Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,969
- 0
When head coach George Seifert first blurted out the suggestion on the sideline, both Beuerlein and backup quarterback Steve Bono could not help themselves. They started giggling. Then Bono broke out into full-blown laughter.
"Are you kidding me?" Beuerlein asked Seifert.
"I'm serious. I don't think they'll expect it," Seifert replied.
But the Packers weren't the only ones surprised.
After gathering himself and realizing Seifert was indeed serious about the play call, Beuerlein nodded in agreement.
"I think you're right. I don't think their defense will expect it. I can get you five yards. Let's go with it," Beuerlein said.
Asked about it nearly a decade later, Beuerlein said the decision actually calmed his mind, taking the pressure off. Considering he was playing in his 13th NFL season and had previously scored only two rushing touchdowns in a total of 114 games (both on 1-yard quarterback sneaks), that sounds unusual. But it is what Beuerlein said he felt at that very moment in the game.
"It was one of those moments where it was incredibly relaxed for the pressure of the situation because of the irony of the call and putting the ball in my hands," Beuerlein said.
There was a reason Beuerlein had only scored two previous rushing touchdowns in his career. By his own admission, he was not very fleet-footed by the standards of which most NFL quarterbacks were measured, then or now. But it was only five yards. And he really believed the Green Bay defense would be caught off-guard.
First, though, the former Notre Dame standout had to run back onto the field and sell the play to his teammates. And he had to do so while nearly 61,000 Green Bay fans were making it as difficult as possible for any of the Panthers in the huddle to hear what their quarterback was saying.
"I gave them the play while the timeout was still going on, so they could get their minds around it," Beuerlein said.
He kept his delivery simple.
"Well, you're not going to believe this. But we're running the quarterback draw," Beuerlein told his teammates in the huddle.
Again, there was widespread laughter. Tight end Wesley Walls made it clear that he believed it would make more sense to throw a pass in his direction. After all, Beuerlein had been sharp and precise with his reads and throws the entire game. Walls had posted six catches for 96 yards.
Beuerlein's totals for the day already were staggering. He had completed 29-of-42 passes for 373 yards (then a team record) and three touchdowns without throwing an interception, outdueling Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who had completed 26-of-38 attempts for 302 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
And Walls wasn't Beuerlein's only option he could target. He also could have thrown to one of his wide receivers. Patrick Jeffers and Muhsin Muhammad each had already made eight receptions with Jeffers' piling up 147 yards receiving and catching both of Beuerlein's touchdown passes.
Center Frank Garcia later admitted being flat-out shocked upon hearing that the plan was for Beuerlein to run the ball instead of throw it.
"We were all surprised," Garcia said. "It was really unexpected. We had to hear it again to make sure that we heard the call right. It was a gutsy call."
So Beuerlein tried to settle his teammates down in the huddle and sell them on the fact that they were indeed going to put the game in his hands - or more accurately on his feet.
"Hey guys, I'm serious here. This is the play we're going to run. Just do your jobs," Beuerlein told them.