Don Beebe Enjoys a Career Game as the Green Bay Packers Come Back to Beat the 49ers in OT

The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season but they did have some struggles along the way when injuries struck the wide receiving corps. But in a key Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, backup Don Beebe stepped up and had a career game as the Packers pulled off a comeback win over the 49ers in overtime. Beebe finished the game with 11 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown.

Don Beebe Enjoys a Career Game as the Packers Beat the 49ers: The Leadup

The Packers started the 1996 season on fire, winning their first three games by a combined score of 115-26. They entered this game with a 5-1 record and seemed like a team of destiny after reaching the NFC Championship Game the previous season. Brett Favre and company were on a roll.

The 49ers entered this game with a 4-1 mark. They were seeking revenge after the Packers beat them in the playoffs last season at Candlestick Park. Unfortunately for San Francisco, quarterback Steve Young was out of the lineup for this game. They instead had to turn to backup Elvis Grbac for this nationally televised Monday night matchup.

A Quick Start and a Costly Injury

The 49ers won the toss and drove to midfield, but Packers safety LeRoy Butler intercepted Grbac which gave the Packers the ball. Unfortunately, on Green Bay’s first offensive play, wide receiver Robert Brooks was lost for the season with a knee injury that required surgery.

The Packers got on the board on their second possession. A 50-yard pass from Favre to tight end Keith Jackson got the ball to the San Francisco 10 but the Packers had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Chris Jacke.

On their next drive, Favre found Beebe on a 54-yard pass but again, the Packers settled for a field goal, this time from 25 yards out. The Packers led 6-0 after the first quarter.

The 49ers responded in the second quarter. A 24-yard pass to Jerry Rice set up a 48-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins that cut the Packers lead in half.

Then on the 49ers next drive, San Francisco drove 58 yards on nine plays to take the lead. A 15-yard run by Tommy Vardell and a 13-yard pass to Rice were key plays. Rice finished the drive with a seven-yard touchdown catch. The 49ers led 10-6.

Things went from bad to worse for the Packers on the next drive. Favre tried to rally the Packers in the final two minutes of the half, and he reached the Packers 44. Then, Dana Stubblefield intercepted Favre and returned it to the Green Bay 28.

Five plays later, Grbac found Rice for a 13-yard touchdown and the Packers trailed 17-6 at halftime.

Don Beebe Enjoys a Career Game as the Packers Beat the 49ers: The Pack Comes Back

Midway through the third quarter, the course of the game turned on a controversial play. Favre found Beebe on a long pass to the San Francisco 30. Beebe got up and ran into the end zone to complete a 59-yard touchdown pass. The 49ers claimed that cornerback Marquez Pope touched Beebe when he was on the ground which would have ruled the play dead at the spot, but officials ruled Beebe was untouched and scored to cut the 49ers lead to 17-14 after the Pack connected on a two-point conversion.

In the fourth quarter, the Packers went on a 15-play drive that stalled at the San Francisco 18. Jacke tied the game at 17-17 with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the Packers fell victim to another Favre interception. Pope picked off a pass intended for Derrick Mayes and returned it to the Packers 12. But the Packers defense stiffened and forced a 28-yard field goal. San Francisco led 20-17 with 1:50 left on the clock.

“When I threw that pass and it was intercepted–right then I thought it was over,” Favre said after the game. “But it wasn’t.”

The Exciting Finale

The Packers took over at their own 18 with time running out. Favre quickly moved the Packers to the San Francisco 13. Key plays on the drive were two passes to Beebe that picked up 20 yards, and seven-yard passes to Desmond Howard and William Henderson. On a key play, safety Steve Israel of San Francisco was called for illegal use of hands on an incomplete pass by Favre intended for Jackson. Then, he lost his cool and was ejected from the game for knocking an official’s hat off his head. That gave the Packers another 15 yards. It sent up a 31-yard field goal by Jacke with just eight seconds remaining that tied the game at 20-20 and sent the game to overtime.

The 49ers won the toss but went three-and-out and the Pack took over their own 44. After Dorsey Levens ran for three yards, Favre found Beebe for 13 and Mayes for five more. That was enough to set up Jacke for a 53-yard field goal try to win the game. He made it and the Packers won 23-20. It was Jacke’s fifth field goal of the game.

“I can’t believe we can’t kick [an extra point] but we can kick a 54-yard field goal or whatever it was,” Packers coach Mike Holmgren said after the game.

Don Beebe Enjoys a Career Game as the Packers Beat the 49ers: The Aftermath

“Obviously, it’s a great win for our team, our fans and it had all the drama you could want on Monday night football in Green Bay,” Holmgren said. “It was just one of those great games, and I’m rather drained right now.”

Favre set a Packers record in the game with 61 pass attempts. He completed 28 passes for 395 yards and one touchdown. “I had no idea he threw it that much,” Holmgren added. “Too much, but then we won the football game.”

“This game is big because we might have to play this one again in January and it gives them something to go home and think about,” offensive tackle Gary Brown said. “It lets them know that last year wasn’t a fluke.” The two teams met again in the playoffs and the game was in Green Bay.

“We responded well,” Reggie White said. “Everybody really dug deep down inside. This was an exciting game and Chris Jacke got us a big one. I got emotional on the field afterward because this was one of the biggest wins in my career.”

Favre was thrilled with the way Beebe stepped up. “The Bills gave up on him, I guess, but right away we could see that he still had great speed and an uncanny ability to get open and get the ball,” Favre explained. “He’s helping us find that elusive trait the 49ers have always had — finding a way, somehow, to simply win.”

The Packers finished the season 13-3 and went on to win their first Super Bowl in 29 years.