1998 Green Bay Packers season
OwnerGreen Bay Packers, Inc.
PresidentBob Harlan
General managerRon Wolf
Head coachMike Holmgren
Home fieldLambeau Field
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at 49ers) 27–30
Pro BowlersWR Antonio Freeman
WR Roell Preston
TE Mark Chmura
SS LeRoy Butler

The 1998 season was the Green Bay Packers' 78th in the National 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 from 1997, three-peat as National Football Conference (NFC) champions, and win their second Super Bowl in three years.

With an 11–5 record on the season, during which the Minnesota 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 the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round, with Steve Young throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Terrell 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 coach Mike Holmgren and Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White.[2][3]

Offseason

Additions Subtractions
P Sean Landeta (Buccaneers) FS Eugene Robinson (Falcons)
LB Antonio London (Lions) RB Edgar Bennett (Bears)
CB Doug Evans (Panthers)
DE Gabe Wilkins (49ers)

1998 NFL draft

Notably, the Packers drafted future all-pro quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the 6th round (187th overall).[4]

1998 NFL Draft selections
Round Sel# Player Pos. College
1 19 Vonnie Holliday DT North Carolina
3 90 Jonathan Brown DE Tennessee
4 121 Roosevelt Blackmon CB Morris Brown
5 150 Corey Bradford WR Jackson State
6 156 Scott McGarrahan SS New Mexico
6 187 Matt Hasselbeck QB Boston College
7 218 Edwin Watson RB Purdue

Undrafted free agents

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
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

Staff

1998 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[5]

Roster

1998 Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured Reserve

Practice squad

53 active, 12 inactive, 5 practice squad

rookies in italics

Schedule

Preseason

In the 1998 NFL Preseason, the Packers traveled to Japan to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Tokyo 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 at Denver Broncos L 31–34 2–2 Mile High Stadium 73,183
5 August 28 at Miami Dolphins L 7–21 2–3 Pro Player Stadium 61,915

Regular season

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 the Randall 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 at Cincinnati Bengals W 13–6 3–0 Cinergy Field 56,346
4 September 27 at Carolina 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 at Detroit 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 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–27 6–3 Three Rivers Stadium 60,507
11 November 15 at New York Giants W 37–3 7–3 Giants Stadium 76,272
12 November 22 at Minnesota 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 at Tampa 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 at Chicago Bears W 16–13 11–5 Soldier Field 58,393

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text

Playoffs

Main article: 1998-99 NFL playoffs
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

Standings

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

Season summary

Week 1

See also: 1998 Detroit Lions season and Lions–Packers rivalry
Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 3 3 13019
Packers 10 7 71438

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Playoff

San Francisco 49ers 30, Green Bay Packers 27
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 3 14 01027
49ers 7 3 101030

at 3Com 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 a Brett Favre touchdown to Antonio 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 by Terrell Owens, who had dropped several catches during the game.

Awards and records

Milestones

References

  1. ^ "Packers lose 30–27". Packers.com. January 3, 1999. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  2. ^ "Mike Holmgren's stats page". profootballreference.com. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  3. ^ "Hall of Famers – Reggie White". Packers.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  4. ^ "NFL Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL. Archived from the original on January 29, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  5. ^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  6. ^ "Packers win 27–24". Packers.com. August 1, 1998. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  7. ^ "1998 NFL Standings". NFL. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
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