The Green Bay Packers (2-2) had long been the beneficiary of Brett Favre’s ability to play well on the big stage, but on Monday night they fell victim to Favre and the Minnesota Vikings’ (4-0) defense.  Favre threw three touchdowns and passed for 271 yards on 24/31 attempts (77%).  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense fought as hard as they could, but the Vikings front line was too much for the Packers offensive line to handle.  Rodgers did throw two touchdowns and a career high 384 yards on 26/37 attempts (70%), but often held on to the ball too long and threw an interception.  The Vikings ended up with eight sacks, with Jared Allen accounting for 4.5 sacks and a safety.

The Packers running game was effective, as they averaged 4.8 yards per carry, but they were playing catch-up most of the game and finished with only 82 rushing yards.  They had to pass most of the time, since they were down early, so they could not stick with the running game.  The Packers defense was able to shut down Adrian Peterson, as he only had 55 yards on 25 carries (2.2 avg), but they were not able to stop Brett Favre and the Vikings’ passing game.  Favre came out with a focus and determination to beat his former team and looked like a man on a mission.  He was able to build a big lead on the Packers and the Vikings’ defense was able to contain Aaron Rodgers from leading the Packers to a Favre-like comeback and held on for the victory.  The Packers have a bye next week.