1989 Green Bay Packers season

Infobox NFL_season
team = Green Bay Packers
year = 1989
record = 10-6
division_place = 2nd NFC Central
coach = Lindy Infante
stadium = Lambeau Field,
Milwaukee County Stadium
playoffs = Did not qualifyThe 1989 Green Bay Packers season resulted in a 10-6 record, the Packers best record since 1972. The team was often referred to as the "Cardiac Pack" because of several close games wins. The team was coached by Lindy Infante and led by quarterback Don Majkowski, who gained his nickname "The Majik Man" that year. The Packers failed to make the playoffs.

Offseason

The Green Bay Packers selected Tony Mandarich with their first pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, passing on prospects such as Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Mandarich was a first-team All-American, an Outland Award finalist and a two-time Big Ten Lineman of the Year. Mandarich would later hold out most of the preseason, playing most of the regular season on special teams. Four years after signing Mandarich, the Packers cut him. ESPN rated Mandarich as the third biggest sports flop in the past 25 years. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=listranker/25biggestflops ESPN 25 Biggest Sports Flops] ]

Roster

The instant replay game

On November 5, 1989, the Packers beat the Bears 14-13, but not without controversy. Don Majkowski led the Packers to a comeback and a game-winning touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with only seconds left to play. Initially the play was called a touchdown, but line judge Jim Quirk had called a penalty on Majkowski for being beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. With a nervous and tense crowd at Lambeau Field, the call went up to the instant replay official, Bill Parkinson. Several minutes later the call came down and the touchdown was awarded as recorded by instant replay. The Lambeau faithful and Packer players erupted with joy because it marked the first time since 1984 that the Packers had beaten their long-time rivals. The Packers would later beat the Bears again in the season. [ [http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2004/10/05/2/ "Majik" Act Still A Big Hit With Packers Fans] from 10/05/2004]

eason statistical leaders

* Passing Yards: Don Majkowski 4,318 yards
* Passing Touchdowns: Don Majkowski 27 TDs
* Rushing Yards: Brent Fullwood, 821 yards
* Rushing Touchdowns: Brent Fullwood, 5 TDs
* Receiving Yards: Sterling Sharpe, 1,423 yards
* Receiving Touchdowns: Sterling Sharpe, 12 TDs
* Points: Chris Jacke, 108 points
* Kickoff Return Yards: Vince Workman, 547 yards
* Punt Return Yards: Jeff Query, 247 yards
* Sacks: Tim Harris, 19.5 sacks
* Interceptions: Dave Brown, 6 interceptions [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/1989-gb 1989 Green Bay Packers Stats] obtained 12/03/2006]

Awards and Records

* Brent Fullwood, NFC Pro Bowl Selection [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1989/probowl.htm 1989 NFL Pro Bowlers - Pro-Football-Reference.com ] ]
* Tim Harris, NFC Pro Bowl Selection
* Lindy Infante, National Football League Coach of the Year Award
* Don Majkowski, NFC Pro Bowl Selection
* Sterling Sharpe, NFC Pro Bowl Selection
*Sterling Sharpe, NFL Leader in Receptions (90)
*Sterling Sharpe, Second in NFL in Receiving Yards (1,423)

Milestones

*Don Majkowski, First 4,000 Yard Passing Season
*Sterling Sharpe, First 1,000 Yard Receiving Season

Hall of Fame Inductions

*In 1989 Packer great Willie Wood was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
*Zeke Bratkowski and Ron Kostelnik were inducted to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

References

External links

* [http://www.profootballreference.com/teams/gnb1989.htm 1989 Green Bay Packers statistics] - Pro-Football-Reference
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=GNB&lg=nfl&yr=1989 1989 Green Bay Packers] - Database Football

sequence
prev=1988 Green Bay Packers season
next=1990 Green Bay Packers season
list=Green Bay Packer Teams