MINNEAPOLIS - Brett Favre proved to the Green Bay Packers he has plenty of fire left inside, and in his right arm.
Favre’s first game against his former team was all fun for the Minnesota Vikings and all frustration for the Packers, as the graying quarterback connected for three touchdown passes and 271 yards in a 30-23 victory last night.
Favre went 24 for 31, without a turnover. He did an awkward body bump with kicker Ryan Longwell, also a former Packer, and stayed poised in the pocket all night.
“Lot of fun. It was a big win for us,’’ Favre said. “We did what we had to do.’’
The Vikings (4-0) sacked Favre’s replacement, Aaron Rodgers, eight times. Jared Allen was credited with 4 1/2 of them, a career high, including a safety in the fourth quarter that stretched the lead to 16. Rodgers had his first two turnovers of the season, and Favre turned both of them into vintage touchdown passes in the first half.
Rodgers finished 26 for 37 for a career-high 384 yards for the Packers (2-2), many of them in desperation down the stretch, and two touchdown passes.
The Vikings were relentless in their rush, particularly Allen on left tackle Darryn Colledge, who left in the third quarter with a right knee injury. Rodgers’s receivers let him down, too. On fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the third quarter, Rodgers found tight end Donald Lee open in the end zone. But the ball bounced off Lee’s chest onto the turf.
