Three touchdowns from QB plus ferocious pass rush puts Minnesota at 4-0. Associated Press
By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Brett Favre proved to the Green Bay Packers he has plenty of fire left inside, and in his right arm.
Favre's first game against his former team was all fun for the Minnesota Vikings and all frustration for the Packers, as the graying quarterback connected for three touchdown passes and 271 yards in a 30-23 victory on Monday night.
Favre went 24 for 31, without a turnover. He did an awkward body bump with kicker Ryan Longwell, also a former Packer, and stayed poised in the pocket all night.
"Lot of fun. It was a big win for us," Favre said. "We did what we had to do."
The Vikings (4-0) sacked Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers, eight times. Jared Allen was credited with 4 1/2 of them, a career high, including a safety in the fourth quarter that stretched the lead to 16. Rodgers had his first two turnovers of the season, and Favre turned both of them into vintage touchdown passes in the first half.
Favre hugged Rodgers, Donald Driver and several other Packers once the game was over. Rodgers tried to engineer the kind of drive his predecessor is famous for, but he came up short.
Favre also had plenty of time to throw throughout the game.
Rodgers had the exact opposite experience. He finished 26 for 37 for a career-high 384 yards, many of them in desperation down the stretch, and two touchdown passes.
The Vikings were relentless in their rush, particularly Allen on left tackle Darryn Colledge, who left in the third quarter with a right knee injury. Colledge moved from left guard two weeks ago when Chad Clifton got hurt.
Rodgers's receivers let him down, too, though. On fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the third quarter, Rodgers found tight end Donald Lee open in the end zone. But the ball bounced off Lee's chest and onto the turf, as Rodgers snapped his head back with his hands on the sides of his helmet.
Pink wristbands, cleats and sideline caps for breast cancer awareness gave the game a different look, but nothing altered the color scheme as much as Favre in purple. This was his sixth game with Minnesota, counting the preseason, but the sight of the guy who led Green Bay to a Super Bowl trophy and took only one losing record in 16 years there wearing the rival team's jersey was still strange.
This was a highly anticipated and heavily hyped game. Everybody in the stadium stood all the way through the Vikings' first possession, instead of sitting after the first few snaps like usual. Cameras flashed constantly.
Favre was clearly uncomfortable this week with all the attention on this reunion, trying to downplay the significance and stumbling through denials that his main motivation to unretire last year was revenge on general manager Ted Thompson for not letting him come back and compete for his old job with Rodgers.
"My statement has been what I've done over my career," Favre said. "One game does not define my career good or bad. I know what I've done. I'm proud of what I've done. I know I can play. I wanted to do what it takes to win."
One of the most excitable players football has ever seen, Favre's history in emotional games has been mixed. In 2003, on Monday night against Oakland after the death of his father, Favre threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns. In 1999, though, he went 14 for 35 with four interceptions in his first game against Mike Holmgren after the head coach took over in Seattle.
The Packers (2-2) stuffed Adrian Peterson with their new 3-4 defense, holding him to 55 yards on 25 attempts and even turning one short gain directly into points. Rookie Clay Matthews joined a gang tackle and ripped the ball out, returning it 42 yards to tie the score at 14.
Favre trotted right out and took the Vikings down the field, though. He fired a 43-yard pass to Percy Harvin to give the Vikings first-and-goal at the 3, then caught a break when Charles Woodson's interception in the end zone was wiped out by a pass interference penalty. Replays showed Woodson making minimal, if any, contact with Sidney Rice, but Peterson plunged in for a touchdown on the next play to make it 21-14.
Then came an eight-play, 80-yard drive that stretched the lead to 14. Favre found Bernard Berrian wide open from 31 yards for the score, but the setup was more impressive. Favre had six or seven seconds to throw, and found backup tight end Jeff Dugan for a 25-yarder.
The Vikings DL and OL won the game, plain and simple. If there is one thing that Ted Thompson has constantly failed to do is get talent for the trenches. Despite that, Aaron showed that he can play. Swap the lines and you'd get a 45-10 win for the Packers. But Ted refuses to dive into FAs and rather get his 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounders or undrafted players to play in the trenches, so be it. I hope the next Packers GM will do something different. And it should be soon, as this team is 6-10 at best.
I'll I'm going to say is congratulations to the Vikings and their fans on an outstanding performance last night. Good game plan (shocker from Chilly), excellent execution - they played a heckuva game. And I'm gonna leave it at that because my Mom always said if you can't say anything nice, then do say anything at all! ;-)
Dont forget, this game should have been tied!!!!!!!!!!! (thanks Donald Lee) and the entire OL
Don't delude yourself about Aaron Rodgers. He is Tony Romo in disguise. Looks good for fantasy football but doesn't win games when they count. His numbers are all padding from last night once the Vikings went into a soft zone / prevent package. The game wasn't nearly as close as the score.
Aaron Rodgers is no Brett Favre. Even at close to 40 years old, the man is still getting it done.
I love this site but do get weary of all the Packers hype. They were 6-10 last year and haven't done anything to improve. And, let's face it - the only significant personnel change between Brett's last year in GB (10-6) and Rodger's first year was QB... Why do people think suddenly that the Packers are ready to challenge for the NFC North? What have they done? True, their 3-4 defense under Dom Capers should pay dividends in the future, but I'll be shocked if they finish better than 8-8 this season.
Nope, the NFC North is a two-horse race. I predict that the Bears will beat the Packers in the second matchup and win enough games to push the Vikes down the stretch. Still, barring injury to AD, I expect the Vikings to again win the division.
Don't delude yourself about Aaron Rodgers. He is Tony Romo in disguise. Looks good for fantasy football but doesn't win games when they count. His numbers are all padding from last night once the Vikings went into a soft zone / prevent package. The game wasn't nearly as close as the score.
Aaron Rodgers is no Brett Favre. Even at close to 40 years old, the man is still getting it done.
I love this site but do get weary of all the Packers hype. They were 6-10 last year and haven't done anything to improve. And, let's face it - the only significant personnel change between Brett's last year in GB (10-6) and Rodger's first year was QB... Why do people think suddenly that the Packers are ready to challenge for the NFC North? What have they done? True, their 3-4 defense under Dom Capers should pay dividends in the future, but I'll be shocked if they finish better than 8-8 this season.
Nope, the NFC North is a two-horse race. I predict that the Bears will beat the Packers in the second matchup and win enough games to push the Vikes down the stretch. Still, barring injury to AD, I expect the Vikings to again win the division.
Don't delude yourself about Aaron Rodgers. He is Tony Romo in disguise. Looks good for fantasy football but doesn't win games when they count. His numbers are all padding from last night once the Vikings went into a soft zone / prevent package. The game wasn't nearly as close as the score.
Aaron Rodgers is no Brett Favre. Even at close to 40 years old, the man is still getting it done.
I love this site but do get weary of all the Packers hype. They were 6-10 last year and haven't done anything to improve. And, let's face it - the only significant personnel change between Brett's last year in GB (10-6) and Rodger's first year was QB... Why do people think suddenly that the Packers are ready to challenge for the NFC North? What have they done? True, their 3-4 defense under Dom Capers should pay dividends in the future, but I'll be shocked if they finish better than 8-8 this season.
Nope, the NFC North is a two-horse race. I predict that the Bears will beat the Packers in the second matchup and win enough games to push the Vikes down the stretch. Still, barring injury to AD, I expect the Vikings to again win the division.
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Oct 06, 2009
03:07 AM
Brett Favre showed he can still play & he still loves the game....that's what it's all about.
His team is 4 & 0 / his arms looks healthy & strong & he showes poise. Plus.....a great running back whom was not the feature however....normally is......
I think if anyone says..."his head is not in football". is not a very good judge of players. Oh wait..... :)
As it should be always, the most complete & prepared team won the game.