| 1998 Green Bay Packers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Green Bay Packers, Inc. |
| President | Bob Harlan |
| General manager | Ron Wolf |
| Head coach | Mike Holmgren |
| Offensive coordinator | Sherman Lewis |
| Defensive coordinator | Fritz Shurmur |
| Home stadium | Lambeau Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2ndNFC Central |
| Playoffs | LostWild Card Playoffs (at49ers)27–30 |
| All-Pros | 4
|
| Pro Bowlers | |
The1998 season was theGreen Bay Packers' 78th in theNational Football League (NFL) and their 80th overall. The Packers entered the 1998 campaign as the two-time defending NFC champions, losing the Super Bowl the year before. The season began with the team attempting to improve on their 13–3 record from1997, three-peat asNational Football Conference (NFC) champions, and win their secondSuper Bowl in three years.
With an 11–5 record on the season, during which theMinnesota Vikings brought an end to the Packers' 25-game home winning streak in Week 5, Green Bay finished second in the NFC Central, the first time in four years that they had not won the division. They qualified for the playoffs as the NFC's fifth seed, but they were beaten 30–27 by theSan Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round, withSteve Young throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass toTerrell Owens with three seconds left.[1] This was the final season that the Packers would qualify for the postseason during the 1990s; they would not return to the playoffs until 2001.[citation needed] It was also the last season with the team for both head coachMike Holmgren and Hall of Fame defensive endReggie White.[2][3]
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| PSean Landeta (Buccaneers) | FSEugene Robinson (Falcons) |
| LBAntonio London (Lions) | RBEdgar Bennett (Bears) |
| SPat Terrell (Panthers) | CBDoug Evans (Panthers) |
| OTMatt Willig (Falcons) | DEGabe Wilkins (49ers) |
| OTBruce Wilkerson (Raiders) | |
| WRTerry Mickens (Raiders) | |
| GAaron Taylor (Chargers) | |
| QBSteve Bono (Rams) | |
| WRDon Beebe (retirement) | |
| PCraig Hentrich (Oilers) |
Notably, the Packers drafted future all-pro quarterbackMatt Hasselbeck in the 6th round (187th overall).[4]
| 1998 Green Bay Packers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Vonnie Holliday | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
| 3 | 90 | Jonathan Brown | Defensive end | Tennessee | |
| 4 | 121 | Roosevelt Blackmon | Cornerback | Morris Brown | |
| 5 | 150 | Corey Bradford | Wide receiver | Jackson State | |
| 6 | 156 | Scott McGarrahan | Safety | New Mexico | |
| 6 | 187 | Matt Hasselbeck * | Quarterback | Boston College | |
| 7 | 218 | Edwin Watson | Running back | Purdue | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| 1998 Green Bay Packers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | -- | Mike Wahle * | Offensive tackle | Navy | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Benton | Wide receiver | Miami (FL) |
| Mike Bowman | Wide receiver | Valdosta State |
| Keaton Cromartie | Linebacker | Tulane |
| Jason Davis | Punter | Oklahoma State |
| Terrell Farley | Cornerback | Nebraska |
| David Hoelscher | Defensive end | Eastern Kentucky |
| Chris McCoy | Running back | Navy |
| Jude Waddy | Linebacker | William & Mary |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
In the 1998 NFL Preseason, the Packers traveled to Japan to face off against theKansas City Chiefs at theTokyo Dome. It was the ninth American Bowl game to be staged at the 48,000 capacity stadium.[6]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 | 1–0 | Tokyo Dome | 42,018 |
| 2 | August 8 | New Orleans Saints | W 31–7 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | 60,080 |
| 3 | August 16 | Oakland Raiders | L 21–27 | 2–1 | Lambeau Field | 60,078 |
| 4 | August 24 | atDenver Broncos | L 31–34 | 2–2 | Mile High Stadium | 73,183 |
| 5 | August 28 | atMiami Dolphins | L 7–21 | 2–3 | Pro Player Stadium | 61,915 |
The Packers finished the 1998 regular with an 11–5 record in 2nd place in the NFC Central (qualifying for an NFC Wild Card playoff game), behind theRandall Cunningham-led 15–1 Vikings.[7]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Detroit Lions | W 38–19 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | 60,102 |
| 2 | September 13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–15 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | 60,124 |
| 3 | September 20 | atCincinnati Bengals | W 13–6 | 3–0 | Cinergy Field | 56,346 |
| 4 | September 27 | atCarolina Panthers | W 37–30 | 4–0 | Ericsson Stadium | 69,723 |
| 5 | October 5 | Minnesota Vikings | L 24–37 | 4–1 | Lambeau Field | 59,849 |
| 6 | Bye | |||||
| 7 | October 15 | atDetroit Lions | L 20–27 | 4–2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,932 |
| 8 | October 25 | Baltimore Ravens | W 28–10 | 5–2 | Lambeau Field | 59,860 |
| 9 | November 1 | San Francisco 49ers | W 36–22 | 6–2 | Lambeau Field | 59,794 |
| 10 | November 9 | atPittsburgh Steelers | L 20–27 | 6–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 60,507 |
| 11 | November 15 | atNew York Giants | W 37–3 | 7–3 | Giants Stadium | 76,272 |
| 12 | November 22 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 14–28 | 7–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,471 |
| 13 | November 29 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–16 | 8–4 | Lambeau Field | 59,862 |
| 14 | December 7 | atTampa Bay Buccaneers | L 22–24 | 8–5 | Raymond James Stadium | 65,497 |
| 15 | December 13 | Chicago Bears | W 26–20 | 9–5 | Lambeau Field | 59,813 |
| 16 | December 20 | Tennessee Oilers | W 30–22 | 10–5 | Lambeau Field | 59,888 |
| 17 | December 27 | atChicago Bears | W 16–13 | 11–5 | Soldier Field | 58,393 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text
| Playoff round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | January 3, 1999 | San Francisco 49ers (4) | L 30-27 | 0-1 | Candlestick Park |
| NFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1)Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 556 | 296 | W8 |
| (5)Green Bay Packers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 408 | 319 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 314 | 295 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 306 | 378 | L4 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 276 | 368 | L1 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Packers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
atLambeau Field,Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 3 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 37 |
| Packers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
atLambeau Field,Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| 49ers | 7 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
at3Com Park, San Francisco
The 49ers defeated the Packers, who had eliminated them from the playoffs in each of the past 3 seasons, in one of the wildest back-and-forth games in league playoff history. After aBrett Favre touchdown toAntonio Freeman with 1:55 to go,Steve Young began driving the Niners down field;Jerry Rice had just one catch for six yards all game, coming on this drive and when he fumbled the ball, but was ruled down by contact, but instant replay was not available at the time. The next play, Young's pass fell incomplete and was initially ruled intercepted. With eight seconds to go, Young from the Packers 25 dropped back, momentarily stumbled, then launched the ball where it was caught in the end zone byTerrell Owens, who had dropped several catches during the game.
