a broken collarbone. Moreover, there was much fan discontent with a club that had not reached the playoffs in four years.

There were 55,614 of those fans in attendance at Soldier Field on an 80-degree day. The teams traded punts before RB Tavian Banks of the Jaguars fumbled after catching a pass and the Bears recovered at the Jacksonville 37. The turnover led to the game’s first points as Jeff Jaeger kicked a 45-yard field goal.

In response, the Jaguars put together a long drive that included five completions by Mark Brunell. The first was to Jimmy Smith for 13 yards and Keenan McCardell had a 21-yard reception to the Chicago 46. Brunell converted a third-and-six situation with an eight-yard run and when he connected with McCardell again for nine yards, the visitors had a first-and-goal at the nine. But on the first play of the second quarter, Brunell threw a pass intended for Smith that was intercepted by CB Tom Carter to extinguish the threat.

On their next possession following a punt by the Bears, the Jaguars again moved effectively and this time didn’t fail to score. Brunell completed two passes to Smith and James Stewart (pictured at right) had a 30-yard carry around left end. The eight-play, 66-yard drive concluded with Stewart catching a toss from Brunell for a three-yard touchdown. Mike Hollis added the extra point and Jacksonville was in front by 7-3. The lead didn’t last long, however, when RB Glyn Milburn returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a TD. Jaeger’s point after had the Bears back on top by three points.

Short possessions by both offenses had the clubs trading punts until, with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears got the ball back at the Jacksonville 41 following another interception, this time by LB Barry Minter. Largely keeping the ball on the ground, Chicago advanced to the 16 in eight plays before Jaeger booted a 35-yard field goal with seven seconds left on the clock. The Bears took a 13-7 lead into halftime.

The home team had the first possession in the third quarter and, in a series that was highlighted by a pass from Erik Kramer to TE Ryan Wetnight for 30 yards, reached the Jacksonville 23, but Jaeger missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.

The teams traded punts until RB Ty Hallock of the Bears fumbled and LB Bryan Schwartz recovered at the Chicago 27. Following a three-yard run by Stewart, Brunell gained 17 yards on two carries and Stewart went seven yards for a TD. Hollis converted and Jacksonville was again in front by 14-13.

Once again the Bears turned the ball over on a fumble, this time by WR Bobby Engram after a pass reception, and the Jaguars had possession at the Chicago 32. Brunell passed to Smith for 20 yards and Stewart had a 16-yard run to set up a Hollis field goal from 23 yards early in the fourth quarter.

The Bears fought back with their next possession, advancing 72 yards. Kramer completed two passes and Curtis Enis had a 29-yard run among his three carries. Edgar Bennett gained the final yard for a TD and Jaeger’s PAT once again had Chicago on top by three points at 20-17.

A three-and-out series by the Jaguars led to a punt and the home team again moved effectively, featuring Enis runs of 14 and 13 yards and a Kramer pass to Engram for 21 yards on a third-and-three play to give the Bears first-and-goal at the Jacksonville four. However, two runs were followed by an incomplete pass and Chicago was forced to settle for a 19-yard Jaeger field goal.

Down by six points with 4:08 to play, the Jaguars started off their next possession after the kickoff at their own 13. Brunell threw to RB Daimon Shelton for eight yards and Jimmy Smith for seven. After a running play gained nothing, Brunell completed a total of six more passes, three of them to McCardell for 28 yards and the last to Smith for a four-yard touchdown. Having gone 87 yards in 13 plays to tie the score, Hollis added the all-important extra point and the Jaguars were up by one with 29 seconds left to play. Time ran out on the Bears at the Jacksonville 43 and the Jaguars came away with a 24-23 win.

Jacksonville led in total yards (367 to 321) and first downs (21 to 16). The Jaguars also converted half of their third downs (7 of 14) while Chicago was successful on five of 13. However, the visitors also turned the ball over three times to two suffered by the Bears.

Mark Brunell completed 22 of 35 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, giving up two interceptions, and was 8 of 9 for 73 yards during the climactic scoring drive. He also ran for 43 yards on six carries. James Stewart rushed for 115 yards on 26 attempts that included a TD. Jimmy Smith had 9 pass receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown and Keenan McCardell contributed 7 catches for 72 yards.

For the Bears, Erik Kramer was successful on 16 of 27 throws for 189 yards and no TDs, although also had none intercepted. Curtis Enis (pictured at left) performed well in his regular season NFL debut with 77 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Edgar Bennett added 30 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Curtis Conway topped the receivers with 6 receptions for 91 yards.

“We made a lot of errors,” said Jacksonville’s Coach Coughlin in evaluating his team’s performance. “I am pleased to win the game, but we have a lot of things to be corrected before we can expect to win consistently.”

The Jaguars won consistently enough, winning their first five games and going on to another 11-5 record that placed them first in the AFC Central. They won in the Wild Card playoff round before falling to the Jets at the Divisional level. After nearly pulling off an opening-week upset, Chicago lost its next three contests and ended up once again at 4-12 and last in the NFC Central.

As a footnote, neither running back that topped the Jaguars and Bears in rushing in Week 1 went on to have a big season. James Stewart was quickly supplanted by Fred Taylor and ended up with 217 yards on 53 carries (4.1 avg.). Curtis Enis suffered a knee injury and gained 497 yards on 133 attempts (3.7 avg.).

1994: Packers Overcome Lions in NFC Wild Card Playoff Game

The NFC Wild Card playoff game on January 8, 1994 featured two NFC Central rivals that had faced each other the week before to finish out the 1993 regular season. In that instance, the Detroit Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers by a 30-20 score, wrapping up the division title with a 10-6 record. The Packers ended up in third at 9-7 to qualify for a Wild Card slot (Minnesota was also 9-7 and got second place thanks to a season sweep of Green Bay).

Detroit was coached by Wayne Fontes and rebounding from a 5-11 record in ’92 after going all the way to the NFC Championship game the year before. RB Barry Sanders, who posted his fifth Pro Bowl season in as many years, was back in action after being lost with a sprained left knee on Thanksgiving that cost him the last five games of the regular season and a shot at the league rushing title. WR Herman Moore was a rising star and WR Brett Perriman was solid on the other side, but quarterback had been a problem area. Following the firing of offensive coordinator Dan Henning after 12 games, Erik Kramer was installed as the starter and performed well. There were injury concerns on defense, which was missing CB Ray Crockett while LB Pat Swilling was playing with a pulled hamstring.

The Packers, in their second season under Head Coach Mike Holmgren, were in the playoffs for the first time since 1982. 24-year-old QB Brett Favre (pictured above), who had taken over the starting job during the previous year, displayed tremendous potential and was named to the Pro Bowl, but was also inconsistent. He gave up four interceptions in the season-ending loss to the Lions, giving him a league-leading 24 in all, against 19 touchdowns. WR Sterling Sharpe was a consensus first-team All-Pro who caught a NFL-high 112 passes for 1274 yards and 11 TDs, but none of the other receivers were exceptional, nor were the running backs. The defensive line was anchored by DE Reggie White, while Bryce Paup recorded 11 sacks from the outside linebacker position and SS LeRoy Butler was an All-NFL selection.  

There were 68,479 fans in attendance for the late Saturday afternoon contest at the Pontiac Silverdome. The teams exchanged punts to start the game before the Lions drove to the Green Bay 17 thanks to a pass from Erik Kramer to Brett Perriman that covered 18 yards in a third-and-12 situation and a 25-yard run by Barry Sanders. However, Kramer’s pass intended for Herman Moore was intercepted by CB Terrell Buckley.

The Packers had to punt following the ensuing series and the Lions again drove into Green Bay territory, advancing 50 yards in nine plays and not coming up empty. Kramer completed four passes, three of them to Perriman, and a pass interference penalty added nine yards. But Detroit was backed up by a false start penalty, a sack, and a run by Sanders that lost two yards, and while a throw to TE Rodney Holman was completed, it could not overcome a third-and-20 situation. Jason Hanson kicked a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the opening period.

The Packers started off the second quarter by putting together a 13-play, 80-yard possession. Brett Favre was successful on four passes and had a ten-yard run along the way. Two of the completions were to Sterling Sharpe, the last of which was good for a 12-yard touchdown. Chris Jacke added the extra point to put the visitors in front by 7-3.

The next Detroit series got off to a less-than-promising start when WR Mel Gray, normally an outstanding kick returner, fumbled on the return. The ball bounced back to hit his face mask and went out of bounds at the six yard line. Kramer hit on two passes, to Holman for 16 yards and Perriman for 12, and Sanders took off around end for a gain of 44 yards to the Green Bay 20. A false start moved the Lions back and, following an incomplete pass, Sanders ran for seven yards. Facing third-and-eight, Perriman caught a pass from Kramer for 13 yards to reach the five. Two carries by Sanders got the ball to the one, and from there Kramer threw to Perriman once more for a TD. Hanson’s point after made it a 10-7 tally with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, and that was the score at the intermission.

The teams started the third quarter by again trading punts. The Packers were pinned back at their five and Favre threw a pass that was intercepted by CB Melvin Jenkins and returned 15 yards for a TD. Hanson’s conversion put the Lions ahead by ten points at 17-7.

Green Bay responded by driving 72 yards in seven plays. Favre completed four passes, including one to TE Ed West for 23 yards and the last to Sharpe for a 28-yard touchdown. Jacke’s extra point reduced the home team’s lead to 17-14.

The Lions came back with Kramer throwing to Perriman for 19 yards, an unnecessary roughness penalty that picked up 15 yards on what had been an incompletion, and then another pass to Perriman for 31 yards to the Green Bay eight. Following a three-yard carry by Sanders, Kramer went to the air again, but this time FS George Teague intercepted in the end zone and returned it 101 yards for a TD. Jacke tacked on the PAT, and in stunning fashion the Packers were in the lead by 21-17.

As the game headed into the fourth quarter, the Lions put together a 15-play, 89-yard series. Kramer completed four passes and Sanders had a 13-yard run that set up a five-yard touchdown carry by RB Derrick Moore. Hanson added the extra point and Detroit was back in front at 24-21.

The Packers had a short possession and punted and the Lions drove to their 44 before they had to punt in turn. There was 2:26 left on the clock as the Green Bay offense regained possession at its 29. Favre threw a screen pass to RB Edgar Bennett for 12 yards and to West for nine. A run by Bennett picked up four more yards and Favre tossed a short pass to Sharpe for another six. On the next play, Favre was forced to scramble and found Sharpe, alone in the end zone thanks to a blown coverage, for a 40-yard touchdown (pictured below). Jacke’s extra point put Green Bay back in front by four points with 55 seconds to play.

The Lions, following a kickoff return of just eight yards by Gray, weren’t able to move past their own 20 in the remaining time and the Packers won by a final score of 28-24.

Detroit had wide leads in total yards (410 to 293) and first downs (25 to 16), and was especially dominant on the ground (175 to 89). However, the Lions turned the ball over twice, both in Green Bay territory, to one by the Packers, who also recorded the only four sacks of the game. Special teams were a factor as Corey Harris averaged 29.7 yards on three kickoff returns while Mel Gray was held to 11.0 yards on four returns.

Brett Favre completed 15 of 26 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns while giving up one interception. Sterling Sharpe had 5 catches for 101 yards and all three of the TDs. Darrell Thompson led the Packers with 41 yards on 12 carries and added 32 yards on three pass receptions and Edgar Bennett rushed for 30 yards on 9 attempts while catching two passes for 21 yards. On defense, two of the sacks were accounted for by Reggie White.

For the Lions, Barry Sanders (pictured above) showed no ill effects from his layoff with 169 yards on 27 carries. Brett Perriman caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Erik Kramer was successful on 22 of 31 throws for 248 yards and a TD, but gave up two interceptions.

Following the dramatic win against Detroit, the Packers lost to the Cowboys the next week by a 27-17 score. But after the long postseason dry spell, 1993 marked the first of six straight playoff appearances, two of which resulted in Super Bowl appearances, won of them a victory. The Lions reached the playoffs after each of the next two seasons, losing in the Wild Card round each time, including to the Packers again the next year.