Packers Jumble Playoff Puzzle : NFC: A 34-19 victory over Buccaneers makes it a three-team race for Central Division title.

Word spread quickly that there’s still hope for Green Bay to win the NFC Central title.

The Packers didn’t need any help to earn a playoff berth Saturday, but they may have to wait until Monday night to learn if they’ll go into the postseason as division champions for the first time since 1972.

Sterling Sharpe went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the fifth time in his career and caught three touchdown passes as Green Bay (9-7) defeated Tampa Bay, 34-19, to clinch at least a wild-card spot.

With Chicago losing to New England, the Packers can still win the division title if Detroit (9-6) loses at Miami tonight and Minnesota (9-6) falls to San Francisco in the Monday night game.

“I’m going to watch some TV, that’s for sure,” Coach Mike Holmgren said. “It’s a special day. We’ve had our backs to the wall all season. If the breaks fall right, we’ll host a playoff game next week.”

Brett Favre passed for 291 yards and set team records for completions and touchdown passes in a season as the Packers outgained the Buccaneers, 433 yards to 214. He was 24 of 36 with one interception, finishing with 363 completions and 33 touchdowns to break records held by Don Majkowski and Lynn Dickey.

The Buccaneers (6-10) had won four games in a row but extended their record streak of consecutive seasons with double-digit losses to 12.

The largest crowd of the season (65,076 with 9,225 no shows) filled Tampa Stadium for what could be the Buccaneers last game in this area if the team is sold to investors hoping to move it to Baltimore.

“It’s not a fun time walking into a locker room after a loss,” said Buccaneer Coach Sam Wyche, whose 100th defeat including playoffs also made him the first coach in league history to lose at least 10 games four consecutive years.

“The good news is that we have a lot of good players, a lot of quality people in there. The players will rebound from what’s been a long, tough year.”

Sharpe had nine receptions for 132 yards, his fourth 100-yard performance against the Buccaneers, and has 94 catches for 1,119 yards. He scored four touchdowns in a game at Tampa Stadium last season and has now topped 1,000 yards five times in seven years.

Outside of failing to score after recovering a fumble at the Tampa Bay six, the Packers were virtually unstoppable in the opening half. Besides Favre’s touchdown passes of six, 22 and six yards to Sharpe, Edgar Bennett scored on a 39-yard run on Green Bay’s first possession.

“We’re peaking,” Favre said after the Packers extended their winning streak to three games. “I think everybody would agree that this 9-7 team is much better than last year’s 9-7.”

Craig Erickson completed 16 of 32 passes for 161 yards for Tampa Bay, which gained more than a third of its total yardage on a fourth-quarter drive that produced Tyji Armstrong’s one-yard touchdown catch.

Errict Rhett, a rookie who didn’t make his first start until the ninth game, also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark during the 89-yard march. After being held to no yards in seven carries in the first half, he finished with 54 in 15 attempts for a season total of 1,011.

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Packer Punch

The emergence of quarterback Brett Favre and rejuvenation of wide receiver Sterling Sharpe in the last six games of the season lifted the Green Bay Packers (9-7) into the NFL playoffs. A look at how Favre, Sharpe and the Packers fared in key categories for the season, the last six games (Nos. 11-16) and previous six (Nos. 5-10, when the Green Bay offense was slumping):

BRETT FAVRE STERLING SHARPE Att Com Pct Int Yds TD Rec Yds Avg TD Pts Season 363 582 .624 14 3882 33 94 1119 11.9 18 382 Games 11-16 150 234 .641 6 1735 18 43 574 13.3 13 177 Games 5-10 107 170 .629 4 970 10 24 247 10.3 3 142

TEAM Avg Yds* Avg Season 23.9 5086 317.9 Games 11-16 29.5 2293 382.2 Games 5-10 23.7 1640 273.3

*Total offense yards.