The 49ers (6-1) travel to Lambeau Field for a 1:00 ET kickoff against the Green Bay Packers (5-2). Brett Favre throws his eighth NFL season opener; Dorsey Levens shares the backfield with Travis Jervey. Antonio Freeman and Robert Brooks are the receivers. The Packers come off back-to-back wins.
The 49ers come off the 28-10 road win at St. Louis. Steve Young is the starter; Garrison Hearst is the lead back. Bryant Young leads the team with 9.5 sacks.[1][2]
Lambeau Field in November is the kind of road game that, in calendar 1998, beat reporters file as the season's pivot. The Packers have eliminated the 49ers from the playoffs in three of the last four years. Brett Favre is the kind of opposing quarterback the 49ers' secondary has historically had no answer for. The Sunday issue is the offensive line against the Packers' front. Reggie White is in his fifteenth season. Santana Dotson is the run-stop tackle.
Week 9 has the conference's most-anticipated divisional matchup at Lambeau Field plus a slate where the playoff race is settling. The Broncos sit at 8-0; the Vikings 7-1; the Falcons 6-2. The AFC East has the Dolphins at 6-2 and the Bills 4-4. Inside the division the storyline is the Vikings' offense, Randall Cunningham's 18 touchdown passes across the first seven games, and Cris Carter's pace.
Through seven games the 49ers sit at 6-1 with a plus 99 point differential, the conference's best. Young is on pace for 4,800 passing yards. Hearst averages 84 rushing yards per game and 6.0 a carry. Bryant Young has 9.5 sacks. The Packers are 5-2 with Favre averaging 285 passing per game and 16 touchdowns. Levens averages 4.5 a carry. Vegas opens the Packers as 4-point home favorites.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-2 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-2 | W2 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 3-4 | L1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 2-5 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2-5 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 5-2 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-3 | W4 |
| New England Patriots | 4-3 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 4-3 | W2 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 1-6 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 7-0 | W7 |
| Oakland Raiders | 5-2 | W4 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 4-3 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-3 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 3-5 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-1 | W3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-2 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-3 | W1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2-5 | L2 |
| Carolina Panthers | 0-7 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-0 | W7 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-2 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-4 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-5 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 2-5 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 4-3 | L1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-4 | -- |
| New York Giants | 3-4 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1-6 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 0-7 | L7 |
"The Catch II" (Packers vs. 49ers 1998 NFC Wild Card)
1998 49ers at Packers Week 9
1998 99 W09 San Francisco 49ers 22 Green Bay Packers 36
NFL on FOX - 1998 Week 9 49ers vs Packers - open
Flashback: Packers defend home turf vs. 49ers in 1998 matchup
1998 NFC Wild Card Classic Packers vs 49ers Highlights (Fox Intro) (the catch II)
1998 Green Bay vs San Francisco part 1
1998 Green Bay vs San Francisco part 2Brett Favre threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Antonio Freeman caught 7 for 193 and two touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers beat the 49ers 36-22 at Lambeau Field. Steve Young threw for 186 yards and one touchdown. Garrison Hearst ran for 99 on 17 carries and added a rushing touchdown. Travis Jervey ran for 95 on 17 carries with a touchdown. The 49ers trailed 22-7 at halftime.[1][2]
Antonio Freeman caught seven balls for one hundred and ninety-three yards and two touchdowns at Lambeau Field. The 49ers' secondary, on the field for both Freeman explosive plays, surrendered the kind of deep-ball afternoon that has defined Green Bay's wins over San Francisco across the late 1990s.
Brett Favre threw three touchdowns. Travis Jervey, in his second NFL start as the lead back, ran for 95. The Packers' offense produced 421 total yards. Young threw for 186 and one touchdown. The 49ers' offensive line gave up four sacks; Reggie White registered two.
The 49ers walk back to the airport 6-2 with the home game against Carolina on Sunday next. The wire copy is going to spend the column on the secondary; the third Sunday this calendar where the defensive backs have given up a 150-plus receiver. The film room is going to spend the week on the Cover 2 alignment on the Freeman 67-yard touchdown.
Packers 36, 49ers 22. Margin: minus 14. Record: 6-2, plus 85 differential.
A 36-22 road loss at Lambeau Field. The 49ers fall to 6-2 with the second loss to Green Bay in calendar 1998 calendar terms (counting the divisional round of 1997-98).
How it unfolded
The Packers opened with a Jervey touchdown rush to take a 7-0 lead. The 49ers responded with a Hearst rushing touchdown to tie at 7. Favre's first touchdown to Robert Brooks made it 14-7. The second quarter produced the Freeman 67-yard touchdown and a Ryan Longwell field goal to push the lead to 22-7 at the half. Young added a Rice touchdown reception in the third quarter to cut it to 22-14. The second Freeman touchdown made it 29-14. Hearst ran in his second touchdown to make it 29-22. The Packers added a closing touchdown to make the final 36-22.
The turning point
The second-quarter Freeman 67-yard touchdown. With the 49ers down 14-7 and the defensive secondary aligned in a Cover 2 shell, Favre found Freeman running a deep cross over the safety. The 22-7 halftime cushion was the margin the 49ers' offense could not close against the Packers' defensive front in the second half.
By the numbers
Young 24-of-39 for 186 with one touchdown and one pick; the lowest passing yardage in five weeks. Hearst 99 on 17 carries with a touchdown plus the rushing score; his sixth 90-plus rushing day of the year. Rice 7 catches for 60 with a score. Defensively the front produced one sack of Favre in 28 dropbacks; the secondary surrendered 279 passing and the Freeman 193 receiving.
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 24/39 | 186 | 1 | 1 | |
| GNB | |||||
| Brett Favre | 15/28 | 279 | 3 | 3 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Garrison Hearst | 17 | 99 | 1 | 30 |
| Steve Young #8 | 6 | 22 | 1 | 18 |
| Marc Edwards | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Terry Kirby | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Reggie Roby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GNB | ||||
| Travis Jervey | 17 | 95 | 1 | 12 |
| Raymont Harris | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Brett Favre | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jerry Rice #80 | 7 | 60 | 1 | 12 |
| J.J. Stokes | 5 | 39 | 0 | 10 |
| Terry Kirby | 2 | 29 | 0 | 25 |
| Garrison Hearst | 2 | 25 | 0 | 20 |
| Terrell Owens | 5 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| Marc Edwards | 2 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Greg Clark | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GNB | ||||
| Antonio Freeman | 7 | 193 | 2 | 80 |
| Robert Brooks | 3 | 48 | 1 | 30 |
| Mark Chmura | 2 | 25 | 0 | 19 |
| Tyrone Davis | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Raymont Harris | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Travis Jervey | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1998 W9 - 49ers at Green Bay Packers - Game Thread