1989 Green Bay Packers season

1989 Green Bay Packers season
Head Coach	Lindy Infante
Home Field	Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1988	1990

The 1989 Green Bay Packers season was their 69th in the National Football League. The Packers posted a 10–6 record, their best since 1972, but failed to make the playoffs. The team was often referred to as the "Cardiac Pack" due to several close-game wins. The team was coached by Lindy Infante and led by quarterback Don Majkowski, who attained his nickname "The Majik Man."

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.

Round	Selection	Overall	Player	College	Position
1	2	2	Tony Mandarich	Michigan State	T
3	2	58	Matt Brock	Oregon	DE
3	18	74	Anthony Dilweg	Duke	QB
4	3	87	Jeff Graham	Long Beach State	QB
5	12	124	Jeff Query	Millikin	WR
5	15	127	Vince Workman	Ohio State	RB
6	3	142	Chris Jacke	Texas-El Paso	K
7	2	169	Mark Hall	SW Louisiana	DE
8	3	198	Thomas King	SW Louisiana	DB
8	11	206	Brian Shulman	Auburn	P
9	2	225	Scott Kirby	Arizona State	T
10	3	254	Ben Jessie	SW Texas State	DB
11	2	281	Cedric Stallworth	Georgia Tech	DB
12	3	310	Stan Shiver	Florida State	DB

Personnel

Staff

1989 Green Bay Packers staff
	Front office President/Chief Executive Officer – Bob Harlan Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head Coach – Lindy Infante Offensive coaches Offensive Backs – Willie Peete Wide Receivers – Wayne "Buddy" Geis Tight Ends – Virgil Knight Offensive Line – Charlie Davis Offensive Assistant – Joe Clark			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Hank Bullough Defensive Line – Greg Blache Outside Linebackers – Dick Moseley Defensive Backs – Dick Jauron Special teams coaches Special Teams – Howard Tippett Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Virgil Knight

Regular season

Although the Packers failed to make the Playoffs, they recorded their best record since 1972. The Packers finished 10-6, placing them second in the NFC Central. The Minnesota Vikings also finished 10-6, but held the tiebreaker due to a better conference record. The team finished with a 10-6 record for their first winning season since the strike shortended 1982 season. It was also the first club to record 4 1-point victories in a season. The club was 6-2 at home and 4-4 on the road. The Packers offense had success due to a strong passing game, headed by quarterback Don Majkowski. Majkowski finished first in the NFL in passing yards and completions. He earned a bid to the NFL Pro Bowl. Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe finished the season first in receptions, and second in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Sharpe would also earn a bid to the Pro Bowl.

The Herschel Walker trade and the Packers

On October 8, 1989, the Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys, featuring star running back Herschel Walker. Four days later, the Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings; the next team on the Packers' schedule. Walker's debut with the Vikings occurred three days after the trade, on October 15, 1989, against the Packers. The Packers faced Walker for a third time during the regular season, on November 26, 1989 when the Packers played the Vikings again. These regular season games between the Packers and Walker occurred in three different cities: Green Bay, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee.

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 less than a minute 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. The game was broadcast on CBS with Dick Stockton and Dan Fouts on the call.

The last team to beat San Francisco

On November 19, 1989, the Packers traveled to Candlestick Park and beat Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. It would be one of only two losses for the 49ers, and the last before the 49ers finished out the season 8-0, including a 55-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV. Although regarded at the time as a fluke, Green Bay would proceed to win 13 of the next 15 contests with San Francisco over the next 21 seasons.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23-21	Lambeau Field	55,650
2	September 17, 1989	New Orleans Saints	W 35-34	Lambeau Field	55,809
3	September 24, 1989	at Los Angeles Rams	L 41-38	Anaheim Stadium	57,701
4	October 1, 1989	Atlanta Falcons	W 23-21	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,647
5	October 8, 1989	Dallas Cowboys	W 31-13	Lambeau Field	56,656
6	October 15, 1989	at Minnesota Vikings	L 26-14	Metrodome	62,075
7	October 22, 1989	at Miami Dolphins	L 23-20	Joe Robbie Stadium	56,624
8	October 29, 1989	Detroit Lions	W(OT) 23-20	Milwaukee County Stadium	53,731
9	November 5, 1989	Chicago Bears	W 14-13	Lambeau Field	56,556
10	November 12, 1989	at Detroit Lions	L 31-22	Pontiac Silverdome	44,324
11	November 19, 1989	at San Francisco 49ers	W 21-17	Candlestick Park	62,219
12	November 26, 1989	Minnesota Vikings	W 20-19	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,592
13	December 3, 1989	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17-16	Tampa Stadium	58,120
14	December 10, 1989	Kansas City Chiefs	L 21-3	Lambeau Field	56,694
15	December 17, 1989	at Chicago Bears	W 40-28	Soldier Field	44,781
16	December 24, 1989	at Dallas Cowboys	W 20-10	Texas Stadium	41,265

Standings

NFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	10	6	0	.625	351	275
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	362	356
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	312	364
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	358	377
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	320	419

Roster

Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks 7 Don Majkowski 8 Anthony Dilweg Running Backs 21 Brent Fullwood 27 Herman Fontenot 33 Keith Woodside 46 Vince Workman 35 Michael Haddix Wide Receivers 81 Perry Kemp 88 Aubrey Matthews 83 Carl Bland 85 Jeff Query 84 Sterling Sharpe Tight Ends 89 John Spagnola 80 Clint Didier 86 Ed West		Offensive Linemen 77 Tony Mandarich 73 Alan Veingrad 75 Ken Ruettgers 76 Mike Ariey 65 Ron Hallstrom 57 Rich Moran 67 Billy Ard 51 Blair Bush 58 Mark Cannon 63 James Campen Defensive Linemen 96 Shawn Patterson 72 Mark Hall 94/62 Matt Brock 68 Blaise Winter 61 Jerry Boyarsky 79 Bob Nelson 93 Robert Brown		Linebackers 97 Tim Harris 59 John Anderson 91 Brian Noble 50 Johnny Holland 54 Scott Stephen 52 Mike Weddington 56 Burnell Dent Defensive Backs 37 Mark Murphy 26 Chuck Cecil 29 Ken Stills 23 Tiger Greene 22 Mark Lee 20 Michael McGruder 49 Mickey Sutton 28 Ron Pitts 24 Van Jakes 32 Dave Brown Special Teams 13 Chris Jacke 17 Don Bracken Rookies in italics

Season 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

Awards and records

• Brent Fullwood, NFC Pro Bowl Selection
• 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

External links

• 1989 Green Bay Packers statistics - Pro-Football-Reference
• 1989 Green Bay Packers - Database Football

Preceded by 1988 Green Bay Packers season

Green Bay Packer Teams

Succeeded by 1990 Green Bay Packers season