Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Green Bay 28 at New England 10 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Green Bay Packers: QB Brett Favre had all kinds of time to throw and great touch on his passes. He spread the ball around and made very few mistakes. His yardage numbers weren't as impressive only because their game plan was to control the football on the ground. He still passed for 3 touchdowns. RB Ahman Green looked impressive. He was the focal point of the Packer offense and he didn't disappoint rushing for 136 yards on 31 carries. He had 3 receptions for 21 yards and most importantly, he also found the end zone this week for the first time. He scored on a pass reception and on a 1 yard run. TE Bubba Franks was the leading receiver for Green Bay. He caught 5 balls for 46 yards including a touchdown. Bryant Westbrook made a nice interception to stop New England's first drive. The Packers then sacked Brady to start the 2nd half. It was their only sack of the game but they seemed to hurry Brady enough to disrupt his momentum. They forced him to throw 3 interceptions. New England Patriots: Despite throwing 2 interceptions, Tom Brady looked decent in the first half. However Brady struggled after halftime where he completed only 9 of 17 passes for 80 yards. The interception in the 2nd half should have been a touchdown pass to Patten but Brady threw the ball way too low and it was picked off. WR Troy Brown started and caught the first play of the game for the Patriots. He showed no ill-effects of his knee injury but was held to just 5 catches for 37 yards. He made the most of his looks because he was only targeted 6 times. WR Deion Branch made some nice catches and finished the day as New England's leading WR with 38 yards. He had a 9 yard pass called back because of a penalty and had a 22 yard pass negated because he'd stepped out of bounds before the catch. Even with Brown playing Branch looks to be a good play because he was targeted a game high 11 times! WR David Patten was not a forgotten man in the passing game as the game stats might indicate. He was targeted 8 times despite only catching 2 passes. He had a 25 yard pass called back on a holding penalty and was open for a touchdown on the pass Brady misfired for an interception. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Green Bay Packers QB: Brett Favre had all kinds of time to throw and showed great touch on his passes. He spread the ball around and made very few mistakes. His yardage numbers weren't as impressive only because their game plan was to control the football on the ground. He still passed for 3 touchdowns. RB: Ahman Green looked impressive. He was the focal point of the Packer offense and he didn't disappoint rushing for 136 yards on 31 carries. He had 3 receptions for 21 yards and most importantly, he also found the end zone this week for the first time. He scored on a pass reception and on a 1 yard run. They were no accidents. He was constantly looked at in the red zone. Green Bay's first trip to the red zone, they ran Green on 1st and goal then he was the primary receiver on the passing play which resulted in the William Henderson TD. Their next trip, he was the first option as Favre connected with him on the TD pass. Finally in the 4th quarter after his 38 yard run, they ran him three times in a row until he scored on the 1 yard run. They appear determined to get him into the end zone. WR: Terry Glenn caught a lot of boos from the New England crowd but he only caught 3 passes for 19 yards. Favre targeted him 9 times on the day but he just couldn't seem to get into the flow of the game. He dropped an easy touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter. Favre definitely seems to look his way. Donald Driver disappointed as well catching only 3 passes for 43 yards, one of those catches being a 29 yard reception to set up the Bubba Franks short touchdown. Javon Walker caught only one pass for 10 yards but was targeted 6 times. The 4th down pass he caught was on 4th down. He also drew a 34 yard pass interference penalty which lead to a score. Robert Ferguson didn't catch a pass but threw an awesome downfield block which enabled Green's 38 yard run. TE: Stop the presses - Bubba Franks was the leading receiver for Green Bay. He caught 5 balls for 46 yards including a touchdown. Packer Pass Defense: Bryant Westbrook made a nice interception to stop New England's first drive. The Packers then sacked Brady to start the 2nd half. It was their only sack of the game but they seemed to hurry Brady enough to disrupt his momentum. They forced him to throw 3 interceptions. Packer Rush Defense: Here is where the statistics don't tell the whole story. The Packers did give up 75 yards to Antowain Smith but most of those came in garbage time when they had the lead and were content to have New England take time off the clock. New England only had 59 yards rushing in the first half with 19 of those coming on 4 Tom Brady scrambles. They gave up only 18 yards rushing to Antowain Smith in the first half. Packers Special Teams: Ryan Longwell missed his only field goal attempt. He isn't kicking the ball very well right now. He did have a 40 plus yard field goal taken off the board when New England committed a penalty that extended the drive. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** New England Patriots QB: Despite throwing 2 interceptions, Tom Brady looked decent in the first half. His second interception was thrown into a crowd but it was obvious that at least one of the receivers ran the wrong route. Brown, Branch and Fauria were all in the area. However, Brady struggled in the 2nd half. He completed only 9 of 17 passes for 80 yards. The interception in the 2nd half should have been a touchdown pass to Patten but Brady threw the ball way too low and it was picked off. RB: Antowain Smith's stats were padded by unusual play calling in the second half when Green Bay allowed them to run the clock despite being down big. Considering the year Smith has had thus far his 75 yards looks really big and his 5.8 average per carry may have New England consider running the ball more. Kevin Faulk played a poor game. He made a horrible play to not follow a lateral pass that he couldn't catch which resulted in a key Green Bay turnover. The following series he dropped an easy pass that nearly resulted in an interception. It doesn't bode well for him cutting into Smith's playing time. WR: Troy Brown started and caught the first play of the game for the Patriots. He showed no ill-effects of his knee injury but was held to just 5 catches for 37 yards. He made the most of his looks because he was only targeted 6 times. Deion Branch made some nice catches and finished the day as New England's leading WR with 38 yards. He had a 9 yard pass called back because of a penalty and had a 22 yard pass negated because he'd stepped out of bounds before the catch. Even with Brown playing Branch looks to be a good play because he was targeted a game high 11 times. David Patten was not a forgotten man in the passing game as the game stats might indicate. He was targeted 8 times despite only catching 2 passes. He had a 25 yard pass called back on a holding penalty and was open for a touchdown on the pass Brady misfired for an interception. David Givens became the 10th receiver of the year to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady. He caught 3 passes on the day. Donald Hayes caught only 2 passes for 16 yards but he was targeted 5 times. TE: Christian Fauria caught 3 passes for 25 yards and was targeted 5 times. Patriot Pass Defense was ineffective despite "holding" Favre to 147 yards and 3 touchdowns. They put no pressure on Favre all day and the only sack that they got came in the 4th quarter when Green Bay had the game well in hand. Ben Kelly came in for Ty Law in the 3rd quarter and was picked on often. He committed the 34 yard pass interference penalty against Walker and then was responsible for Driver's 29 yard reception. Patriot Rush Defense played poorly and appeared to be struggling. Green ran early and often against them and unlike last week against Ricky Williams, they were not prepared to shut him down. Patriot Special Teams committed a horrible hands to the face penalty on 4th and 2 which extended Green Bay's first touchdown drive. Rather than have a 3-3 game at that point the Packers continued the drive and scored 2 touchdowns in under a minute to turn the tide of the game.