Same Old Stories in NFL

Having just scored on a two-point conversion run up the middle that virtually slammed the door on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season, Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre tried to reverse dunk the ball over the crossbar of the goal post Sunday at Lambeau Field.

He came up embarrassingly short.

“I was thinking, ‘What am I doing? I can’t jump,’ ” Favre later said sheepishly.

OK, so the man isn’t Michael Jordan.

Sunday, it was enough to be Brett Favre. It was more than enough for the Packers, who rolled to a 21-7 victory over the Buccaneers behind their quarterback and emotional leader in front of a sellout crowd of 60,327.

The big question, however, is, will Favre be enough next Sunday at 3Com Park in San Francisco?

The preliminary battles are over. Tampa Bay showed up Sunday and kept the game close into the fourth quarter with its best team in nearly two decades.

But now, with the Buccaneers having been defeated by the Packers for the third time this season, it’s time for the much-anticipated main event that is expected to produce the best team in the NFL, next Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Packers and the 49ers.

The Packers were asked as many questions about the 49ers as they were about the Buccaneers after Sunday’s game. And the Packers answered with due respect.

“They are a great team,” Favre said, “and it will be the toughest game we’ve played all year.”

Beyond the words, the Packers’ deeds in beating Tampa Bay demonstrated that the 49ers can also expect their toughest game.

There was:

* The running game. Dorsey Levens, who became the main Packer ballcarrier eight minutes into the first exhibition game when Edgar Bennett’s season ended because of a torn Achilles’ tendon, rushed for 1,435 yards in the regular season. Sunday, he showed that he is ready to assume the role of featured back in the postseason as well, rushing for 112 yards--a team playoff record--and a touchdown, while averaging 4.5 yards a carry.

“A lot of people didn’t know if I could carry the load,” Levens said. “To be honest, I didn’t know if I could.

“But you have to play great in big games if you want to put yourself among the elite.”

Levens was more productive as the game went on, with his biggest runs coming in the fourth quarter after Tampa Bay had narrowed the margin to 13-7.

Remember, this is the defense that helped the Buccaneers win their playoff opener a week ago by shutting down another fairly decent running back, Barry Sanders, holding the Detroit Lions’ 2,000-yard man to 65 yards.

* The passing game. Although his receivers dropped at least five catchable balls, and although he was sacked four times after being sacked only 26 times all season, Favre was still able to hold off the eager, hungry Buccaneers when necessary, completing 15 of 28 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown.

* The defense. The Packers held Tampa Bay’s talented running duo of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott to fewer than 100 yards rushing. Dunn had 64 yards and Alstott 21.

And with the running game under control, the Packers were able to stifle Buccaneer quarterback Trent Dilfer, who completed only 11 of 36 passes for 200 yards. Green Bay intercepted two passes and sacked Dilfer twice.

The Packers accomplished this despite the fact that defensive lineman Gilbert Brown was shuttled on and off the field because of a lingering ankle injury and fellow defensive lineman Gabe Wilkins suffered a knee injury.

Brown is expected to play against the 49ers, but Wilkins’ status has not been determined.

* The special teams. A year ago, the Packers found a special spark in Desmond Howard, whose electrifying runbacks were a key to the team’s Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.

With Howard gone this season, Coach Mike Holmgren has been experimenting with various combinations, trying to find return men who can emulate Howard.

Sunday, he tried receivers Antonio Freeman (kick returns) and Robert Brooks (punt returns) and may have found his spark in Freeman. He returned one kick 90 yards for a touchdown only to have it called back because of a penalty.

While the Packers look like a hot club after leaving the Buccaneers out in the cold, it had nothing to do with the weather.

Before the game, much was made of the fact that the Buccaneers had never won a game when the temperature was below 40 degrees--a streak that stretched to 17 with Sunday’s loss--while Favre had never lost a game at Lambeau Field when the temperature was 35 degrees or colder, his record now 23-0.

Though the game-time temperature was 29 degrees, it didn’t seem affect the outcome on a day when there was no precipitation, not enough wind to be bothersome and the field was in excellent shape.

Favre connected with Mark Chmura for a three-yard touchdown to give Green Bay the first-quarter lead and that advantage was extended to 13-0 before halftime on field goals of 21 and 32 yards by Ryan Longwell. On the other hand, the Buccaneers had one field-goal try blocked, and another was aborted because of a bad snap.

In the third quarter, Tampa Bay made its only serious threat, putting together a 94-yard drive that culminated in a six-yard scoring run by Alstott.

But starting late in the third quarter, Favre put together the clinching drive, kept alive by two plays. On third and 18 from the Tampa Bay 45, Favre connected with Derrick Mayes on a 23-yard pass play. On the next play, Levens drove through the heart of the Buccaneer defense for 15 yards to set up the touchdown, which he scored on a two-yard burst off left tackle.

Favre applied the final blow with his conversion run.

Now if the man could only dunk.