Despite the mercury on the thermometers reading between zero and ten degrees and wind chills well below zero, and Brett Favre's 38-1 record in Lambeau Field when temperatures are 34 degrees or lower, the Jacksonville Jaguars came out of Green Bay with an exciting 28-25 victory in their first ever trip to the "frozen tundra."
The Jaguars came out of their cages fierce and determined to keep their playoff hopes alive. They struck quickly by scoring on their first drive in just three plays. On the second play of the drive Fred Taylor broke off a 46 yard run, his longest of the season. On the very next play, Jimmy Smith caught a Byron Leftwich pass in the corner of the end zone for a 31 yard touchdown.
The game would get sloppy after that drive for much of the first half. Brett Favre would fumble on the Packers opening possession. Green Bay was forced to punt, but David Allen would fumble on the return. The Packers took over at the Jaguars 30, but Ahman Green would fumble on the third play of the drive. Ryan Longwell would make his first FG attempt in the second quarter, but then missed a shorter kick on the next drive.
Another strange play occurred on the drive following Longwell's missed field goal. Byron Leftwich was hit on the arm by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and the ball would be knocked loose. The play was never blown dead and no one picked up the ball. Jaguars offensive lineman Vince Manuwai picked up the ball and Darren Sharper, who appeared to be the only player paying attention to what was going on, tapped the ball out of Manuwai's hand and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
Jacksonville would strike back. After three penalties by Packers defensive backs, the Jags were in the red zone within three plays. Leftwich would hit Jimmy Smith in stride on a fade pattern to the back of the end zone. The Packers would have one more chance and even got into field goal position, but Favre and Green botched a handoff and rookie linebacker Daryl Smith pounced on the fumble. The first half would end with the Jaguars leading 14-10.
The second half was action packed, as well. Green Bay scored on the opening possession as Favre found Donald Driver for a 32 yard touchdown. Jacksonville answered right back once again and Fred Taylor would take a handoff 37 yards for a touchdown. It was the third scoring drive of 4 plays or less.
The Packers would put together a long drive and set themselves up with a goal-to-go situation. On first and goal, the Packers tried to pass and Brett Favre threw an interception right to Rashean Mathis. Mathis said it was the easiest interception he ever made.
The key drive for the Jaguars would come in the fourth quarter. The Jags lead 21-17. On third and eight, Fred Taylor would run for 15 yards and a first down. On the next play, Taylor gained another 21 yards and had the Jaguars first and goal at the 4. The Jaguars have struggled so many times inside the red zone. Greg Jones and Fred Taylor each had their cracks from the goal line and both were stuffed. On 4th and goal, Jack Del Rio elected to go for the touchdown instead of taking a field goal that would put them up by seven. Greg Jones would pound it in. The Jags lead 28-17 and would never look back. On the first play of the next drive, Brett Favre would find Rashean Mathis for his second interception of the game.
On the Packers next drive, Donovan Darius would lay a vicious hit on Robert Ferguson. Darius stretched his arm out and clotheslined Ferguson. Ferguson's helmet was taken off by the hit and he would need to be taken off on a stretcher. Darius said he was trying to strip the ball. He was fined $75,000 for the hit, but not suspended. The two players have talked since and there are no hard feelings. The drive would result in a Deon Grant interception inside the end zone.
Del Rio has made mental toughness a theme for this team. It's the only way you could prepare a team that plays half of their games in Florida for a game against a team that plays games in below freezing temperatures. You need to be mentally tough when the odds are against you. You can't look past the fact that Brett Favre is almost perfect at home in those kind of conditions, but you can overcome that by staying mentally focused.
Jacksonville has done just that and now have the inside track for the 6th and final AFC playoff spot. Two more Jaguars wins combined with a Ravens loss vs. Pittsburgh or Miami will get the Jags in. This team certainly has the make of the same Cinderella story team that won two road playoff games in the franchise's second year of existence in 1996.
