Ball finally bounces Green Bay's way

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Packers blew a 14-point lead. Brett Favre threw an interception. Rookie Samkon Gado fumbled twice. Holder B.J. Sander again flubbed a field goal attempt.

But instead of another disastrous finish for the NFC North's worst team, Green Bay (2-7) did enough things right to beat the Falcons 33-25 in Atlanta.

The fifth-string Gado, who rushed for 103 yards and three scores, and the revived running game was the key reason. It left Favre to play a steady game, completing 26 of 39 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown.

Players weren't available Monday because of the extra day off in preparation for a showdown next Monday night with the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.

But after the game, Gado, who hasn't been with the Packers a month, called the performance "surreal," with about a dozen friends and family members in the crowd.

"I think in the first quarter, I was ready for the game to end because I couldn't believe what was happening," Gado said of his two early touchdowns.

What no one could expect were four uncharacteristic turnovers by Atlanta. The Packers dared Falcons quarterback Michael Vick to beat them with his arm, and he couldn't. Vick got a sizable chunk of his 209 yards late in the fourth quarter with the Falcons trailing by 16.

More telling: Vick had 24 yards rushing, was sacked three times and had three fumbles. On a whole, Atlanta fumbled six times, losing half of them.

"You could see guys working the ball better, trying to get the ball out," Packers coach Mike Sherman said Monday. "Sometimes your opponent has to accommodate you a little bit by carrying the ball loosely, and one time on Michael Vick's turnover, he was running ahead and didn't anticipate (the hit)."

After linebacker Nick Barnett recovered the fumble forced by defensive end Kenny Peterson, Green Bay had a chance to expand a 20-14 lead early in the third quarter in Atlanta territory.

But Sander, who Sherman said will be re-evaluated this week, mishandled another snap, costing the Packers an opportunity to add to the lead.

"It wasn't a great snap, but he should've got it down," Sherman said. "He had other ones that weren't great snaps that he did get down."

The defense, unfazed, didn't allow Atlanta any momentum, and Vick fumbled again on a golden opportunity at the Green Bay 13 with just over 10 minutes to go.

Atlanta settled for a field goal to make 23-17, but Favre answered with a 10-play drive that ate up six minutes and ended on a 51-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell.

The Falcons gave it right back to Green Bay on the ensuing possession on a fumble by wide receiver Roddy White, and Gado capped his magical day with a 2-yard TD plunge.

Good thing, too, because he almost suffered the same fate as his backup.

In ReShard Lee's first start, he fumbled on his second run in a 20-10 loss to the Steelers and was replaced by Gado.

On Sunday, Gado also fumbled on his second run, but this time fullback Vonta Leach pounced on the ball, the Packers retained the possession and Gado scored four plays later.

"He put the ball on the ground twice, which is very frustrating," Sherman said. "If those weren't recovered by our guys we wouldn't necessarily be talking about him right now. That could have been the turning point in the ballgame."

Starter Ahman Green (thigh tendon) and backup Najeh Davenport (ankle) are both out for the season, while Tony Fisher has been held out the last two games after injuring a rib.

Sherman said he likely would have yanked Gado and given Lee another chance if Gado had turned over the ball.

It never came to that.

Gado found the end zone again on the Packers' next possession after defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila forced Warrick Dunn to fumble. Gado accounted for all 21 yards on three runs to make it 14-0.

Even though Green Bay let Atlanta tie the score at 14, the defense clamped down, only allowing a touchdown late in the fourth quarter while playing safe.

Now that's it November, it's typically the time Green Bay heats up. The Packers have gone 30-11 in the second half since Sherman took over as coach in 2000.

Was Sunday's win the beginning of another strong spurt?

"Are we good enough on offense to make a run? I hope so," Sherman said. "Whether we can make a run, it was just one game. It was a big one for us."