If you simply look at the scoreboard and the fact that Brett Favre was at least partially responsible for two turnovers returned for touchdowns, you'd easily say that Favre blew it.
That he finally showed his "true colors", or that he "Favre-ed" this one.
If you truly believe this loss hangs on him, you're sadly mistaken.
A closer look beyond the box-score actually shows a hard-fought game that came down to two intense, meticulous drives led by Favre, which saw the Minnesota Vikings dink-and-dunk down the field twice in the final seven minutes in fantastic fashion.
Both drives saw the very best of Favre and the Vikings offense, as they completed pass after pass against what is still clearly one of the league's better defenses.
The box-score itself reads:
Brett Favre fumbled: Lamarr Woodley recovered fumble and returned for 77 yards, and
Keyaron Fox intercepted Brett Favre for 82 yards.
While you can't discredit the Pittsburgh Steelers' aggressive pass rushing and ability to be where the ball is to make the play, it also wouldn't be correct to simply assume that Favre lost the game on his own.
After a game-winning touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers, and another clutch 4th quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in week six, Favre had restored his fizzled reputation of late-game heroics.
And despite two turnovers that would suggest otherwise, it was quite obvious on Sunday, that Favre's magic was still exuberant, even against the Steelers.
With less than seven minutes remaining, Favre and the Vikings marched down to Pittsburgh's 23-yard line, trailing 13-10.
Favre dropped back, avoided the initial rush, and just as he was about to release the ball, had the ball knocked out of his hand from behind by Steelers' lineman, Brett Keisel.
While Favre did hold onto the ball after a pump-fake, and was at least partially responsible for the turnover, it was not a blatant fumble, and was arguably credited more to the Steelers' pressure on the offensive line.
The final play that decided the game can't be blamed on Favre, either.
Only the biggest of Favre-haters will sit back and laugh at the future Hall of Famer, while insinuating that he "blew" this game.
In all actuality, it was just plain old dumb luck.
With just over a minute remaining in the game, the Vikings were at Pittsburgh's 18-yard line, in perfect field position, and had the choice between an easy field goal or running out the clock and trying to score a game-winning touchdown.
However, neither of those options would come into play, as Favre threw a short screen pass slightly too high for running back Chester Taylor, and the ball tipped into the air off of his hands.
The Steelers' Keyaron Fox caught the ball and proceeded to run down the field for the 82-yard score.
Still, despite the unfortunate turnovers in the final seven minutes, Favre and the rest of the Minnesota offense played extraordinarily well against a stout Pittsburgh unit that was finally at full health with safety Troy Polamalu back in the line-up.
Favre finished the game with his second 300-yard passing game of the season, throwing for 334 yards on 34 completions, ending the game with a stellar 66.7% completion percentage.
In the end, however, the formerly perfect Vikings came just shy of extending their perfect record, as they fell to a relentless defense that was not about to allow it's suddenly inept offense drop to 4-3.
While this loss is tough to swallow, it's important that Minnesota, as a team and a state, stay behind their quarterback and offense.
Both sides of the ball played well against last year's Super Bowl champions, and while it ended in a loss, there is a lot of good that came from it.
No, Brett Favre and these Minnesota Vikings can't be perfect this season. But boy, were they close.
Comments
Nice write up on the first defeat for Brett Favre in 2009. Seems to me that history repeats itself and hopefully Minnesota's coaches can get the team focus on their next game. Football is unpredictable at times but the spirit of the team on a given day is huge. Like the way you explain how the ball fall into the Steelers court. No doubt they took it and ran with it.
Nice write up, but you sound like a Favre apologist. This is what you get with the guy. He either winds up a hero, or he ends up a zero.
I took the opposite point of view in my article:
You can find it by doing a google search for Norfolk Sprots Examiner.
I would give you the link, but the Examiner won't let folks put links into their comments.
have a good one.
Nice article. You're not a "Favre apologist"...only someone who accurately reported what actually happened. In regard to the "interception", even the announcers said that the "interception" should be credited to CHESTER TAYLOR'S ACCOUNT and not to Favre's. Favre lobbed a pass to Taylor that my 6-year-old daughter could have/would have caught. The replay clearly shows that Taylor took his eyes off of the ball and tried to run BEFORE making the catch. Also, Taylor looked miserable on the sideline after the play, clearly realizing that the "interception" was his fault. Let the Favre naysayers have their day...they certainly had to wait a long time to find something to criticize. I fully expect Favre to torch the Packers this week. We'll see where the naysayers are after that one.
Great article! You put into words what I could not, when talking to other football fans. "Favre fans", like me, rarely let anyone know where their loyalty lies these days, as the "Packer fans" look down upon us for not shunning Favre and for not slobbering over Rodgers. It will be interesting to see what the folks at Lambeau Field will do when Brett runs out onto the field on Sunday. I'm thinking the team will run out as a whole, so nobody will be announced individually. If he DOES run out individually, I think 50% will boo him, 25% will politely clap, and the other 25% will cheer and whistle. "Charles" on NFL Access thinks most will boo (I can't think of his last name); Trent Green said if they have any class, they'll all clap and/or cheer, for all #4 did for Green Bay and for the NFL. Knowing Wisconsinites as I do, my guess is that, by 3 p.m., about 75% of the fans will have a small amount to a very large amount of alcohol on board, so it should be pretty rowdy. Go get 'em, Brett!!!
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