For 16 seasons, Brett Favre ran out of the home tunnel at Lambeau Field. On November 1, 2009, he came out of the visitors’ tunnel in a purple jersey, the last Minnesota Viking to take the field, and most of a record crowd of 71,213 booed him. Three hours later he had thrown four touchdown passes without an interception, the Vikings had beaten the Green Bay Packers 38-26, and Favre was sprinting downfield with both index fingers in the air.
It was his first game in Green Bay as an opponent, and it finished a two-game sweep of the team he had led to a Super Bowl title.
How he ended up in purple
Favre announced his retirement from the Packers in March 2008, changed his mind that summer and was traded to the New York Jets in August 2008 after Green Bay committed to Aaron Rodgers. He spent one season in New York, retired again, and signed with the Vikings in August 2009, the division rival the Packers had refused to trade him to the year before.
The first meeting came on a Monday night in Week 4 at the Metrodome. Favre completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns, Rodgers was sacked eight times, and Minnesota won 30-23. By the time the rematch arrived in Week 8, the Vikings were 6-1 after their first loss, 27-17 at Pittsburgh. The Packers were 4-2 and had won two in a row.
Green Bay was ready for him. Some locals staged a mock funeral for Favre that weekend, and a small plane towing a “Retire 4 Good” banner circled the stadium before kickoff. Fans wore shirts reading “Traitor” and “Judas.” Favre said the strangeness did not hit him until the team bus reached De Pere. “Then I came up Ridge (Road), and all the Packer fans were there. There was some purple. I saw just a mixture of everything. Cheers. A couple (middle) fingers.”
Four touchdowns, no mistakes
The Packers took the first lead. On Minnesota’s second series, Favre and center John Sullivan botched a shotgun snap, Johnny Jolly recovered at the Vikings’ 21 and Mason Crosby kicked a 37-yard field goal. It was one of only two Minnesota turnovers all day, and the only points Green Bay scored in the first half.
Percy Harvin answered by returning the next kickoff 77 yards to the Green Bay 14, and Adrian Peterson ran it in from the 1 on fourth down. Favre found Visanthe Shiancoe for a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Ryan Longwell, who had kicked for Green Bay for nine seasons alongside Favre, made a 41-yarder with 13 seconds left in the half for a 17-3 lead.
On the second play of the third quarter, Favre threw deep down the middle to Harvin for a 51-yard touchdown. It was 24-3, and Lambeau was quiet.
It did not stay that way. Brian Robison fumbled a short kickoff at the Minnesota 41, and Rodgers turned it into the first of two touchdown passes to Spencer Havner, a former linebacker playing tight end. A Crosby field goal and the second Havner score made it 24-20 with 2:03 left in the third quarter.
Favre’s answer came after a 48-yard Harvin kickoff return. Facing third-and-goal from the 2, he hit tight end Jeff Dugan for a touchdown and a 31-20 lead. Rodgers pulled Green Bay within five with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, but his two-point pass was tipped and fell incomplete, and Crosby missed wide right from 51 yards with 5:43 left.
On the next snap, Favre threw a short pass to Peterson, who turned it into a 44-yard gain to the Green Bay 15. Two runs went nowhere, Green Bay used its last timeout, and on third-and-11 Favre found Bernard Berrian for a 16-yard touchdown with 3:54 left. Then he ran down the field after Berrian, lifted him off the ground and slapped hands with every Viking he could reach.
| Qtr | Time | Team | Score | MIN | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:09 | GB | Mason Crosby 37-yard field goal | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 1:21 | MIN | Adrian Peterson 1-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick) | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 10:48 | MIN | Visanthe Shiancoe 12-yard pass from Brett Favre (Longwell kick) | 14 | 3 |
| 2 | 0:13 | MIN | Longwell 41-yard field goal | 17 | 3 |
| 3 | 13:20 | MIN | Percy Harvin 51-yard pass from Favre (Longwell kick) | 24 | 3 |
| 3 | 8:31 | GB | Crosby 26-yard field goal | 24 | 6 |
| 3 | 6:36 | GB | Spencer Havner 16-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Crosby kick) | 24 | 13 |
| 3 | 2:03 | GB | Havner 5-yard pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick) | 24 | 20 |
| 4 | 13:39 | MIN | Jeff Dugan 2-yard pass from Favre (Longwell kick) | 31 | 20 |
| 4 | 10:31 | GB | Greg Jennings 10-yard pass from Rodgers (pass failed) | 31 | 26 |
| 4 | 3:54 | MIN | Bernard Berrian 16-yard pass from Favre (Longwell kick) | 38 | 26 |
By the numbers
| Number | Detail |
|---|---|
| 17 of 28, 244 | Brett Favre: 4 TD, 0 INT, not sacked, 128.6 passer rating |
| 26 of 41, 287 | Aaron Rodgers: 3 TD, 0 INT, sacked 6 times |
| 3 | Sacks by Jared Allen; Ray Edwards had 2 and Pat Williams 1 |
| 25 for 97 | Adrian Peterson rushing, with a touchdown, plus a 44-yard catch |
| 77 and 48 | Percy Harvin kickoff returns that set up Minnesota touchdowns |
| 2 to 0 | Turnovers, Minnesota to Green Bay, both fumbles |
| 355 to 351 | Total yards, Minnesota to Green Bay |
| 71,213 | Attendance at Lambeau Field |
It was Favre’s 21st career game with four or more touchdown passes, tying Dan Marino for the most in NFL history at the time. Over the two games against Green Bay that season he completed 41 of 59 passes for 515 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
“About what I expected”
Asked whether the reception surprised him, Favre started to answer, “Sure, I would have loved …” and stopped. “It was about what I expected. It was probably worse every time I took the field,” he said. “Although I wasn’t expecting a standing ovation, I know what I’ve done, what I stand for. What I’ve done here speaks for itself. What I was a part of was awesome. That will never change.”
“I had mixed emotions coming in, because I know how special these fans are,” he said. “I want to lead this Vikings team to a Super Bowl, believe me, I do. And I will do everything in my power. But I also know the Packer fans are what makes this organization so special, unique, and that will never change.”
He also said he had no interest in gloating. “I was part of some pretty good games here as a Packer. This is pretty high up on the list,” he said. “I’ve never been one to rub it in anyone’s face. The guys I played with as a Packer, I’ve got a lot of respect for them.” After the final whistle he shook hands with Mike McCarthy and Rodgers and shared long hugs with Jennings and Donald Driver.
At the end of a long press conference, someone asked whether it had been fun, and whether this was why he came back. “Yeah,” Favre said. “It was pretty fun.”
What came next
A week later the Packers lost 38-28 at Tampa Bay, which had been 0-7. Then they won seven of their last eight, finished 11-5 and lost a 51-45 overtime wild-card game at Arizona. The Vikings finished 12-4, won the NFC North, beat Dallas 34-3 in the divisional round and lost the NFC Championship Game 31-28 in overtime at New Orleans.
Favre came back for one more season in 2010 and lost both games against Green Bay, 28-24 at Lambeau and 31-3 in Minnesota. The Packers won Super Bowl XLV that season with Rodgers. In 2015 the team retired Favre’s No. 4, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Favre’s return to Lambeau came four years before another famous homecoming, Peyton Manning’s first game back in Indianapolis, and five years before Manning passed Favre for the career touchdown record. If you are wondering about the late-hit flags you see on the sideline every week, our guide to unnecessary roughness explains the rule.
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