Advertisement
Mainly, that it won a football game.
There are some things you can’t control and Favre could just as easily have been in the same position Marino was eight years ago when he completed a 32-yard strike to wide receiver Tony Martin in a 38-31 loss, the fifth in seven games for a Miami team whose playoff hopes died that day. Marino didn’t throw another touchdown pass that season and retired in the off-season.
In his 241st start Sunday at Lambeau Field, Favre did not look close to his 38 years of age in an inspired 31-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers. He completed 28 of 45 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 57-yard strike to Greg Jennings with 2 minutes 3 seconds left.
It was by far the most important of the six touchdowns he has thrown this season and turned what normally would have been a celebration of his great achievement into a coronation of the young 3-0 team with which he currently plays. It wasn’t just another touchdown pass, for sure, but perhaps it took on more meaning because of its relevancy this season.
“You want to win; that’s the name of the game,” cornerback Charles Woodson said. “When you break a record and then go on and win, that record means something right at that time. You usually don’t look at records until later on down the line sometime after you’re done playing. If we were to go on and win a Super Bowl, that would make it that much sweeter.”
It is, of course, way too early to think about Super Bowls but the Packers’ 3-0 start has made Favre’s climb to perhaps the most cherished record in the National Football League anything but singular in the Packers’ locker room. In his post-game news conference, Favre took far more questions about his team’s undefeated record than he did about being one touchdown pass away from beating Marino’s record.
That’s what happens when faced with a do-or-die situation late in the game You make the right read, deliver the ball on the money and watch as your receiver streaks across the field for the winning points in a tightly fought game. Favre is hardly fading from the NFL landscape 16 days before his 38th birthday.
“I’m going to be totally honest with you: I’m so glad we won I could care less about that record today,” Favre said. “It’s like throwing that touchdown at the end, everyone’s over there celebrating and cheering and congratulating me and I said, ‘Look, this will mean nothing if we don’t win this game.’
“That’s what it’s all about. There’s no better feeling than winning. Those touchdowns are great because they gave us an opportunity to go up and to win the game.”
If there was any question that Favre has a lot of football left in him, it was answered the past two games. He has completed 57 of 83 passes (68.7 percent) for 655 yards and six touchdowns with one interception, good for a two-game passer rating of 111.3 and a season passer rating of 93.5.
It took Favre 240 starts to throw 420 touchdown passes, the same number of starts it took Marino, but there clearly is more football to be played starting next week with the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. Favre recognized that fact after the game and in the same breath he celebrated the victory, he warned that nothing tangible had been achieved just yet.
“I know it only gets tougher,” Favre said. “It’s hard to maintain this level of play. How we handle success and adversity when it comes will determine how we finish. We have a bunch of young guys playing great and we have a target on our back. I think this team is capable of some good things. But it’s hard to maintain this level of play and the right attitude.”
One could make a case that the Packers’ fortunes would be headed in a different direction were it not for a turn of events that went Green Bay’s way Sunday. After Favre failed to convert a fourth-and-goal pass from the 1-yard line to tight end Bubba Franks with 5:51 to go, it was questionable whether he would reach touchdown No. 420 or the Packers would reach victory No. 3.
But the defense held and Favre got a second chance, the kind he has both taken advantage of and squandered during his long career. On this particular occasion, he cashed in and just for good measure tied a record.
“It means a lot,” Jennings said of being on the receiving end of the record-tying catch. “But at the same time, it’s one of those things where he’ll be setting records from here on out now. It’s one of those things that we’re kind of used to around here.”
That Favre threw for 300 yards for the 49th time in his career and pulled out a come-from-behind victory in the final 3 minutes of a game for the 21st time was hardly mentioned after the game. Nor was the fact Favre has gone two straight games without throwing an interception, thus putting George Blanda on hold a little longer before passing on the all-time record in that category.
Favre probably could have broken Marino’s record late in the game when linebacker Nick Barnett intercepted Philip Rivers and returned the ball 38 yards to the San Diego 2. All coach Mike McCarthy had to do was call a simple play-action pass and Favre probably could have flipped No. 421 to Bubba Franks or Donald Lee.
But Favre wasn’t having any of it.
“I told him, ‘We have to run the ball,’ “ Favre said. “It would be foolish (to pass). Believe me, had we run a pass it would have been a touchdown because everyone in the building assumed we were going to run it. But it’s not worth it taking that chance, the ball being picked or tipped or getting sacked or I trip and fall.
“I can’t believe I’m saying that, but that was the best move right there.”
|
More Sports: |
