Another Farewell to White

The Green Bay Packers didn’t disappoint the thousands of loyal Cheeseheads who turned Soldier Field into Lambeau South for Reggie White’s going-away party. Neither did White.

Ryan Longwell kicked a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter and LeRoy Butler came up with a sack and forced fumble in the last minute as the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears, 16-13, in White’s last regular-season game.

White, the NFL’s all-time sack leader, has said he’s retiring after the season, and it took him about 10 minutes to say goodbye to players at midfield. But there were still several hundred Packer fans waiting for him at the corner of the end zone, and he stopped for a few minutes, waving to them and pumping his fists in the air.

“It’s not over yet,” said White, whose Packers play San Francisco next weekend in an NFC wild-card game. “When it’s over, it’ll be a little more emotional.”

White leads the NFL with 16 sacks. He was sackless Sunday, though he did have four tackles and a pass deflection that led to an interception and score.

The victory was the 10th in a row for the Packers (11-5) over Chicago (4-12), and their second in three weeks. It kept their hopes for home-field advantage for next weekend alive, but only for a few hours. San Francisco defeated St. Louis, so the 49ers will play host to the Packers.

“I was hoping for a little more momentum,” Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren said. “We didn’t function as well as I’d have liked. We were a little sloppy, but we won the game and that’s what I was hoping for.”

Longwell’s winning field goal, with 9:49 left, was a chip shot after Dorsey Levens failed to score from the one. Longwell had earlier missed a 39-yard attempt and an extra-point try.