2002 Green Bay Packers season

2002 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Mike Sherman
Home field	Lambeau Field
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st NFC North
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Wild Card (Atlanta Falcons)

During the 2002 Green Bay Packers season, the team completed a 12–4 regular season with before losing in the Wild Card playoff round to Michael Vick's Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field.^[1] It marked the first time in NFL history that the Packers had lost at home in the playoffs.^[2]

In 2001, the Packers achieved the franchise’s best record since 1997, finishing 12–4 and advancing the divisional round of the playoffs. There the Packers lost to the eventual NFC champion St. Louis Rams. During the game, it became clear that the Packers would need wide receivers with greater speed and ability to compete with the conference’s best teams. GM Mike Sherman spent the 2002 offseason revamping Green Bay’s receiving corps. The team promoted Donald Driver to starter, acquired veteran Terry Glenn from the New England Patriots, and drafted Javon Walker in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft. The influx of new players seemed to position the Packers as one of the strongest contenders in the NFC.

Green Bay started the season with a dominating 8–1 record, led by the brilliant play of quarterback Brett Favre and power running game of Ahman Green. The Packers maintained a commanding division lead throughout the year, winning the NFC North by a six-game margin. Green Bay became the first team to win the newly rechristened division, formerly known as the NFC Central. It was the Packers’ first division title since 1997, and the team would win the NFC North for three consecutive seasons.

For the first time in years, it appeared that the Packers had a legitimate chance of reaching the Super Bowl. With one game left, Green Bay was 12–3, and a victory away from clinching home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Packers had never lost a home playoff game in franchise history, had achieved an 8–0 record at home in 2002, and had established a run of Lambeau Field dominance since the Mike Holmgren era. As a result, playing home games at Lambeau Field would seemingly give the Packers a significant advantage in the playoffs. The final game was on the road against the New York Jets, who beat the Packers’ handily to win the AFC East division title. The loss was a devastating blow to the Packers. The team was bumped down to a number three seed in the NFC, and had an incredibly difficult road to the Super Bowl. Six days later, the Packers were beaten by Michael Vick’s Atlanta Falcons, the first home playoff loss in Packers history.

The 2002 season was another memorable year for quarterback Brett Favre. Throughout the season, Favre was a favorite to win his fourth Most Valuable Player award. The Packers’ lopsided loss to the Jets in the regular season finale may have swayed voters, as Favre lost the MVP award by merely two votes to Raiders’ quarterback Rich Gannon.

Offseason

2002 NFL draft

In the 2002 NFL draft, the Packers selected 20th overall, drafting future all-pro wide receiver Javon Walker with their first round pick.^[3]

2002 NFL Draft selections

Round	Sel#	Player	Pos.	College
1	20	Javon Walker	WR	Florida State
3	92	Marques Anderson	FS	UCLA
4	135	Najeh Davenport	RB	Miami
5	156	Aaron Kampman	DE	Iowa
5	164	Craig Nall	QB	Northwestern State, La.
6	200	Mike Houghton	T	San Diego State

Players highlighted in yellow indicate players selected to the Pro Bowl during their NFL career.

Personnel

Staff

2002 Green Bay Packers staff
	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Bob Harlan Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer – John Jones Vice President of Player Finance/General Counsel – Andrew Brandt Vice President of Football Operations – Mark Hatley Director of College Scouting – John Dorsey Director of Pro Personnel – Reggie McKenzie Personnel Analyst to General Manager – John Schneider Assistant Director of College Scouting – Shaun Herock Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – Sean Howard Head coaches Executive Vice President/General Manager/Head Coach – Mike Sherman Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs – Bob Slowik Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Tom Rossley Running Backs – Sylvester Croom Wide Receivers – Ray Sherman Tight Ends – Jeff Jagodzinski Offensive Line – Larry Beightol Assistant Offensive Line – Pat Ruel Offensive Assistant – Darrell Bevell			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ed Donatell Defensive Line – Jethro Franklin Linebackers – Bo Pelini Assistant Defensive Backs – Lionel Washington Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Brad Miller Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Novak Quality Control Assistant/Special Teams-Offense – Stan Drayton Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Barry Rubin Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Mark Lovat Weight Room Assistant – Vince Workman

^[4]

Preseason

Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
August 10, 2002	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 13–20	Veterans Stadium	0–1	58,546
August 17, 2002	at Arizona Cardinals	W 29–21	Sun Devil Stadium	1–1	35,716
August 26, 2002	Cleveland Browns	W 27–20	Lambeau Field	2–1	62,668
August 30, 2002	Tennessee Titans	W 21–20	Lambeau Field	3–1	62,485

Schedule

The Packers finished 12–4 overall, winning the NFC North crown by a six-game margin.^[5]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	Atlanta Falcons	W 37–34 (OT)	Lambeau Field	1–0	FOX 1:00pm	63,127
2	September 15, 2002	at New Orleans Saints	L 20–35	Louisiana Superdome	1–1	FOX 1:00pm	67,958
3	September 22, 2002	at Detroit Lions	W 37–31	Ford Field	2–1	FOX 4:15pm	61,505
4	September 29, 2002	Carolina Panthers	W 17–14	Lambeau Field	3–1	FOX 1:00pm	63,329
5	October 7, 2002	at Chicago Bears	W 34–21	Memorial Stadium (Champaign)	4–1	ABC 9:00pm	63,226
6	October 13, 2002	at New England Patriots	W 28–10	Gillette Stadium	5–1	FOX 1:00pm	68,436
7	October 20, 2002	Washington Redskins	W 30–9	Lambeau Field	6–1	FOX 4:15pm	63,363
8	Bye
9	November 4, 2002	Miami Dolphins	W 24–10	Lambeau Field	7–1	ABC 9:00pm	63,284
10	November 10, 2002	Detroit Lions	W 40–14	Lambeau Field	8–1	FOX 1:00pm	63,313
11	November 17, 2002	at Minnesota Vikings	L 21–31	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	8–2	FOX 1:00pm	64,153
12	November 24, 2002	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 7–21	Raymond James Stadium	8–3	FOX 4:15pm	65,672
13	December 1, 2002	Chicago Bears	W 30–20	Lambeau Field	9–3	FOX 1:00pm	64,196
14	December 8, 2002	Minnesota Vikings	W 26–22	Lambeau Field	10–3	ESPN 8:30pm	64,070
15	December 15, 2002	at San Francisco 49ers	W 20–14	3Com Park	11–3	FOX 4:15pm	67,947
16	December 22, 2002	Buffalo Bills	W 10–0	Lambeau Field	12–3	CBS 1:00pm	64,106
17	December 29, 2002	at New York Jets	L 17–42	The Meadowlands	12–4	FOX 4:15pm	78,733

Standings

NFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Green Bay Packers	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	398	328	L1
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	390	442	W3
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	281	379	L2
Detroit Lions	3	13	0	.188	1–5	3–9	306	451	L8

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV Time	Attendance
Wildcard	January 4, 2003	Atlanta Falcons	L 7–27	Lambeau Field	ABC 7:30pm	65,358

NFC Wild Card vs Atlanta Falcons

NFC Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	14	10	3	0	27
Packers	0	0	7	0	7

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: January 4, 2003
• Game time: 8 p.m. EDT

Game information

First quarter Atl - Alex Jefferson 10 yard pass from Michael Vick. Falcons 7–0 Atl - Artie Ulmer 1 yard blocked punt return. Falcons 14–0 Second quarter Atl - TJ Duckett 6 yard run. Falcons 21–0 Atl - Jay Feely 22 yard field goal. Falcons 24–0 Third quarter GB - Donald Driver 14 yard pass from Brett Favre. Falcons 24–7 Atl - Jay Feely 23 yard field goal. Falcons 27–7 Fourth quarter no scoring Falcons Michael Vick. 13–24, 117 yards, 1 TD. 10 rush, 64 yards Warrick Dunn. 15 rush, 64 yards Packers Brett Favre. 20–42, 247 yards, 1 TD, 2 Int. Javon Walker. 5 rec, 104 yards Turnovers Falcons - 0 Packers - 5

Awards and records

• Brett Favre, NFC Leader, Attempts (551)
• Brett Favre, NFC Leader, Completions (341)
• Brett Favre, NFC Leader(tied), Touchdown Passes (27)

References

1. "2002 Packers' schedule". Packers.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
2. "Vick, Falcons shock Packers in Lambeau". NFL.com. 2003-01-04. Archived from the original on 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
3. "Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-29. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
4. "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
5. "NFL History – 2002 Regular Season Standings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-09.