Visitor:  Green Bay Packers

Home:  Oakland Raiders

Date:  December 22, 2003

Monday Night Football

 

Scoring:

Team                1          2          3          4          Final

GB                   14        17        3          7            41

OAK               7          0          0          0             7

 

Visitor playmakers:

QB Brett Favre, TE Wesley Walls, WR Javon Walker, TE David Martin, RB Ahman Green

 

Home playmakers:

RB Charlie Garner

 

Network:  ABC (NFL Network rebroadcast)

Announcers:  Al Michaels, John Madden

 

Pregame:  No

Halftime:  No

Postgame:  No

Commercials:  No

 

Grade:  Very Good.  Would be a grade higher, but NFL Network edited some huddles.  Quality of the picture and sound is Excellent.

 

Notes:  Favre passed for 399 yards and four touchdowns a day after his father's death, moving into second place in NFL history for career TD passes while leading the Packers to a 41-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.

 

With a series of spectacular long passes that somehow found his energized teammates, Favre decimated the Raiders' patchwork defense with one of the greatest performances in his 13-year career. He finished just 3 yards shy of his career high while sending the Raiders to their worst loss in eight years. Favre, who went 22-of-30, threw for a personal-best 311 yards and four TDs in the first half, quickly turning a crucial game for the Packers' playoff hopes into a blowout victory.

 

With the first of two first-half scoring passes to Javon Walker, Favre passed Fran Tarkenton on the NFL's career list with his 343rd career TD throw. The three-time MVP finished with 345, trailing only Dan Marino's 420.

 

Favre got a respectful ovation from the normally vicious Raider Nation when he was announced as a starter in his 205th consecutive game, an NFL record for quarterbacks. He might have been drowning in emotion, but his performance was almost amazingly poised -- and his receiving corps was just as impressive against the befuddled Raiders (4-11).

 

On the Packers' fourth play from scrimmage, Favre threw a breathtaking 47-yard completion to Robert Ferguson -- a high-arching ball that traveled at least 55 yards in the air, the kind of throw that only a handful of quarterbacks have ever mastered. One play later, tight end Wesley Walls leaped for a 22-yard score in the back of the end zone.

 

Favre completed his first nine passes, including a perfect 23-yard TD pass down the Packers' sideline to Walker, before throwing an intentional incompletion out of the end zone. He then completed his next three, hitting Walker again when the receiver outmuscled two defenders for a 43-yard TD catch.

 

Many of Favre's throws were into coverage, but the Raiders' secondary allowed repeated catches -- seven of at least 20 yards. Favre capped the half with a 46-yard pass to Walker and a 6-yard TD to David Martin with a minute left.

 

Charlie Garner made a spinning 25-yard TD run in the first quarter, but Oakland's offense had no chance to keep up with Favre and his receivers.

 

Notes

•           Green Bay defensive lineman Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila had three sacks, giving him 10 for the season to become the first player in franchise history with at least 10 in three straight seasons. Gbaja-Biamila's brother, Akbar, plays for the Raiders, and two more of their brothers were in attendance at the Coliseum.

•           After the game, Oakland tackle Lincoln Kennedy said he plans to retire.

 

Running time:  1:53 (1 disc)