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.

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I’m setting the over/under on the number of sacks Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen will have on Aaron Rodgers tonight at 2.5.

Any takers?

Allen is due for a monster night as Green Bay left tackle Chad Clifton is expected to miss his second game tonight following an ankle injury he suffered in a Week 2 loss to the Bengals.

The Packers’ offensive line has resembled a revolving door this season, allowing 12 sacks in the first three games. In their loss to Cincinnati, Green Bay made defensive end Antwan Odom look like a cross between Reggie White and Kevin Greene as he brought down Rodgers five times.

Rodgers is a fine quarterback, but his offensive line is going to get him killed if they don’t start protecting him. Considering Ryan Grant won’t find much running room against the Williams Wall tonight, it would be in Green Bay’s best interest to max-protect Rodgers the entire night. The Giants use a similar method on a weekly basis with Eli Manning and he seems to do just fine.

The Packers need to help Daryn Colledge out, because he’ll see the brunt of the work against Allen. Lining up a tight end to Allen’s side would make sense, although Green Bay might also need to set up a military-based obstacle course in between him and Rodgers just to be safe.

I’m taking the over tonight. I think Allen will eventually take this game over, especially if the Packers can’t get Grant going early. It could be a very long night for Rodgers.

The moment Brett Favre has been waiting for since Ted Thompson crapped in his cereal over 12 months ago is vastly approaching.

The Vikings host the Packers tonight at the Metrodome and Brett will no doubt be fired up to try to stick it to Thompson, as he so amply put it when the GM traded him to the Jets last year. (The fact that Favre put Thompson in a bad position with his fickle changing of the mind is still lost on Brett, but that’s a story for another time.)

The question becomes, will Brett beat Thompson’s Packers tonight?

Like most weeks, the Vikings will try to establish the run with Adrian Peterson in hopes of opening things up in the passing game. The Packers have a solid secondary, so Brad Childress would be foolish to take the ball out of Peterson’s hands early in the game and start forcing the action with Favre in the passing game. It would behoove Childress not to get wrapped up in the Favre-vs-Green Bay death match and just keep things simple with AP.

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Along with the odds and over/under totals, here’s a look at some of the marquee matchups for Week 4 in the NFL.

Jets (3-0) at Saints (3-0), 4:05PM ET
Perhaps the most anticipated match up on this week’s schedule (outside of the Monday night game, that is) will be played at the Superdome when the 3-0 Saints host the 3-0 Jets. Both teams are playing with tons of confidence on both sides of the ball and this game will be a great test for each team. How will Drew Brees and the explosive New Orleans offense handle Rex Ryan’s aggressive defense? Can Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense keep pace with Brees and company if they start lighting on the scoreboard? This should be a great game from start to finish.
Odds: Saints –7.

Ravens (3-0) at Patriots (2-1), 1:00PM ET
Although the Patriots soundly beat the Falcons last week, they still have some issues to resolve. Tom Brady didn’t play particularly well (especially in the first half), but he also didn’t face much of a pass rush. Baltimore won’t make the same mistake Atlanta did and allow Brady to sit back in the pocket and pick them apart underneath. The Ravens also have a better run defense than the Falcons do, so the Pats shouldn’t be able to control this game on the ground like they were able to do last week. Baltimore has its issues as well, particularly in the secondary. If Brady is on, he could have some success moving the ball against the Ravens’ pass defense. It’ll be interesting to see how New England’s defense handles Joe Flacco and a running game that already looks like it’s in midseason form.
Odds: Patriots –2.

Chargers (2-1) at Steelers (1-2), 8:20PM ET
Is this a must win for the defending champs? The lack of a running game is killing the Steelers right now because they can’t nurse leads late in games. If Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall can’t get going against a beat up San Diego front seven, then the onus will once again be on Ben Roethlisberger and the defense to win the game for Pittsburgh. The Chargers know what it’s like to play in Pittsburgh since they made the trip twice last year, which resulted in a 11-10 regular season defeat and a 35-24 loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Consistency has been an issue for Philip Rivers and company, but the Steelers are primed for the taking. Will Pittsburgh fall to 1-3 or can it right the ship this Sunday night?
Odds: Steelers -6.

Packers (2-1) at Vikings (3-0), Monday, 8:30PM ET
Did the schedule makers nail this one or what? Brett Favre will host his former team a week after producing some of the late game heroics that made him an icon in Green Bay. The football world is abuzz with Favre’s game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis last Sunday, which helped the Vikings edge the 49ers and remain undefeated. The Green Bay offensive line must do a better job protecting Aaron Rodgers, especially with Jared Allen ready to provide consistent pressure for a great Minnesota defensive line. Rodgers will have to make plenty of plays in the passing game, since Ryan Grant isn’t likely to find much running room against the Williams Wall. Can Rodgers outshine his predecessor or will Favre teach the young quarterback a thing or two about playing in primetime?
Odds: Vikings –3.5.

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It was an ugly, sloppy game as the Packers and the Vikings combined for 21 penalties for a total of 160 yards, but the Packers grinded out a nice win over their arch-rival in Aaron Rodgers’ debut as a starting quarterback.

So how did he do? Pretty darn well. All things considered, I don’t think you could ask for a better game out of the young QB. He completed 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards and an incredible touchdown pass where he muscled the ball across his twisted body and into the endzone. I hate to make the comparison, but it was Favre-esque. He also scored the game-winning touchdown on a QB sneak in the fourth quarter. His numbers would have been even better if an unrelated penalty hadn’t negated a beautiful 68-yard touchdown hookup with Donald Driver early in the third quarter. Given the circumstances, the kid gets an A+. He’ll have his struggles, but I’m starting to think that he’s the real deal.

Greg Jennings led the Packers in receiving with 91 yards on five catches. Ryan Grant was held in check for most of the game, but busted out a 57-yard carry in the middle of the fourth quarter, which set Green Bay up for Rodgers’ game-winning sneak. The Packers indicated before the game that Grant would split time with Brandon Jackson and they stood by their word. Grant had 12 carries and no catches while Jackson received seven carries and caught three balls.

As for the Vikings, Adrian Peterson had a terrific game, posting 114 yards and a touchdown on 20 touches, but the Packers made him work for his yards. Green Bay also forced Tarvaris Jackson to make plays, and while he made a few (178 passing yards, 1 TD, 65 rushing yards), he simply didn’t make enough. His interception on the final drive ended Minnesota’s hopes for the upset.

Week 1…

…Monday Night Football…

…Packers versus Vikings…

…at Lambeau Field…

…Aaron Rodgers’ first start.

The pressure is on.

It would have been (a lot) easier had Brett Favre posted one of his infamous three interception clunkers in his debut with the Jets, but he instead he played well and led his team to a win in his first game in the green and white, so the pressure continues to mount on young Aaron Rodgers.

What’s a reasonable expectation for the QB in his first start? Is a win all that matters? Probably not. A win is the most important thing, but if he doesn’t look reasonably sharp against he Vikings, the pundits will continue to talk about the Packers’ decision to trade Favre this summer. Heck, they’re going to talk about that decision no matter how Rodgers does tonight, but if he looks sharp in a win, it would do a lot to quiet the critics.

Rodgers has the supporting cast to succeed. He has a good pass-blocking offensive line, a pretty good running game that features Ryan Grant, a sure-handed tight end in Donald Lee and a fine wide receiving corps that includes Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. The defense is good enough that Rodgers probably won’t be in the position of having to carry the team on his shoulders.

The table is set. The question is – will Rodgers pick up the fork?