Was it the greening of the Packers? Or the silence of the Rams? Whatever it was, 54,648 fans loved it. The 36-6 victory by the Pack over the outclassed visitors confirmed most-but not all-of the hopes and expectations of fans, media, and the players themselves.
The entire state of Wisconsin fervently believes the Packers will be Super Bowl contenders after spending $30 million in the offseason to improve a team that already had appeared on the cusp of glory. There were no discouraging words in the Packers’ locker room afterward.
“It was a good game for us,” said coach Mike Holmgren, “because we won and still made enough mistakes that I can hammer on ’em all week. There were a whole bunch of things.”
One of them was the failure to cover a free kick after a safety had given the Packers an early 2-0 lead. “You might never see another play like that,” Holmgren said. He certainly hopes not. The Rams covered the ball at the Packers’ 40 and got a 31-yard Tony Zendejas field goal out of it for their only lead.
Another was turned into the Packers’ first touchdown by a lucky break and the perserverance of Green Bay’s great receiver, Sterling Sharpe. It was a 50-yard pass that Holmgren said quarterback Brett Favre “just launched.”
The Rams had it covered all the way with two defenders. Notre Damers Pat Terrell and Todd Lyght went up together for the underthrown ball, it bounced off Terrell’s hands, and Sharpe gobbled it up for a 9-3 Packer lead.
“I told Sterling he saved Brett a serious tongue-lashing,” said Holmgren, “because that was a launch.”
Favre was not all that sharp despite going 19 of 29 for 264 yards and two TDs. But Sharpe was with seven catches for 120 yards.
Newcomer Mark Clayton also caught a TD to give the Packers a 19-6 halftime lead. Edgar Bennett then pounded over for two second-half scores, the first on an 11-yard run when he bounced off several tackles and staggered to the end zone.
But it was the defense that was the real star, and the much ballyhooed Reggie White had little to do with it. The former Eagles standout had a hand in just two tackles but did hurry Rams quarterback Jim Everett into a throwaway.
The leader of the Pack was strong safety LeRoy Butler, who terrorized Rams receivers with several lusty hits and claimed one of the two interceptions off Everett. “Is LeRoy a good hitter?” pondered linebacker Brian Noble. “Go ask Henry Ellard.”
It was Noble who led the charge against Cleveland Gary that led to the safety after a Bryan Wagner punt had been downed at the Los Angeles 1. “Billy Maas did a great job taking up two blockers,” said Noble, “and I came through clean. Unfortunately I missed the tackle, but we had eight other guys right on the ball.” Bryce Paup and George Koonce got credit for the safety.
The Packers turned the Rams’ vaunted “Ground Chuck” running game into minced meat, limiting it to 53 yards. Notre Dame rookie Jerome Bettis, in a late-game debut, had 24 yards on five carries. “He’s going to be a great player,” said Noble.
