Favre brilliant for Vikings in win over Packers
Through all the offseason hoopla, the fickleness and the nauseating coverage of his every move, Brett Favre reminded people on Monday night why he’s a legend.
Favre completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 30-23 win over the Packers in game that lived up to the hype. On a night where Green Bay did an excellent job containing Adrian Peterson (25 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD), Favre stepped up and delivered one of those games where you couldn’t help but shake your head in amazement about a guy his age making the plays he does.
One of the biggest questions coming into this season was whether or not Favre could step up and make enough plays in the passing game when an opponent shut down Peterson. Tonight, Brett answered that question.
Every time Minnesota faced a third and long, Favre stepped up and made a play. Granted, he faced zero pressure from Green Bay, but that shouldn’t take away from some of the bullets that he was firing into his receivers’ hands. The guy is about to turn 40 in five days and he’s still playing like he’s 25.
Favre didn’t win this game on his own, though. Jared Allen was an absolute beast, racking up 4.5 sacks and fully taking advantage of a decimated Green Bay offensive line. On the night, Minnesota produced eight sacks and constantly harassed Aaron Rodgers.
Speaking of Rodgers, he more than held his own in the battle of quarterbacks while completing 26 of 37 passes for 384 yards and two touchdowns. But he made a couple of huge mistakes that doomed Green Bay in the end. He fumbled on the opening series of the game, which led to Minnesota’s first touchdown, then threw an interception late in the first half that led to another Vikings’ score. Both turnovers came in Minnesota territory when the Packers were moving the ball with ease.
On a whole, Green Bay shot itself in the foot countless times and it wasn’t just Rodgers. Down 28-14 early in the third quarter, Mike McCarthy decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from Minnesota’s 1-yard line. Rodgers scanned the entire end zone before finding an open Donald Lee, who dropped a pass right in his breadbasket. Defensively, the Packers couldn’t generate a rush on Favre and Brett picked them apart. Dom Capers’ unit did a great job shutting down AP after the first quarter, but nobody laid a hand on Favre the entire night.
There’s nothing the Packers could do about their offensive line. They were already without Chad Clifton because of an ankle injury, and then they lost Daryn Colledge (Clifton’s replacement) in the second half due to a knee injury. The Packers’ game plan to use short, quick passes was effective in the beginning of the game, but once Minnesota adjusted McCarthy didn’t have an answer.
Back to Favre – does he tarnish his legacy in Green Bay with this victory? True Packer fans couldn’t have appreciated what they saw tonight, as Favre celebrated every touchdown like he won the Super Bowl and carried on like a woman scorned. I imagine that once he does stop playing, Packer fans will begin to love him just as they did throughout his playing days in Green Bay. But in the here and now, I wouldn’t blame Packer fans if they wanted to torch their #4 collection after what they witnessed tonight.
And don’t forget, he still has to go back to Green Bay later this year. What happens if he beats the Packers at Lambeau?
Posted in: NFL
Tags: 2009 NFL Week 4, Brett Favre, Brett Favre Monday Night Football, Brett Favre Vikings, brett favre vs packers, Green Bay Packers, Jared Allen, Jared Allen vs Packers, Minnesota Vikings, NFL Week 4 Scores, Packers Vikings, Packers Vikings Monday Night Football, Packers Vikings recap, Packers Vikings score, Packers vs. Vikings
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Right on !!! Once again Favre proves that he is the man for the job. Tonight he proves once again
that he is ready, willing and able. Just what legends are made of. Looks like this will continue for another season
The Vike’s whipped our O-line.
We couldn’t pressure Favre at all.
Correct those problmes, and we win pulling away.
It will be interesting to see how long Favre can keep this up. For the moment, at least for this Packer fan, it’s still kinda fun to watch.
Give a QB credit for a game well played. As far as the adoration and, ‘the old boy still has it’ statements…..it’s almost like reading the Jet’s discussion board through 4 games, or the Packers discussion boards from 04′ – 07′. How did Favre trend during the second half of the season in those five years, hmmmmm……..
Favre looked good, there’s no denying that. However, the talk from the announcers about how the Vikings might be the best team in the NFC is extremely premature.
Put it this way, do you think for 1 second that Favre would get that kind of time in the pocket against the Giants or Eagles? Or hell even against someone like the 49ers?
There’s only one guy who can play like that at age 39yrs, 360 days……..And thats Brett Favre!
Why did I retire? Fire up the Cruiser, I’m back..BAM! Like that!
Chris – Yes, Favre played a pretty darn good game and looks strong. If their O-line can protect anything like that, Favre and AP can take them a very long way.
As for history.
He helped play the future Super Bowl Champions to a standstill in the 2007 NFC Championship while getting a grand total of something like 28 yards from the run game.
Even on his last interception, if he puts that ball outside instead of inside, Driver probably goes the distance, we lose to the Pats in the Super Bowl and this whole story goes a very different path.
Anybody with a lick of sense watching him last year knew his arm was toast after about week 11. He needed to be pulled out. That’s a leadership failure.
One of the biggest questions coming into this season was whether or not Favre could step up and make enough plays in the passing game when an opponent shut down Peterson. Tonight, Brett answered that question.
No offense to my esteemed colleague, but this was never the question in my mind. The guy can still play. I think the question is, after what happened with the Jets last season, can he stay healthy enough through an entire season to play with the consistency necessary to make a Super Bowl run? That question still hasn’t been answered yet.
Favre is great when his team has a lead, and the Vikings never trailed tonight. They have one of the top running backs in the league, a great offensive line, an up and coming group of receivers and an opportunistic defense that is built to play with a lead. In short, everything is in place for Favre to succeed.
On the whole, Rodgers played well last night, but there were times that he held onto the ball too long. Most of the sacks were due to the problems on the offensive line, but 2-3 were his fault. His two turnovers obviously hurt, as did Lee’s drop in the endzone. But this game would have been very different had the officials not called back Charles Woodson’s interception in the endzone. Like Gruden said, “Sometimes you just have to reward brilliance.”
The Packers can’t protect the quarterback and they can’t get off the field on 3rd down (because they can’t pressure the quarterback). The run defense looks solid, the running game is improving and the passing game is strong. Last year they couldn’t stop the run. If it’s not one thing, it’s another with this team.
JP – that’s fair. You’re right, Favre’s health was the biggest concern coming into the year, as I illustrated in the Vikings’ season preview.
I overstated things in the recap, although I know there were some that questioned if he could still play at his age. (Present company excluded.)
Some definitely questioned whether he could still play at the elite level. Frankly, I’m stunned at how well be played last night. He looked like the pro bowler he was 10 years ago. Of course, the real issue is whether he can keep it up over the long haul. Also, even Favre at his physical best will have games where he gets too aggressive.
It will be fascinating to see if he can keep this going. I think the season will wear on him, so we’ll see how he does in the postseason. Two years ago he looked old when the Packers had to play in sub-zero weather in the playoffs.
Anyways, he’s done much better than I expected, but after seeing him manage the offense in week one in Cleveland, he looked like he was ready to play.
My Favre question was whether his injury could be “fixed” or whether it amounted to “wear and tear” on an aging body.
Hard to say so early in the year, but at the moment, it looks to be “fixed”. The guy was doing fine until he had an injury to his throwing arm. Early indications are that said problem has been remedied, but I guess time will tell. As a Packer fan and a Favre appreciater, it’s something painful, but it’s always interesting.
Woodson’s interception was going back regardless – the Packers were offsides on that play too.
Even so, you have to be impressed with Woodson.
Jeff’s right – Woodson’s INT was coming back regardless.
Even so, it was a cheap call and Woodson made a hell of a hell, even though he did have one arm around the waste of Rice. (Again, it was cheap.)
Jeff – wrong on the NFC championship game. Favre was aweful in the 1st half and very sporadic. On that final interception (trust me, I still have it taped) the only guy on the entire field NOT open was Donald Driver. Two other receivers were running open and free down the field. You can’t deny the trend. 84 int’s with 84 td’s the last four years. Follow the numbers and you see a precipitous drop starting in November with a crescendo in Jan. Deny it all you want, it is most certainly there.
Again, I give him ALL the credit in the world for his play last night. Let’s discuss his productivity in mid to late November and we will see if Favre is truly a renaissance man or the trend beginning in 04′ will continue for one additional year.
The way I recall the game:
We couldn’t run
We couldn’t stop the run
Al Harris couldn’t stop Plaxico
It sure wasn’t the rushing attack that got us into OT with the future champs. Favre was the only offense we had (mostly on one play to Driver)
I went and played stat monkey for you from 2005-2007. Split the years into 8 game halves for INT totals.
2005
13/16
2006
7/11
2007
8/7+2 (for the playoff games)
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/2006.htm
Good point about the offsides on Woodson’s INT. I forgot about that.