Packers Have Reason to Cheer : Quarterback Answers Boos, Boosts Green Bay to 35-34 Win

Don Majkowski grew tired of hearing boos from Green Bay fans, so he decided to do something about it.

Majkowski, a third-year quarterback, didn’t know what to think when the boos rang out after the Packers fell behind the New Orleans Saints, 24-7.

If that was a new experience for the third-year quarterback, so was the second half when he matched a club record with 18 straight completions and rallied the Packers to a 35-34 victory.

“The receivers all wanted the ball and I just said, ‘Get open,’ and they did,” said Majkowski, who threw three interceptions in a 23-21 loss to Tampa Bay last week and another in Sunday’s first half.

“When they were booing me, I kind of said, ‘I think that was the first time I’ve ever been booed.’ I told the guys in the huddle, ‘They should never boo me.’ I knew I could come back and change things around.”

And Majkowski did, wrapping up his best pro performance--25 of 32 for 354 yards--by moving the Packers (1-1) 80 yards in 55 seconds and hitting Sterling Sharpe with a three-yard touchdown pass with 1:26 left.

Sharpe’s catch and Chris Jacke’s extra point made it 35-34.

The big man in the drive was Jeff Query, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound rookie who caught four passes, including three straight for 49 yards.

With the Packers facing a fourth-and-17 at their own 48 on the final drive, Query caught a controversial 23-yard sideline pass from Majkowski.

One official ruled Query was out of bounds, another ruled he was in and after an officials’ meeting, the catch was ruled good and upheld when the instant replay was inconclusive.

“We thought he was out of bounds, they overruled it,” Saints’ Coach Jim Mora said. “It’s history. We’re 1-1.”

Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert had first-half touchdown passes of 32 yards to Lonzell Hill and one yard to Hoby Brenner as the Saints scored on their first three possessions for a 21-0 lead.

After the Packers closed to 24-21, Hebert again found Hill for a 24-yard touchdown pass that gave the Saints a 31-21 lead with 13:24 left.

But Majkowski passed 17 yards to Ed West for a touchdown with 10:35 left, cutting the lead to 31-28.

Hebert then drove the Saints from their 16 to the Packers’ 15 where Morton Andersen’s 32-yard field goal made it 34-28 with 2:21 remaining.

After Sharpe’s touchdown catch, Hebert’s was intercepted by former Saint Van Jakes and the Packers ran out the clock.