NFL Wire Notes | Hard blow doesn’t stop QB Favre
GREEN BAY, Wis. - His teammates thought he might be faking it to draw a penalty. His coach was more concerned and started calling for backup.
Brett Favre was feeling woozy after taking an elbow to the head in the third quarter. That didn’t stop him from driving the Packers to yet another touchdown in a 34-0 rout of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
“I don’t want to say it was a concussion, I’m not a doctor,” Favre said. “But I was a little woozy when I stood up. I was well aware of what was going on, but I was a little light on the foot.”
Favre passed another milestone Sunday, joining Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for more than 60,000 career yards. But unlike the last two weeks, the Packers (8-1) didn’t need a thrilling home-run heave from Favre at the end of the game to win.
Instead, the Packers’ defense roughed up rookie running back Adrian Peterson and kept the Vikings (3-6) out of the end zone.
One week after his record-setting 296-yard performance against San Diego, the Packers held Peterson to 45 yards on 11 carries before knocking him out of the game with a knee injury in the third quarter.
Peterson said after the game he thought it was a sprain and he will have an MRI exam Monday.
“I feel a lot better than I did when I got hit in the knee,” he said. “I’m feeling pretty good right now.”
Green Bay was leading 27-0 late in the third quarter when Peterson caught a pass from Brooks Bollinger and was tackled low by cornerback Al Harris, injuring his knee. He did not return to the game.
“It’s a shame that he got hurt,” Harris said of Peterson. “I wish the best for him. But, hey, we’re trying to win games.”
Peterson wasn’t the only star to take a hard hit.
With the Packers leading 20-0 in the third quarter, Favre slid on a scramble and was elbowed in the helmet. Minnesota defensive end Kenechi Udeze was called for a personal foul.
Favre appeared shaken up and McCarthy called for backup Aaron Rodgers, but Favre waved him off.
“Brett seemed to be OK,” McCarthy said.
Favre drove the Packers deep into Vikings territory and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ruvell Martin on third-and-goal to put them ahead 27-0.
Notes
• Cincinnati used an uncharacteristic approach to earn a tremendously satisfying victory. Shayne Graham kicked a team-record seven field goals, and the Bengals received a surprisingly efficient performance from their defense in a 21-7 win over punchless Baltimore.
Cincinnati owned the league’s 31st-ranked defense, was tied with winless Miami for most points allowed and had not yielded fewer than 20 points in any game this season. All that changed against the Ravens, who committed six turnovers.
“You have to give a lot of credit to our defense that everyone seems to be bashing right now,” said Graham, who connected from 34, 19, 22, 35, 35, 21 and 33 yards. “For them to get the ball where we had it for the field position says a lot.”
• Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning set a career high with six interceptions at San Diego, setting a Colts franchise record. He was picked off four times in the first half, including three by CB Antonio Cromartie, who was making his first NFL start.
• The NFL Players Association is appealing commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision not to reduce the seasonlong suspension of Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones.