King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Favre chucks, ducks, gets picked and nicked. Cowboys control NFC. Plus: Week 13 picks. Washington plays through tragedy.
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Nov. 30, 2007 | Strange game by the Green Bay Packers against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night.
Before he went out with an elbow injury early in the second quarter, Brett Favre spent the evening getting knocked on his can and chucking the ball downfield 2005-style, to the tune of 5-for-14 with two interceptions and a 27-10 deficit.
Then, after backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers calmly guided the Packers back into the game using Green Bay's more typical ball-control passing attack, coach Mike McCarthy decided to send kicker Mason Crosby in for a 52-yard field-goal attempt on fourth-and-inches, the Cowboys up by 10 with five minutes to go in the game.
Crosby made the kick, Dallas marched downfield for a field goal of their own with about one minute to go, and that was pretty much that. The Cowboys won 37-27 to take over the top seed in the NFC with an 11-1 record, one game better than the Packers. Since head-to-head is the first tie-breaker, the Cowboys essentially have a two-game lead over the Packers for home-field advantage in the playoffs with four games to go.
A little less nerve early and a little more late might have gone a long way for the Packers, though they were outplayed.
It's a mystery what Favre thought he kept seeing downfield as he threw in the general direction of covered receivers. And it's a mystery why the coach of the third-highest scoring team in the league didn't think his offense could gain six inches, instead opting for three points when the Packers needed at least 10 and probably more. It turns out they needed more.
Who knows how the rest of the game might have played out had the Packers gone for it on that fourth down. They might have gotten stuffed, might have made the first down and then turned the ball over, might have had any number of things happen. But when you're in a shootout, which the Packers were, you've got to shoot. They kicked. They lost.
Favre was conscious and talking, even ambulatory, so it's pretty likely his record consecutive-game streak won't end a week from Sunday when the Packers host the Oakland Raiders. But after Rodgers' solid performance, the idea of Favre sitting for a game or two might not be as scary for Packers fans as it used to be.
The Packers visit the St. Louis Rams the week after the Raiders game, they have a four-game lead in the NFC North and a three-game lead for the No. 2 seed, which means a first-round bye in the playoffs. In other words, they'd have to collapse in epic fashion to even have their playoff seeding affected, and they might not get caught for No. 2 even if they do collapse. They don't just have breathing room. They have hyperventilating room.
Now that they know they won't necessarily fall apart if Favre gets hurt, it seems like a hell of an idea to say the hell with the streak, let Favre get good and healed up and let Rodgers get two games' worth of experience against bad teams. That way the Packers would be that much better prepared if Favre did get hurt. They'd also have a much better idea about what they have in Rodgers, the former first-round draft pick who's been holding a clipboard for three years.
It won't happen. Favre will play against the Raiders as sure as some of those downfield heaves Thursday were going to get intercepted.
As for the Cowboys, they've clearly established themselves as the big dog in the NFC. They've already played the big dog of the AFC, losing to the New England Patriots by three touchdowns at home last month. They didn't do anything Thursday to indicate they'd fare much better if they get a rematch in February, but they did plenty to indicate they'll get the chance.
Next page: NFL Week 13 picks: How will Washington respond to tragedy?