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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- When Lambeau Field got loud and the Green
Bay Packers' defense got tough, the New York Jets got very quiet.
Tod McBride returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown
and Green Bay's second-string defense shut out the Jets in the
second half as the Packers won their preseason opener 37-24 Friday
night.
The Packers' backups held the Jets to 144 yards after halftime.
To the delight of a sellout crowd, Green Bay stymied New York with
a collection of rookies and seldom-used reserves like McBride,
whose touchdown with 14:37 left gave Green Bay its first lead.
"We challenged them at halftime to shut this team down,"
Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "I said, 'I don't care who's in
there, I want you guys to shut them down.' I should have said that
at the beginning of the game."
While the Packers got an unexpected boost from their defensive
reserves, New York wasted a strong performance by its first-string
offense by failing to score and making costly mistakes in the
fourth quarter of a sold-out preseason game.
Two interceptions and two fumbles after halftime allowed Green
Bay to score the game's final 20 points and beat the Jets in the
preseason for the second straight year.
"I thought we had too many guys crack under the pressure,"
Jets coach Al Groh said. "This is a hard place to play. For the
second year in a row at this same time, we weren't good enough to
win here."
The Packers went up 27-24 on the interception return by McBride,
a backup cornerback. He picked off an underthrown sideline pass by
Lucas and sprinted to the end zone.
"It was just a quick read, and I happened to see the ball,"
McBride said. "I just jumped into the route, and that can happen
quickly."
Ryan Longwell kicked a 35-yard field goal, his third of the
night, with 1:57 left. New York's Kevin Williams fumbled the
ensuing kickoff, and Green Bay rookie Rondell Mealey had a 15-yard
touchdown run with 1:35 left.
The Packers haven't lost a preseason game since 1998. The teams
will meet at Lambeau Field in the regular season opener Sept. 3.
Sherman, whose stoic sideline demeanor belied the emotion he
said he felt in his coaching debut, was most pleased by his
offensive line's dominant performance. Though starting running back
Dorsey Levens sat out with tendinitis, Green Bay rushed for 196
yards and allowed just one sack.
"I thought our offensive line absolutely dominated their
front," Sherman said. "Our offensive line took control of the
game."
Green Bay's defense allowed 286 total yards and committed three
penalties in the first half, but clamped down when Lucas replaced
Chad Pennington.
"Two interceptions, one for a touchdown, one fumbled snap -- you
can't put that on anybody but myself," said Lucas, who was 9-of-18
for 79 yards.
Two backup quarterbacks starred in the game. Pennington had his
second strong game for the Jets, completing 7 of 11 passes for 136
yards, while Green Bay's Matt Hasselbeck completed his first eight
passes and finished 11-for-15 with 162 yards and two touchdowns.
New York, which led 24-17 at halftime, got two first-half
touchdown runs from fullback Richie Anderson. Curtis Martin also
ran for a score before the reserves entered the game.
Donald Driver and seventh-round pick Charles Lee caught
touchdown passes from Hasselbeck. Longwell also kicked a 53-yard
field goal in the third quarter.
Ahman Green, acquired in a trade with Seattle to back up Levens,
bobbled the opening kickoff but had 39 rushing yards on the
Packers' opening drive, which ended with 41-yard field goal. Green
finished with 78 yards on 10 carries.
Favre was just 3-of-9 for 25 yards in his two drives. Jets
starter Vinny Testaverde was 5-of-9 for 103 yards, smartly
directing two scoring drives before giving way to Pennington.
Most importantly, Testaverde managed to stay injury-free for the
second straight game. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second
quarter of the Jets' first game last season and was lost for the
year.
"I can go the whole year without getting hit," he said with a
grin. "I'm just trying to get back in the groove, get back to my
1998 form. I think I made a little improvement tonight."
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
NY Jets Clubhouse
Green Bay Clubhouse
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