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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Steve Beuerlein seized the chance to be a hero. Brett Favre never got the opportunity.
Beuerlein completed a magnificent day by rushing for a 5-yard
touchdown as time expired, giving the Carolina Panthers a 33-31
victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
|  | | Panthers wide receiver Patrick Jeffers, who caught eight passes for 147 yards, leaps over Packers linebacker Jude Waddy. |
Beuerlein, who was 29-of-43, picked apart the Packers' confused
pass defense for 373 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the
Panthers on a 63-yard drive in the final 3:52 for the winning
score.
A 5-yard quarterback draw by Beuerlein, one of football's least
mobile quarterbacks, was the final improbability in Carolina's
emotional win at one of football's toughest venues.
"That's not one of my fortés," Beuerlein said of his scramble
and dive. "Five yards is about my limit. We were trying to catch
them off-guard, and it worked."
Beuerlein was mobbed by his teammates moments after he took the
fourth-down snap, dodged through the swarm of linemen in front of
him and dived over the goal line while being hit by two Packers.
The Lambeau Field crowd, which saw Green Bay lose at home in
December for the first time in Favre's career, sat in silence.
"That's about as much fun as I've had in winning a game," said
Panthers coach George Seifert, who won two Super Bowls with San
Francisco. "You can't say enough about Steve. He just kept
bouncing back."
"I've never been involved in a play like that to win a game,"
Beuerlein said. "Fortunately, (Seifert) had the confidence in
me."
A clock-management blunder by Packers coach Ray Rhodes took the
ball out of the hands of Favre, who led three last-minute comebacks
this season.
Rhodes, who had three timeouts, allowed 40 seconds to run off
the clock after Wesley Walls caught a pass at the 5 on third down
with 45 seconds left. Afterward, Rhodes couldn't articulate his
strategy in the final minute.
"I'm miffed at myself about it," Rhodes said. "I don't know
how much time I could have left our offense, but I was hoping to at
least leave them something, and I didn't get that part done. ...
The idea was we had one play to make and get us off the field."
Favre, who said he lobbied Rhodes for a timeout, chose his words
carefully.
"We could have thrown for 500 yards today," Favre said. "I
was hoping we would have the ball last, especially at our place."
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GAME NOTES |
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Jason Peter returned to Carolina's starting lineup after missing seven games with a shoulder injury. He made no tackles.
Brett Favre had the 25th 300-yard passing game of his career.
A 101-yard interception return for a touchdown by Darren Sharper in the first quarter was called back on an illegal contact penalty
against Jude Waddy.
Brett Favre drew a laugh from the crowd when he faked Carolina linebacker Kevin Greene nearly out of his shoes with
a stutter-step in the third quarter. Favre grabbed Greene in a playful bear hug when he ran back to the huddle.
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Favre lost a December home game for the first time in his eight
years with the Packers. He also suffered his first home loss in a
game with temperatures of 35 degrees or less, though the weather
wasn't a factor on a crisp, clear day at Lambeau.
The Panthers appeared to have the game won with 58 seconds left
when Beuerlein hit Walls with an 8-yard touchdown pass. But
officials reviewed the play and ruled Beuerlein crossed the line of
scrimmage to make the throw.
"It looked bad then," said Walls, who also caught a desperate
18-yard pass on fourth down just moments before Beuerlein's
heroics. "The momentum changed, but we didn't let it bother us."
Green Bay (7-6) had its three-game winning streak snapped and
took a severe blow to its playoff hopes. The Packers, who lost
three home games in the last six years combined, have lost three
home games in a season for the first time since 1991.
"It's beyond me how we could play this bad at home," Packers
safety LeRoy Butler said. "Some of their guys were so wide-open,
you could almost underhand them the ball."
Patrick Jeffers had 147 receiving yards and two touchdown
catches for the Panthers, who scored on all four of their second-half possessions.
Carolina (6-7) lost three fumbles and had just 13 rushing yards
-- 5 on Beuerlein's winning run -- in a back-and-forth game that
featured eight lead changes and poor pass defense from both teams.
Favre and Beuerlein were rarely pressured and frequently threw to
wide-open receivers.
Favre was 26-of-38 for 302 yards, throwing touchdown passes to
Antonio Freeman and rookie Donald Driver. Favre also topped 30,000
career passing yards, becoming the 23rd quarterback -- and the
third-youngest -- to hit the mark.
Green Bay took a 31-27 lead with 4:00 to play on William
Henderson's 1-yard dive, capping a 52-yard drive. Keith McKenzie
had an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first
quarter.
Dorsey Levens missed his second straight game for the Packers with bruised ribs.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Carolina Clubhouse
Green Bay Clubhouse
Week 14 wrap-ups
Week 14 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 14
Week 14 stats leaders
PrimeTime Players
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Steve Beuerlein explains the reasoning behind the game-winning play.
wav: 143 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Brett Farve answers the question "Where do we go from here?"
wav: 161 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ray Rhodes says the Packers are fighting for their lives.
wav: 56 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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