# 1998 Green Bay Packers season

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. 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. It was also the last season with the team for both head coach Mike Holmgren and Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| P Sean Landeta (Buccaneers) | FS Eugene Robinson (Falcons) |
| LB Antonio London (Lions) | RB Edgar Bennett (Bears) |
| S Pat Terrell (Panthers) | CB Doug Evans (Panthers) |
| OT Matt Willig (Falcons) | DE Gabe Wilkins (49ers) |
| | OT Bruce Wilkerson (Raiders) |
| | WR Terry Mickens (Raiders) |
| | G Aaron Taylor (Chargers) |
| | QB Steve Bono (Rams) |
| | WR Don Beebe (retirement) |
| | P Craig Hentrich (Oilers) |

### 1998 NFL draft

Notably, the Packers drafted future all-pro quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the 6th round (187th overall).
1998 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Supplemental draft

1998 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 2 | -- | Mike Wahle * | Offensive tackle | Navy | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| 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 |

## 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.
| 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.
| 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 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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

| 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Packers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: September 6, 1998
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,102
* TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information :
First quarter
GB – Ryan Longwell 32-yard field goal, 9:19. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 5:41.
GB – LeRoy Butler 32-yard interception return (Ryan Longwell kick), 6:23. Packers 10–0.
DET – Jason Hanson 47-yard field goal, 1:10. Packers 10–3. Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 5:13.
Second quarter
GB – Dorsey Levens 4-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 9:40. Packers 17–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:30.
DET – Jason Hanson 43-yard field goal. Packers 17–6. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 2:11.
Third quarter
DET – Herman Moore 25-yard pass from Scott Mitchell (pass failed), 12:39. Packers 17–12. Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:21.
GB – Antonio Freeman 6-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 0:17. Packers 24–12. Drive: 18 plays, 85 yards, 9:34.
DET – Terry Fair 101-yard kickoff return (Jason Hanson kick), 0:00. Packers 24–19.
Fourth quarter
GB – Roell Preston 100-yard kickoff return (Ryan Longwell kick), 14:38. Packers 31–19.
GB – Antonio Freeman 84-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:53. Packers 38–19. Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 0:29.
Top passers
DET – Scott Mitchell – 23/44, 248 yards, TD, INT
GB – Brett Favre – 24/32, 277 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
DET – Barry Sanders – 17 rushes, 70 yards
GB – Dorsey Levens – 25 rushes, 59 yards, TD
Top receivers
DET – Herman Moore – 9 receptions, 100 yards, TD
GB – Antonio Freeman – 4 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD :

## Playoffs
### NFC Wild Card Playoff

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| 49ers | 7 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
at 3Com Park, San Francisco
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), clear
* Game attendance: 66,506
* Referee: Gerald Austin
* TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator)
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

* Brett Favre, NFL leader, passing yards (4,212)
* Brett Favre, NFC leader, attempts (551)
* Brett Favre, NFC leader, completions (347)
* Brett Favre, NFC leader, pass completion percentage (63)
* Brett Favre, NFC leader (tied), interceptions (23)
* Reggie White, National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award
* Reggie White, NFC leader, sacks (16.0)

### Milestones

* Brett Favre, second 4,000-yard passing season (finished season with 4,212)