Green Bay Finally Gets First Win of Season, 45-3 : Packers Score Most Points Since 1984 to Beat Patriots; Fullwood Rushes for 118 Yards

The victory famine is over for the Green Bay Packers, and nowhere in all of pro football is there a happier man than first-year Coach Lindy Infante.

After 5 games of mishaps, mistakes and last-second losses, after wearing the unenviable label of being the NFL’s only winless team, the Packers won their first game Sunday.

They pounded the New England Patriots, 45-3, behind backup quarterback Don Majkowski, the running of Brent Fullwood and a defense that intercepted 5 passes.

“This is a very unfamiliar position for me,” Infante joked after his first win.

“The way this team kept its spirits up, we felt like it would be a matter of time before all the pieces began to fit in.”

Green Bay (1-5) scored 2 touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the second quarter to take a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Fullwood ran 33 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-3 in the third quarter and added scoring runs of 7 and 31 yards in the fourth quarter to finish with a career-high 118 yards in 14 carries.

Kenneth Davis’ 8-yard run with 2:59 left capped the scoring as the Packers produced their most points since a 45-17 win over Minnesota in 1984.

Green Bay gained 207 yards rushing, the first time the Packers gained more than 200 yards on the ground in 39 games, dating back to Dec. 1, 1985.

“We just ran right at them, ducking and dodging,” Fullwood said. “I ain’t going to let anybody run me down from behind. Hey, I just run.”

New England quarterback Doug Flutie, making his fourth NFL start, had trouble throwing over Packer linemen and linebackers all afternoon as the Patriots dropped to 2-4.

Flutie, scrambling and slinging passes from all angles, had 3 passes intercepted and 3 others either batted down or tipped.

He was replaced late in the third quarter by veteran Steve Grogan, who threw 2 interceptions before Flutie returned in the fourth quarter.

“It’s frustrating because it’s a loss,” Flutie said. “We didn’t make the big plays. We’re going to regroup and try to make the playoffs. I don’t know how, but that’s our goal.”

The defeat was doubly painful for the Patriots because they had 9 players injured, including wide receiver Stanley Morgan, who suffered a concussion when he was blocked in mid-air on an interception return. He lost consciousness for several minutes before being carried off on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for a neurological examination.

Majkowski, starting for injured Randy Wright, passed for a touchdown and ran for another in leading the Packers to a 17-3 halftime advantage. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 210 yards.