The last time Brett Favre threw a pass at Lambeau Field, the wind chill stood at minus-23 degrees, Green Bay and New York were in overtime of the NFC championship game and Corey Webster intercepted the ball to set up a winning field goal for the Giants.
Two retirements, two team changes and nearly two years later, Favre returns to Green Bay on Sunday with the Minnesota Vikings in pretty much the top storyline in the NFL of the first half of the season.
The matchup between the Cowboys and Falcons last week drew 28.4 million viewers, making it the most watched sporting event since the Super Bowl.
Expect that to change Sunday at 4:15 p.m.
Favre and the Packers parted when he retired, then decided he wanted to play again. General manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said no thanks, giving the job to Aaron Rodgers and eventually trading Favre to the New York Jets.
As expected, Favre downplayed his return to Green Bay, but this is a guy who gets fired up to play anybody.
“This is probably more intriguing to everybody else,” Favre told reporters this week. “As I’ve said before, what I accomplished there and was a part of, you can’t take that away. It’s a big game for a lot of reasons. From the standpoint of playing there for another team, it’s obviously something new to me. Being welcomed for so many years was special and will always be special, but my focus is on winning this game however we have to do it.”
Even if he doesn’t say so, Favre knows this game is a bigger deal than it would have been had Brett played in Green Bay last year with the Jets.
Now Favre goes back with the Vikings, an NFC North rival of Green Bay.
The Packers’ desire to get younger created this theater.
Favre’s play down the stretch - when the weather got cold and his arm stayed sore - convinced management it was time to go with Rodgers. And the statistics show Favre wilting in December.
2005: Seven interceptions in the final three games.
2006: Eleven interceptions in the final six games.
2007: Seven interceptions in the final five games and two interceptions in the playoff loss to the Giants.
2008: Two touchdowns and nine interceptions in the final five weeks as New York fell out of the playoff race.
Weather won’t be a factor Sunday, but the Vikings want to move to 7-1 to stay close to New Orleans in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
A 40-year-old Favre still can make enough plays to win a playoff game indoors at home, but a 40-year-old Favre might struggle if the Vikings must play on the road and outside against the Eagles or Giants.
But for all the talk about Favre - all of it warranted - Minnesota’s defense could be the difference-maker Sunday against Green Bay.
In the teams’ meeting last month, Rodgers was sacked eight times and defensive end Jared Allen set up shop in the Packers’ backfield against a struggling offensive line. Rodgers has been sacked 25 times this season.
The Packers are 4-2, though three of those wins came against some of the league’s worst teams - Detroit (1-6), St. Louis (0-7) and Cleveland (1-6). This game is a huge measuring stick for Green Bay’s offensive line.
A win by the Vikings puts them in firm control of the NFC North. A Packers win leaves the division wide open, giving even the 3-3 Bears a chance to get back into contention.
That’s what concerns Favre.
“I have no idea how this one will unfold, but there’s no sentiments one way or another - just that we need to win this football game,” he said.
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