The Brett Favre/Peyton Manning rivalry could never be the kind of headliner that Manning versus Brady is, but way back in ’04…Favre and Manning put on a clinic. With the impending retirement announcement by Peyton Manning coming in a couple hours, I thought I would flash back to an offensive showing that saw two of history’s best head to head. The Packers didn’t win out but the game itself was (offensively anyway) a thing of beauty.
Brett Favre’s sun was beginning to set and Manning was considered the up-and-comer in this scenario as the two fine teams took the field.
The first quarter of this game was a touchdown trade-off and it was as if neither team fielded a defense. Manning threw touchdowns to Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison and future Hall of Famer Reggie Wayne, adding another score by Brandon Stokley. Favre, for his part, threw two touchdowns to Javon Walker. But the Stokley touchdown, along with another TD to Stokley and an additional touchdown to James Mungro, which the Packers could only match with a field goal, left the Pack down 17-35 at the half.
Then in the third quarter, Favre hit Javon Walker again for a 12 yard touchdown and kept the Colts off the
board, setting up an epic forth quarter of football.
The grand finish began with the Packers’ defense holding Peyton Manning and the Colts to a field goal. Favre responded with a 27 yard touchdown pass to the consummate Packer-person, Donald Driver and the Packers were one score away.
Favre, on the day completed his 28th consecutive game with at least one touchdown, 50th career game with three touchdowns, and 17th game with four touchdowns. And the Packers got the ball back and were on the move again, Favre looking to add another forth quarter comeback to his resume on top of the rest.
Who would Favre look for to complete the comeback but Javon Walker, who was having a career day against rookie defensive back Jason David, catching 11 balls for 198 yards and three touchdowns. But this time, David would get the last laugh, stealing the ball from Walker and sealing the Colts victory. The Edgerrin James 1 yard touchdown with 1:55 left on the clock was the icing on the cake.
Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, two of the best ever…putting on a show in a game that one can’t help but look back on with fondness even though the Packers lost. I remember that game. When the dust cleared, Manning had thrown for 393 yards and five touchdowns and Brett Favre had 358 yards and 4 touchdowns. What a show.
So congratulations to you, Peyton on that win, and congrats on your retirement announced today. The game needs quarterbacks like Brett Favre and Peyton Manning and games like this make the NFL America’s game.
Go Pack!