MINNEAPOLIS — While the Indianapolis Colts were blown out again and the New Orleans Saints lost their third straight, the Minnesota Vikings prepared for the NFL post-season by destroying the New York Giants.
A final score of 44-7 is one thing. The surgical beauty of Sunday’s evisceration of the Jints was even more impressive, now that the post-season looms.
And there is no doubt that the Vikes are ready for the post-season. On Sunday, Favre completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and an eye-popping 148.7 passer rating. He was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson with the Vikings leading 41-0 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
The four touchdown passes tied Favre’s season high, and it was the sixth time he’s thrown for 300-plus yards this season. Since the end of the first half at Chicago last Monday night, Favre put up 71 points in a little more than four quarters. He completed 46 of 62 passes for 601 yards, six touchdowns and no INTs.
Funny, but it appears the mainstream media has forgotten the bullshit story it created two weeks ago, suggesting there was dissent in Minnesota. The big numbers have chased the fiction away.
Meanwhile, Favre’s brilliance — along with the brilliance of Chester Taylor, Visanthe Shiancoe, Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, the offensive line and a defence that appears to be adjusting to the loss E.J. Henderson – provided the Vikings faithful fans, the 65,000 that sell out Mall of America Field at the Metrodome every single week, with something to get all giddy about.
Now that’s professional sports.
There was no coaching scared, no worry that precious Brett might get his undies dirty. This wasn’t the candy-assed approach of the lily-livered Indianapolis Colts (have they returned the ticket money from Week 15′s dishonorable debacle yet?). Vikes head coach Brad Childress sent the playoff-bound Vikings out to win a football game on Sunday and he got all $12.5 million worth out of his 40-year-old quarterback.
“It would appear that we picked up right where we left off (in the second half in Chicago),” Favre said during his post-game news conference. “I thought that what we did at the start of the game was what we needed to do. I think it’s proof of what we are capable of doing. For whatever reason we have been inconsistent at times. I think there were 20 first downs in the first half and 22 in the second half of last week’s game. That’s 42 first downs in a game or so. Not that you would expect that all of the time, but that’s what we are capable of doing.”
Nobody is quite sure what some of the other playoff-bound teams are capable of doing. The Colts, the team that threw Game 15 and allowed the New York Jets to eliminate the Houston Texans from the playoffs, were just brutal for the second straight week. Fact is, the Colts were lucky to get past such powerhouse teams as Jacksonville (the Colts beat the Jags 14-12 and 35-31), Miami, Baltimore, New England and San Francisco, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for anyone in two weeks time.
In fact, by the time the Colts play a post-season game (on Jan. 16 or 17), they will not have won since Dec. 17.
Of course, it could be worse. The New Orleans Saints have lost three straight and when they play again on Jan. 16 or 17, they will not have won a game in five weeks. The Colts and Saints will essentially be starting a new season (and not just in the hyperbolic sense) when they play their next game.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Arizona were dreadful this week, but while Arizona played nobody in the butt-kicking they took at home against Green Bay, the Eagles went all-out in the 24-0 shellacking they received in Dallas while the Bengals played all their stars in that 37-0 whooping they suffered in New York.
Right now, the best teams in the NFC are Minnesota, Dallas and Green Bay while the best teams in the AFC are San Diego, Baltimore and the Jets.
And if anybody suggests even for one second that the signing of Brett Favre was a mistake — no matter what happens in the playoffs — then that person knows absolutely nothing about football or professional sports. Favre is spectacular and the Vikings are great to watch.