One of the best NFL playoff games I ever saw Sunday night ended just the way I feared.
It was basically decided by a coin toss.
That's right. The winner of the coin toss in overtime of the New Orleans/Minnesota slugfest -- you just knew that team would win the game, didn't you? I had no dog in this hunt, but I still wanted badly to see both teams to get the ball at least once in the overtime.
Instead, New Orleans won the toss and drove for a field goal and a 31-28 victory over the Vikings. A game with 8 TDs and dozens of huge plays was decided by a flip of a coin and a field-goal kicker.
That's so wrong. The NFL likes its sudden-death overtime policy well enough that it has never varied -- first team to score wins, and no exceptions. I have never liked it, much preferring the college method (both teams get the ball an equal number of times from the opponents' 25) or the high school method (in most states, starting at the opponents' 10 and getting four downs to score). That is a much fairer way to decide things.
It wasn't fair to take the ball completely out of Brett Favre's hands in OT, just like it wouldn't have been fair to take it completely out of Drew Brees' hands. And teams should be going for TDs in OT, as they do at other levels of football, not just trying to get in position for former soccer players to win the game.
I know not all NFL overtime games end in one possession, but too many of them do. It's just not the right way to do it.
Other than that, it was a fantastic game, and I'm happy for the Saints, who after all had gone their entire existence without ever making a Super Bowl.
I just don't like the rule that helped to get them there.
We're moving!
9 years ago
Posts
52 comments:
No, the game was not decided by a coin toss. The Vikings had 60 minutes of possessions with which to achieve victory over the Saints and they failed to win. They even had the final possession of the fourth quarter and were within field goal range when a dumb penalty forced them into a desperate passing situation where Favre threw the interception that ultimately doomed them.
Why should we give them any additional chances when they couldn't take care of business when they had the opportunity.
There is plenty of blame for the Vikings loss: the turnovers, the penalties, the inability of the defense to hold in key spots. But please do not blame a coin flip. Overtime is fine just the way it is.
Well anon, the Saints had 60 minutes to take care of business as well. Even with 5 Viking turnovers the Saints couldn't close the deal. I'm not a Vikings fan, and I'm glad the Saints are finally getting a shot but the OT setup in the NFL is lousy...
Scott,
It is the Vikings responsibility to stop 1)a long kickoff return in overtime, 2)the Saints offense from getting into field position for the field goal.
If they had not turned the ball over 5 times, we would be talking about Favre vs. Manning. Also, if Favre had just run and slid instead of throwing one of his patented INT's, Longwell could have had the chance to kick Minn to Miami.
How is Childress's decision to bring Favre in and his extension look now?
I agree Scott. The NFL wants offense, but then uses OT to punish a team for having a stronger offense and a weaker defense by deciding the game on a coin toss. Congrats to the Saints, but a game with 2 great offenses like that should have given both of them a chance in OT.
In the movie 'Tarzan", were that tiger really dangerous?
So typical. Don't like the result so change the rules. Sounds just like NASCAR. Where has that gotten them?
Normally, I dont like most of your so called blogs, for one they always seem to be more in a Negative tone an not very journalistic. Media Journalist are "supposed to be?" non-biased an write in a non-judgemental way. But alas, you have finally wrote about something I agree with! Im originally from North La. an have always an still will be always a DIRE Hard Saints fan.(Lets face it.. we like to party!) Yes it was great to see the Saints do the unbelievable,hence HELL just froze over, but would the outcome always be the same if the OT was played different? Breez did it.. Could Farve(with his pants on the ground) have done the same thing? Would there have been a fumble, interception, or the like had he gotten the ball first? And what about all the reviews in the last few mins? Notice how after N.O. used up thier challenges, the booth review team kept stepping in an to make sure the right calls were made? And what about the 3rd an 8 possesion where the saints should have made the first down.. but the down marker somehow didnt match the Green TV First down mark?
Anonymous 9:58, once again: It is an opinion blog, not a news article. It's meant to be Scott's opinion. And as for the challenges: in the last 2 minutes, and in OT, ALL challenges are Booth challenges. No conspiracy there!
Meanwhile, ol' Scott...I think you're really thinking just like me: you admitted yesterday that your heart wanted Minnesota to win, and Sudden-Death OT broke your heart. ;-)
I loved sudden-death OT last night. I just wouldn't have been able to take one more day of "Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre" if the Vikes had won.
However, in 2004 I hated Sudden-Death OT, because it broke my heart. :-(
I guess it just depends on where one's heart is.
Good article. What a bunch of dirty rats these lowlife Saints proved to be with their overrated QB and late hitting LBs.
Never has there been so many cowardly lowlife cheap late shots on a 40 year old QB clearly an attempt to injure him with the refs blessings and home field advantage.
One of the sorriest officiating ever especially in a game of such importance. Even the reviews were seemingly rigged.
The Vikings dominated the entire game with close to 500 yds of offense and total ball control.
Obviously Favre was the better QB and had almost double passing yrds as Brees but you cant beat the refs in a home game. As far as QBs the student is never above the teacher.
Favre took these punks cheap shots like a trooper though even though there could have some ejections for such flagrant personal fouls.
All in all the worst team advanced and the best team was screwed. Seems there was some sort of sympathy factor factored in for the home team since they have sucked so badly for 40 yrs and finally got a cheap shot to the Super Bowl with help from the sorry ref crew.
This game really wasnt close although Favre could have ran the ball his last play for an EZ win FG.
The coin toss was pure luck for NO and the last ref call was terrible on a bobbled pass.
Cant beat the refs ... or luck ...
I like what Mike Golich said this morning on Mike & Mike. His suggestion was that instead of sudden death they just play an extra quarter.
Never been a Saints fan, however, while they did deserve to be in the game, they should have never been in it. Yeah they got some skewed penalty calls, but the Vikes did themselves in with too many turnovers. That being said, Scott is right. This game should not have been decided by a coin flip, which it essentially was. Goodell WAKE UP and do something about this!!!!!!
I would go for 8 minute overtime periods. That gives enough time for offense or defense to win. If still tied, then do it again. At some point someone will take a chance and either win or lose the game.
Johsua! What happens if the score is tied after the 5th quarter?
Sounds like a bunch of crybabies in here!!
The NFL isn't goig to change its ovetime policy because it is too locked into the 1:00 and 4:00 time windows for regular season games. The overtime system will be whatever is fastest, and sudden death is the quickest way to end a tie. They could do something different for playoffs, but that is a whole other can of worms
Defense is just as important as offense - and you can score on defense.
"It wasn't fair to take the ball completely out of Brett Favre's hands in OT..."
Yep, Brett Favre and those other 10 running meatsticks that play on the Minnesota Favres.
So glad that overrated prima donna is out of the playoffs.
The Vikings made too many dumb mistakes. Numerous fumbles, interceptions and 12 men in the huddle (can't get any dumber than that). The game should have been won in regulation by the Vikings, but they blew it. I'll now pull for the Saints to beat Indy.
My favorite suggestion (from Peter King, I believe) is a compromise between the extra quarter and sudden death and it's just as simple: Each team gets a possession. After that, if it's still tied, first team to score wins. That way you ensure both sides at least get a chance to score in the OT. Wouldn't add that much time to the game and would be more equitable. Heck, you may even have teams choose to go on defense first.
Hey Anon 10:10...
Who got up and pee-peed in your Cherios this morning? The "dirty rats" were penalized for the late hits and rightly so. Football is a contact sport and you get after your opponent until he says "mercy." Did you see last week's game? If not, I'll recap: Saints go after Warner, hurt Warner and then called off the dogs when he called "mercy". Farve never called mercy, so why show him mercy? Who cares if he is 40...he's on the damned field!!!
As for the Saints having an overrated QB, puh-lees you %#$@&^% moron. Drew Brees is one of the best in the league right now and a class act.
Face it, the Vikings LOST this game as it was their's to win. However, it didn't happen that way and deal with it. The refs were bad on both sides of the ball, so don't even.
Just blow it out of your arse, you prat.
I want to bang Hannah Storm.
It was a great game. The team who wanted the win the worst won. That said, All you people who dislike Favre, and I respect your thoughts, need to look at it another way. Favre being 40 years old, stayed in the entire game even with the Saints Defense constantly pounding him into the ground (15 hits). How many of the quarterbacks in the league today could take what he did yesterday. If the Saints take it to the Colts quarterback like they did yesterday, He will not be in there at the end of the third quarter. Favre may be old, football wise, but he is still a tough old bird. So give the man credit for a good game. There isn't a Quarterback in the game that hasn't wished he could take back a pass. See you next year Favre.
Favre threw an interception across his grandpa body when he had 10 yards of running room in front of him. This would have placed his "former soccer player" (aka kicker) in a position to win the game. It really doesn't matter about the overtime and the rules surrounding it because overtime would not have occurred if Brett Farve had just played the last 10 seconds of the game like an intelligent veteran not like a gunslinging, just having fun, overrated, retard. His ego once again lost the game and the smarter, more disciplined team and QB won.
"A game with 8 TDs and dozens of huge plays was decided by a flip of a coin and a field-goal kicker." What Favre was trying to do at the end of regulation was exactly that, minus the coin flip.
Field goals are an integral part of the game. Take a look at som eother playoff results before you discount the impact of a kicker (Nate Kaeding, for example?)
Offense is not the only part of a team. BOTH teams DID take the field in overtime. If your defense can't make a stop knowing that will lose you the game then part of your team failed to do it's job. It's not as if it's impossible to stop the saints offense. Want to overcome losing the coin toss? cover the kick and PLAY DEFENSE.
Favre did the same thing last week vs. the Boys and it was hailed as great, so it did not work out this time. Fact is the Vikes lost (and they are my team) and you deal with it. What Favre brought to this team this year they could have never gotten with Jackson or Rosenfells. So while I had hoped they could have won you can not place blame and hopefully this is something to build on.
I heard on the radio this morning (Mike & Mike - ESPN Radio) that this is the first time an OT Championship game has been won by the team who won the coin flip. I'd be interested to see the actual stats on win/loss in all OT games measured against the coin toss winners. Man up and play defense. It's not as if every possession in the NFL means a score. Just ask the Panthers.
The Brady rule was put in to protect QB's and the cheap shot were he dived at Favres ankle was horrible.Also in Overtime that was not a catch by the Saints WR. Vikings sjould have run the game. Childress is to blame for the 12 men on the field and they got 2 conservative when they reached the 30.Favre probably should have ran but you asking a 40 year old with a beat up ankle to run? Not gonna happen. Favre should have never been in that position if Childress had called better plays on 1st and 2nd instead of 2 stupid running plays. Also I would have put in Tavaras Jackson to run a naked bootleg to pick up the yards. Favre got beat like Rocky King and you want him to run after 3 hours of getting pounded?
How does it look for Childress to bring in Favre? Hello, fool! He took them to the championship game. Would Tavares Jackson do that?!? Don't be an a s s!
I agree let them play 1 quarter then if it is still tied do the HS thing and give them 4 downs each until someone steps up and wins. Also I am not a vikings fan , but I agree the calls from the booth were lousy espically the last 2 where one On the 4th and inces he did not have control until he landed behind the line. That should have been vikings ball right there. And the last call where the player did not catch the ball it hit the ground and they called it a catch. I would bet that Indy will beat them easily, because Manning will not make the same mistakes that Favre did. JMO
Um, Jackson took the Vikings to the playoffs last year, so yeah, it's not unthinkable that he could have done the same this year. Now you've destroyed his confidence and willingness to play for the Vikes because Favre was brought in. If he couldn't run because he was hurt he shouldn't have been in there. He's a selfish glory hound who only looks out for himself. And as for overtime, just like everyone said last week when the Vikings ran up the score against Dallas, if they didn't want the Saints to score they should have stopped them.
Some teams with a strong defense and a weak Special Teams, that win the coin toss, actually give the ball to the other team first. This can result in better field position when the other team goes 3 and out. I believe the Panthers used this strategy some this year (cant remember when). The first team with the ball is not an automatic winner. Where was that "awesome" Viking DL in overtime? If they wanted it more, they would have stopped the Saints, got the ball in better field position and won the game.
Also, I believe it was the Vikings who had the choice in the coin toss. They didn't even get this right. To me the Vikes were the better team but fate, luck and the football gods where against them. I think some luck definitely plays a part in every superbowl winning team. Gratz to the Saints for their first SuperBowl (hope Brees shows up for this one).
There are 60 minutes in regulation play. Any other time needed to declare a winner needs to be accelerated in order to meet TV schedules. So the overtime rules are effected by the TV schedules. Overtime is used to determine a winner, not another tie. To win at anything requires skill and good luck. That is the way it has always been and I suspect the way it will always be.
Who Dat?
I have a different suggestion for the OT. Leave it sudden death, but require that each team must score a touchdown out of their first OT possession, instead of allowing a field goal to win it. If the coin flip winning team can score a touchdown, it's over. IF NOT, then the other team must score a touchdown for their part. After that any score goes and wins the game.
Turnovers and penalties determined that game but I will say that the officiating was terrible. It almost looked like the refs were told to make sure the Saints won. Like someone else said in another blog, "just because they had a hard time with Katrina, that does not justify the bad calls." I'm a strong believer that if there is a wrong call then the ref should be docked some of his pay. And before some of you jump on the bandwagon about how difficult it is to call penalties, they don't have to accept the job do they? All too many times I have seen Carolina lose possession of the ball because of bad calls. I'm sick of it and they need to do something about it. This isn't high school or college, this is the pros and wrong calls can affect someone's paycheck.
I felt that the Saints should not have won because the Vikings are the better team. Even with all of those turnovers, they were still in it. Therefore, I hope the Colts win. They are the better team and I feel like the Saints are there by default and I hate Peyton but I am so sick of hearing and reading the uneducated spewing off "who dat?"
JMHO
No it was not decided by a coin toss. Many things could have happened..couple chances for interception for instance, penatlies but I was somewhat surprised with the close game. Never expected that--thought one team would emerge as leader. And to think the Panthers beat them both.
I watched the Colts also and that team is a well disciplined well working machine of men.
No way will they Saints beat them so they best enjoy their next 2 weeks.
Some moronic idiots obviously know nothing about football defending a bunch of cheap shot lowlife late hit artists trying to injure the QB who has been clearly protected by many NFL rules is so typical.
Football is a contact sport of course but it is a sport that requires knowledge of the rules to avoid serious injury since QBs are the most vulnerable to being blindsided as the main playmaker. All it takes is one lousy late cheap hit to injure a QB for life. Thats why the NFL made rules. A couple of ex-49er SB winner Joes can attest that with permanent head traumas due to late hits. Forget the tons of vicious late hit head poundings 3 time SB winner Bradshaw took before these rules were created for player safety but he was made of steele and lucky.
Clearly the Vikings kickazz defense could have destroyed fragile prettyboy Brees but they played clean by the rules and did not play dirty in an effort to do serious injury to him otherwise he would have been carried out on a stretcher in the 1st quarter.
Clearly this sorry dirty bunch of rats New Orleans bunch of punks had a premediated game plan to make violent late hits to take out Favre to get him out of the way to win the game to get to the Bowl. They were scared to death of Favre after his 4 TDs to Rice who was also banged up with late hits himself but never called. This is next to criminal.
If any QB can take a cheap shot it would be Favre and they knew it but clearly the reason Favre didnt run on his last offensive play was more reasons of safety since they had already injured him with so many cheap shots the whole game.
Too bad these lowlife cheap shot rats will be destroyed by Manning and the Colts so that payback gone be a bitch ... win the battle but lose the war ...
I agree that the officiating was bad and perhaps slanted towards the Saints. I think that has been going on for 5-10 years (at least as far as I have noticed). The calls will go to whatever team brings a larger TV audience.
However, I only remember one play where I saw a cheap shot on Farvre (I only saw the second half). It was a turn over and one of the Saints nailed him while he was trying to make a tackle. At the least it looked like a block in the back.
Farvre is a great QB and didn't seem to play any worst for the wear except for his interception which required two good ankles. If I were him, I would be really pissed at that OL that didn't protect him at all. Its amazing that that team made it that far on that bad of a line.
I refused to watch the last 2 superbowls because of the "questionable" calls from the refs... I might watch this one tho.
Also, I think if Brees plays like he normally does, the Saints will win. Otherwise the Colts will. Wonder who the NFL wants to win?
I couldn't agree more. If the coin toss didn't matter that much, then why does virtually every team who wins the coin toss decide to receive first in overtime?
It's time for a change.
Agree. Equal opportunity winning for both is needed and not just whoever wins a coin toss.
Terry Bradshaw had concussions and got his neck broken on a late head slam into the ground prompting the NFL to protect QBs way back. He has been under med care for ages and takes medication to prevent extreme mood swings due to the spinal brain injury.
Same for boxing with Ali brain damage.
Safety #1 is the key.
Agreed. Of course, the Vikings blew TONS of chances to win the game in regulation, but once overtime started, they may as well have brought the George Halas trophy out to midfield to present it to the captain who won the toss. It really ruined a great game for me once the overtime period started. Fix this, Goodell!
The refs in OT were 100% biased against the Viks.
They made a terrible pass interference call against the Viks but made a 2nd bad call on the bobbled pass that clearly touched the ground on review that immediately preceeded the easy winning FG.
Terrible refs and after it was over the post game was totally rigged for the Saints automatically.
Was it a 2 tailed coin too?
WOW, what a bunch of cry babies!!!
What game were you ref haters watching?
The calls went both ways.
This is not the National Pansy League.
These players get paid huge salaries to play the game.
If they didn't want Favre to get hit then block the defensive players.
It is smart play to exploit your opponents weakness. Favre is known to make poor decisions when he is pressured. The number of interceptions prove it.
So pull up your purple panties and move on.
I am not being mean, just calling it like I see it.
Oh and BTW, Who Dat?
The only ones wearing black and gold panties would be the cheap shot cowards who couldnt sack the QB legally playing thug ball.
I agree with Scott. The NFL doesn't have to go to the college rules, but they should at least give both teams one shot on offense. In this game after the Saints scored they should have kicked off to the Vikes and given them one opportunity to score. If they don't, game over.
Allow me to quote your former colleague Ron Green Sr., who in a column once noted, "I see that there is a movement building to allow hoops teams who are fouled in the last 2 minutes to choose between foul shots or possession. Some coaches are complaining that doesn't give teams a chance to catch up. I say they shouldn't have fallen behind."
In other words, the first commenter is exactly right.
And oh, please dear God, do not let the college or high school overtime rules ever get anywhere near the NFL. If you want to change the NFL overtime only to mean that each team gets one possession, but keep the coin toss and kickoffs, I can deal with that. But if the college rules were in force this weekend, the Saints probably would have won 66-60 or something like that. Starting a possession on the opponent's 25 yard line instead of a kickoff is the stupidest rule college football ever came up with. I hope the people who were overdosing on hallucinagenic drugs that thought up that rule don't have any current decision-making power.
Since the Saints won the toss why didnt they kickoff instead of recieve? yea rite ...
Why do all teams who win the toss at the start of the game choose to recieve instead of kickoff?
Are you crazy ???????????????
Aint even close ....
Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre. Give me a break. You grown men sound like middle school cheerleaders. Brett, Brett, he's our man. If he can't do it, no one can. This guy has been so overated his whole career. Simply put, even with the fumbles and other miscues by the Vikings players Favre's ridiculous interception at the end of the fourth quater is what lost the game for them. I don't understand why this guy is worshiped. Is it because he rides tractors and wears Wranglers? This was clearly his best season and I give him credit for that. But he has made bone-headed plays like that his whole career. He knocked the Packers out the last year that they got to the playoffs with him. Doesn't his intelligence have to be questioned if this happens again and again? Scott, forget about the NFL being stubborn. This post should have been titled, "Why is Brett Favre so hard-headed?"
The overtime rules are fine.
No changes needed here.
The NFL has found an overtime ruleset that achieves their goals.
Regulation time is over, get an end to the game.
You simply can't give each side a chance, it could in theory go on forever. If you do put some limiter then you could have a tie game. Nobody likes tie games.
Quick frankly the games are too long as it is. Three hours to watch a 60 minute contest. This is crazy.
If you want to talk about something then lets talk about making the games shorter.
No more breaks for Commercials.
Reduce the number of timeouts.
Make the delay of game penalty more serious.
Let's wrap this thing up in 2 hours, I have stuff to do.
As a former soccer player, I take exception to calling the NFL kickers soccer players, present or former. There is not one kicker in the NFL who could make a decent college level team. True, there were soccer players who have played in the NFL, but the style has evolved until it is nothing like a soccer kick. I know it is off the subject, but soccer players have a sensitive side as well.
BRETT FAVRE #1 QB IN NFL HISTORY
and #1 reason for the success of the NFL as the #1 spectator sport in the USA.
Brett Favre
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: October 10, 1969 (1969-10-10) (age 40)
Place of birth: Gulfport, Mississippi
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 222 lb (101 kg)
Career information
College: Southern Mississippi
NFL Draft: 1991 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33
Debuted in 1991 for the Atlanta Falcons
Career history
As player:
Atlanta Falcons (1991)
Green Bay Packers (1992–2007)
New York Jets (2008)
Minnesota Vikings (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
11× Pro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009)
3× First-team All-Pro selection (1995, 1996, 1997)
3× Second-team All-Pro selection (2001, 2002, 2007)
3× AP NFL MVP (1995–1997)
5× NFC Player of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007)
2× NFC Champion (1996, 1997)
Super Bowl champion (XXXI)
Career achievements, honors, records and statistics
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
Pass attempts 9,811
Pass completions 6,083
Percentage 62.0
TD-INT 497–317
Yards 69,329
QB Rating 86.4
Stats at NFL.com
Brett Lorenzo Favre (pronounced /ˈfɑrv/; born October 10, 1969) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers between 1992 and 2007, and for the New York Jets in 2008. As of 2009 he is the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
Favre started at the quarterback position for the University of Southern Mississippi for four years before being selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons (33rd overall). After one season with the Falcons, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers on February 10, 1992, for the 19th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 season, starting every game from then until his retirement in 2008. In 2008, Favre came out of retirement, was traded to the New York Jets, and continued his consecutive start streak. On February 11, 2009, Favre told the New York Jets that he was again retiring. He came out of retirement for the second time and signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009.
Favre is widely considered the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97). He led the Packers to seven division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007), four NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997 and 2007), winning two (1996 and 1997), and two Super Bowl appearances, winning one (Super Bowl XXXI).
He holds many NFL records including: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, and most career victories as a starting quarterback.
Was selected to play in the Pro Bowl eleven times in his career.
Was a six-time First- or Second-team All-Pro selection.
Was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.
Records and milestones
As of the end of the 2009 NFL season, Favre owned or shared most of the well-known NFL career records, including:
.
Consecutive starts as a quarterback: 285 (309 including playoffs)
Consecutive starts as a position player: 285
Career regular-season victories by a starting quarterback: 181 (Regular-season record: 181–104)
Most wins by a starting quarterback against a single opponent: 27, Detroit Lions (18–0 in home games)
Career passing touchdowns: 497
Career passing yards: 69,329[110]
Career pass completions: 6,083
Career pass attempts: 9,811
Career interceptions thrown: 317
Career games with at least one touchdown pass: 241
Career games with at least two touchdown passes: 157
Career games with at least three touchdown passes: 71
Career games with at least four touchdown passes: 23
Career games with at least 200 passing yards: 202
Career games with at least 225 passing yards: 165
Career games with at least 250 passing yards: 139
Career games with at least 275 passing yards: 100
Career games with at least 300 passing yards: 61 (Dan Marino is 1st with 63)
Touchdown passes of 80+ yards: 9
Touchdown passes of 70+ yards: 15
Touchdown passes of 20+ yards: 165
1 yard touchdown passes: 37
1 yard touchdown passes, passer/receiver combination: 8, Brett Favre/Bubba Franks
Career games with at least 30 completions: 24 (Peyton Manning is 2nd with 18)
Career games with at least 20 completions: 185 (Peyton Manning is 2nd with 138)
Completions in a game played on a Friday: 30; 12/24/2004
Seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes: 9
Consecutive seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes: 5
Seasons with at least 3,000 passing yards: 18
Consecutive seasons with at least 3,000 passing yards: 18
Seasons with at least 300 completions: 18
Consecutive seasons with at least 300 completions: 18
Brett Favre & Sterling Sharpe tied Dan Marino & Mark Clayton's record for most passer/receiver touchdown combinations in a season in 1994: 18-broken by Tom Brady and Randy Moss in 2007.
Most consecutive AP NFL MVP awards: 3 (1995–1997)
Career playoff pass completions: 481
Career playoff pass attempts: 791
Career playoff passing yards: 5,855
(2nd) Career playoff passing touchdowns: 44 (Montana, 45)
Career playoff interceptions thrown: 30
Career playoff losses as starting QB: 11
(5th) Career playoff wins as starting QB: 13 (Joe Montana, 16; Tom Brady, 14; Terry Bradshaw, 14; John Elway, 14)
Favre is the only quarterback to have led a team to victory over all thirty-two teams in the league since the NFL first expanded to 32 franchises in 2002
I find it amusing that people want to crucify Favre for the Vikings loss. Adrian Peterson fumbled the ball THREE times in this game. There was an incredibly stupid penalty for 12 men in the huddle that took the team out of field goal range in regulation. But, for the sake of argument - let's say it was that one poor decision by Favre that gave the Vikings the win. Nevermind that the special teams allowed a big run back in OT and the defense couldn't stop Brees. Would the Vikings really had a better shot with Tavares Jackson or Sage Rosenfels? Seriously? That's what it sounds like the anti-Favre faction is saying. "Tavares to Rice" or "Rosenfels to Harvin" doesn't exactly strike a lot of fear in your heart when you hear it.
By the way, in spite of their vulnerabilities - the Saints defense forced fumbles and made plays when it counted. The Vikings defense did not, in the end. That was the difference. Favre's mistake simply allowed the game to go into OT. There's no guarantee the Vikings would have made that 50+ yard FG had they gotten those few extra yards instead of the turnover.
Post a Comment