NFC Wild Card Game
Sunday, Jan.13, at Lambeau Field, 9:30am PST
vs
25
 
15

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Corey Bradford (R) goes up with San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jason Webster (L) and snags a pass from quarterback Bret Farve in the third quarter of wild card playoff game in Green Bay, January 13, 2002. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) The Lambeau mystique lives on.

Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes as the Green Bay Packers stayed perfect at home in the playoffs with a 25-15 victory over San Francisco on Sunday.

The Packers (13-5), who advanced to face the St. Louis Rams next week, improved to 13-0 at home in playoff games. Favre improved to 31-0 in starts at Lambeau Field with the temperature 34 degrees or colder.

It was 28 degrees at kickoff Sunday, and Favre was 22-of-29 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Favre guided Green Bay on a 93-yard touchdown drive after Tyrone Williams' interception of a deflection by Mike McKenzie with five minutes left and the Packers clinging to an 18-15 lead.

Ahman Green capped the TD drive with a 9-yard run.

Corey Bradford stripped Paul Smith of the ball and recovered on the ensuing kickoff, and the Packers ran out the clock for their first playoff victory since the 1997 NFC championship at San Francisco.

The 49ers, who also returned to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus, finished 12-5.

For a time, the Niners made Packers coach Mike Sherman pay for his questionable decision to go for a 2-point conversion that failed with Green Bay ahead 15-7.

The Niners tied it at 15 on Tai Streets' 14-yard touchdown and his wide-open catch on the two-point conversion with 12 minutes left.

But Ryan Longwell, who had his first extra point blocked in the first quarter, kicked a 45-yard field goal with 7:02 left for an 18-15 lead.

On their next possession, the Niners drove from their 28 to the Green Bay 41.

Terrell Owens beat McKenzie off the line and was wide open down the sideline, but McKenzie closed in and knocked the ball away just as Owens was about to haul it in.

The ball caromed into Williams' hands at the 7.

The Packers, who surrendered an average of 170 yards rushing the last four weeks - all to nonplayoff teams - shored up their run defense with linebacker Nate Wayne (back) and nose tackle Gilbert Brown (foot) returning to health.

The 49ers ran for just 71 yards, and comeback player of the year Garrison Hearst finished with just 42 yards on 13 carries.

Favre hit fellow Pro Bowl selection Bubba Franks with a 19-yard touchdown pass with 3:26 left in the third quarter, one play after Bradford's 51-yard catch.

That made it 15-7, but instead of sending out Longwell, Sherman went for 2, and it failed when Donald Driver was tackled shy of the end zone after a reception.

That made it a one-possession game, and the 49ers quickly made Sherman pay for his questionable call when Jeff Garcia (22-of-32 for 233 yards) drove San Francisco 61 yards in six plays for the tying touchdown and two-point conversion.

Longwell kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 9-7 lead when Green Bay's opening drive of the second half stalled at the 8.

The 49ers took a 7-6 halftime lead when Hearst scored from the 2 with 11 seconds left in the half, capping a 15-play, 86-yard drive.

The drive was the 49ers' longest in the postseason since a 17-play drive against Dallas in the NFC championship game on Jan. 23, 1994.

In his first game since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery after Thanksgiving, Allen Rossum returned a punt 35 yards, setting up Green Bay's 40-yard touchdown drive that Favre capped with a 5-yard toss to Antonio Freeman.

But Dana Stubblefield beat Chad Clifton to block Longwell's extra point.

The Packers returned the favor in the second quarter when Cletidus Hunt blocked a 34-yard field-goal attempt by Jose Cortez after Darren Sharper dumped Garcia for a 10-yard loss on a third-down safety blitz.

The Niners got the ball at the Green Bay 44 after Favre floated a pass to Tyrone Davis that was intercepted by Amhed Plummer, Favre's first pickoff in 115 passes.

Green finished with 86 yards on 21 rushes. Freeman caught six passes for 84 yards.



     
    
FINAL
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total
San Francisco
0
7
0
8
15
Green Bay
6
0
9
10
25

 
SCORING SUMMARY SFO GNB
1st Quarter
GNB TD  Brett Favre (GNB) pass across the middle complete to Antonio Freeman (GNB) for a 5 yard touchdown.
0
6
2nd Quarter
SFO TD  Garrison Hearst (SFO) rushed up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown. Extra point by Jose Cortez (SFO) is good.
7
6
3rd Quarter
GNB FG 26 yard field goal by Ryan Longwell (GNB) is good.
7
9
GNB TD Brett Favre (GNB) pass right side complete to Bubba Franks (GNB) for a 19 yard touchdown. (2-pts conv. failed)
7
15
4th Quarter
SFO TD  Jeff Garcia (SFO) pass across the middle complete to Tai Streets (SFO) for a 14 yard touchdown. 2 point pass from Jeff Garcia (SFO) to Tai Streets (SFO) is good.
15
15
GNB FG 45 yard field goal by Ryan Longwell (GNB) is good.
15
18
GNB TD Ahman Green (GNB) rushed right side for a 9 yard touchdown. Extra point by Ryan Longwell (GNB) is good.
15
25

 
 
TEAM STATISTICS
SFO
GNB
First Downs 19 21
Third Down Efficiency 6-12 7-12
TOTAL NET YARDS 276 361
Total Plays 53 57
Average Gain Per Play 5.2 6.3
NET YARDS RUSHING 71 106
Rushes 21 28
Average Per Rush 3.4 3.8
NET YARDS PASSING 205 255
Pass Completion 22-32 22-29
Yards Per Pass 6.8 9.0
Times Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost To Sacks 14 7
Had Intercepted 1 1
PUNTS 5 3
Average Punt 36.6 47.7
PENALTIES 3 3
Penalty Yards 30 25
FUMBLES 1 0
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Time Of Possesion 29:08 30:52
   
    
Passing
49ERS CMP ATT YDS PCT YPA SACK SYDS TD INT
Jeff Garcia 22 32 233 68.8 7.28 2 14 1 1
PACKERS CMP ATT YDS PCT YPA SACK SYDS TD INT
Brett Favre 22 29 269 75.9 9.28 1 7 2 1

Rushing
49ERS ATT YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
Garrison Hearst 13 42 3.2 11 1 0
Kevan Barlow 5 17 3.4 7 0 0
Tai Streets 1 9 9.0 9 0 0
Jeff Garcia 2 3 1.5 3 0 0
PACKERS ATT YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
Ahman Green 21 86 4.1 13 1 0
Donald Driver 1 9 9.0 9 0 0
William Henderson 1 7 7.0 7 0 0
Brett Favre 4 3 0.8 6 0 0
Dorsey Levens 1 1 1.0 1 0 0

Receiving
49ERS REC YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
J.J. Stokes 4 52 13.0 21 0 0
Tai Streets 4 50 12.5 19 1 0
Terrell Owens 4 40 10.0 16 0 0
Eric Johnson 4 36 9.0 13 0 0
Garrison Hearst 2 26 13.0 22 0 0
Terry Jackson 1 19 19.0 19 0 0
Vinny Sutherland 1 8 8.0 8 0 0
Kevan Barlow 2 2 1.0 2 0 0
PACKERS REC YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
Antonio Freeman 6 84 14.0 37 1 0
Corey Bradford 2 56 28.0 51 0 0
Bill Schroeder 3 31 10.3 15 0 0
Donald Driver 2 26 13.0 14 0 0
William Henderson 4 22 5.5 12 0 0
Bubba Franks 1 19 19.0 19 1 0
Ahman Green 2 12 6.0 9 0 0
Dorsey Levens 1 11 11.0 11 0 0
Tyrone Davis 1 8 8.0 8 0 0

Kicking
49ERS FGA FGM PCT LNG XPA XPM PCT PTS
Jose Cortez 0 0 0.0 -- 1 1 100.0 1
PACKERS FGA FGM PCT LNG XPA XPM PCT PTS
Ryan Longwell 2 2 100.0 -- 1 1 100.0 7

Punting
49ERS PUNTS AVG LONG BLOCKED IN 20 TOUCHBACKS
Jason Baker 5 36.6 -- -- -- --
PACKERS PUNTS AVG LONG BLOCKED IN 20 TOUCHBACKS
Josh Bidwell 3 47.7 -- -- -- --

Kick/Punt Returns
49ERS KR YDS AVG LONG TD PR YDS AVG LONG TD
Paul Smith 1 13 13.0 -- -- 0 0 0.0 -- --
PACKERS KR YDS AVG LONG TD PR YDS AVG LONG TD
Dorsey Levens 2 24 12.0 -- -- 0 0 0.0 -- --
Allen Rossum 1 0 0.0 -- -- 1 35 35.0 -- --

....