Lawrence Taylor was all set to leave after this year, and his teammates were ready to see him go.
No one, though, expected that one of the NFL's most impressive careers would end so suddenly.Taylor, who previously announced he would retire after the season, went down Sunday with a ruptured right Achilles' tendon, an injury that will need about four months to heal.
Taylor's teammates on the New York Giants and players on the Green Bay Packers surrounded the All-Pro linebacker after he was hurt late in the third quarter. Taylor was carted off the field, left the stadium in a cast before the Giants' 27-7 victory was complete and was scheduled to undergo surgery early this week.
"I'm saddened that Lawrence has to end his career on a golf cart going out of Giants Stadium," said his former coach, Bill Parcells, now an announcer for NBC. "In deference to all the great players I have coached, I would have to say that Lawrence Taylor is the greatest player I ever coached."
Taylor, 33, was an All-Pro for the first 10 years of his career and the NFL's career sacks leader. He did not make the All-Pro team last season for the first time, but though his skills had diminished somewhat, he was still the Giants' leader.
After the Giants finished off the Packers for their third straight victory, many of Taylor's teammates said they hoped he might return next year.
"It's a shame if he doesn't return that that is how it ended for him," linebacker Pepper Johnson said. "I would hope he'd take it as not the way to go out."
"He's our main guy. He is everything to us," said Corey Miller, the second-year linebacker who replaced Taylor. "I think he had the desire to retire injury-free. Maybe this will have even more bearing on his retiring."
Taylor had one sack and blocked two passes in the first half. He was hurt with 1:44 left in the third quarter when he jumped to knock down a pass.
The Giants forced five turnovers, including Reyna Thompson's first NFL interception, which he returned 69 yards for the clinching touchdown with 3:38 remaining. That offset Green Bay's edge in first downs (21-9), yardage (363-177) and time of possession (36:08-23:52).
Rodney Hampton had two short touchdown runs and Matt Bahr kicked two field goals for New York (5-4). Green Bay (3-6) got a 3-yard touchdown run by Vince Workman, while Sterling Sharpe had 11 receptions for 160 yards.
In other games, it was Buffalo 28, Pittsburgh 20; Dallas 37, Detroit 3; Cleveland 24, Houston 14; Philadelphia 31, the Los Angeles Raiders 10; Miami 28, Indianapolis 0; Minnesota 35, Tampa Bay 7; New Orleans 31, New England 14; Denver 27, the New York Jets 16; Phoenix 20, the Los Angeles Rams 14; Kansas City 16, San Diego 14; Washington 16, Seattle 3; and Cincinnati 31, Chicago 28 in overtime.
On Monday night, San Francisco is at Atlanta.
Broncos 27, Jets 16
John Elway completed the longest regular-season pass of his career, an 80-yard TD to rookie Arthur Marshall, and Denver won its eighth straight home game. The Broncos (6-3) overcame four turnovers to win, helped when Wymon Henderson returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown. The Jets (2-7) trailed 20-16 in the fourth quarter and had the ball at midfield, but Freeman McNeil lost a fumble.
Redskins 16, Seahawks 3
Mark Rypien threw a TD pass in the fourth quarter for Washington's first offensive touchdown in 15 quarters and Chip Lohmiller kicked three field goals. The Redskins (6-3) sent host Seattle (1-8) to its sixth straight loss and the worst start in franchise history.
Cowboys 37, Lions 3
Emmitt Smith scored three touchdowns and Dallas dealt Detroit its worst home defeat in 28 years. The last time the Lions (2-7) lost so badly at home was in 1964 at Tiger Stadium to the Baltimore Colts. The Cowboys (8-1) avenged a pair of losses last season to Detroit, including one in the playoffs.
Vikings 35, Buccaneers 7
Minnesota's defense scored two touchdowns for the second straight week as Carlos Jenkins returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown and Chris Doleman returned an interception 27 yards. Roger Craig ran for two more TDs as the visiting Vikings (7-2) won for the sixth time in seven games. Tampa Bay (3-6) has lost six in a row.
Dolphins 28, Colts 0
Miami, which lost at home to Indianapolis two weeks ago, got even with a rout at the Hoosier Dome. Dan Marino passed for a pair of touchdowns as the Dolphins (7-2) stopped their two-game slide. Steve Emtman, the AFC's defensive player of the week after a big game last month at Miami, left in the first quarter with a sprained left knee for the Colts (4-5).
Saints 31, Patriots 14
New Orleans held New England (0-9) to 122 yards and six first downs, and maybe ended quarterback Tommy Hodson's season with a broken finger. The Saints (7-2) have given up fewer than 200 yards four times during their current five-game winning streak.
Browns 24, Oilers 14
Stevon Moore returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown and Mike Tomczak threw two TD passes as Cleveland won at Houston, leaving both teams at 5-4. Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, who sustained a concussion last week against Pittsburgh, completed only 12 of 25 passes for 69 yards, his lowest total since 1989.
Cardinals 20, Rams 14
Johnny Johnson scored his second touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run with 2:04 remaining and Phoenix sent the Rams to their first home loss this season. Cleveland Gary fumbled twice for the Rams (3-6), and the Cardinals (3-6) converted both turnovers into touchdowns.
Chiefs 16, Chargers 14
Nick Lowery kicked a 36-yard field goal with 54 seconds remaining and Kansas City (5-4) won at home. Lowery's third field goal of the game was the 300th of his career and was enough to stop a four-game winning streak by San Diego (4-5).