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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- There was no miracle finish this time for
San Francisco, not even the hope of one. Instead, it was just one
more bad performance for the 49ers, while the Green Bay Packers
stayed close in the tough NFC Central race.
Brett Favre passed for two touchdowns and Green Bay's defense
held San Francisco's struggling offense without a touchdown as the
Packers sent the 49ers to their seventh straight loss, 20-3 Monday
night.
|  | | Packers defensive tackle Billy Lyon (98) and linebacker Anthony Davis (50) bury 49ers fullback Fred Beasley. |
"Brett carried the football team," Packers coach Ray Rhodes
said. "He was putting the ball in guys' hands who were making
plays. I feel like we're starting to come together."
Not so for the 49ers (3-8), in the midst of their longest skid
since losing eight in a row in 1980. It ensured the 49ers will
finish with their first non-winning campaign since going 3-6 in the
strike-shortened 1982 season.
And a crowd used to seeing the 49ers win turned on the home
team, showering them with boos even as the players were pelted by
rain late in the game.
"Our offense is terrible. There's no other way to say it," San
Francisco tight end Greg Clark said of an offense that has produced
just one touchdown in the last five games.
Green Bay (6-5) pulled within a game of Detroit, Tampa Bay and
Minnesota in the NFC Central with five remaining and ran its record
to 6-1 against the 49ers since 1995, including four playoff
encounters.
San Francisco's lone victory in that span came in last January's
Wild Card playoff when Steve Young threaded a 25-yard touchdown
pass to Terrell Owens through three defenders in the final seconds.
But this time, Young watched from the sidelines, probably out
for the rest of the season with a concussion suffered Sept. 27.
"It's obvious it's not the team that it has been," Favre said.
"But I'm not here to knock them. Steve Young is the heart and soul
of this team. They'll be back. When you've been on top so long,
you've got to be knocked down sometime."
Rhodes, a former 49ers assistant, got his first win in eight
Monday night games. The 49ers saw one more streak end when San
Francisco coach Steve Mariucci, a former Packers assistant, lost
for the first time in eight Monday night games.
Steve Stenstrom, who began the year as the team's third-string
QB, threw an end zone interception to end one promising drive. On
another occasion, he had the ball slip out of his hands trying to
pass, and the 49ers had to scramble to recover the fumble.
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GAME NOTES |
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San Francisco is 1-7 since losing Young. His replacements, Jeff Garcia and Steve Stenstrom, have combined for 12 interceptions
against just three touchdowns.
Jerry Rice has caught a pass in an NFL-record 204 straight games.
The loss snapped the 49ers' seven-game home winning streak on Monday night.
Green Bay snapped a four-game losing streak in Monday night contests and improved its overall mark to 15-16-1.
Brett Favre extended his NFL record for consecutive starts for a quarterback to 120 and registered his 80th victory in that span..
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Late in the game, Fred Beasley lost a fumble and J.J. Stokes was
flagged for offensive pass interference in yet more signs of San
Francisco's free-falling offense. The 49ers reached the Green Bay
1, and had a third-and-goal but Beasley was stopped short, then
Stenstrom's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
"I felt like we had some opportunities, but it didn't happen,"
said Jerry Rice, who became the first player in NFL history to
surpass 18,000 yards receiving. His four receptions for 63 yards
boosted his career total to 18,025 yards.
But Stenstrom has yet to throw for a score in his three starts.
And San Francisco has failed to score in double figures in the past
four games for the first time in franchise history.
Green Bay, seeking a playoff berth for a seventh straight
season, was sluggish offensively at the start but drew a key pass
interference penalty to get going. Corey Bradford blew by
cornerback Ramos McDonald, who was forced to grab him to prevent a
long touchdown. The 47-yard penalty took the ball to the San
Francisco 33 and five plays later Bradford finished the drive with
a 13-yard scoring pass from Favre.
Ryan Longwell, who missed a 30-yard field goal try earlier, came
back to make a 23-yarder to put Green Bay up 10-3 at halftime and
Favre extended the lead with a 10-yard scoring pass to Tyrone Davis
with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Longwell added a 22-yard field goal with 11:36 remaining.
"We'd like to score more points," said Favre, who completed 25
of 36 for 246 yards. "We didn't turn the ball over and we didn't
have many penalties."
San Francisco scored first, helped by an acrobatic
over-the-shoulder catch by Rice that went for 32 yards, his longest
reception of the season. But the drive stalled and Wade Richey
kicked a 35-yard field goal.
Even though it allowed the 49ers to avoid their first shutout
since 1977, it marked the fourth time in 11 games San Francisco
scored only field goals.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Green Bay Clubhouse
San Francisco Clubhouse
49ers lose two cornerbacks with broken bones
Week 12 wrap-ups
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Packers safety LeRoy Butler talks about his play.
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