FOXBORO, Mass. — Brett Favre's day began with questions about his broken ankle. It ended with inquisitions regarding eight stitches in his chin and a concussion test.
The Vikings quarterback started in his 192nd consecutive game, which turned out to be a 28-18 loss to the Patriots, and completed 22 of 32 passes for 259 yards and one interception. But Favre couldn’t finish the game after he took a hit from Myron Pryor that split open his chin and caused him to get carted into the locker room to get sewn up.
Favre needed to drape his arms over the shoulders of two trainers to get off the field, and head coach Brad Childress said his 41-year-old quarterback was pale and woozy on the sidelines. Favre said he would "probably" get a concussion test Monday but believed he'd be all set to play next week at home against the Cardinals.
"I played with a broken foot, and I am getting eight stitches in my chin and then the elbow," Favre said. "I have been battling tendonitis. I thought I threw the ball as well as I have thrown it in quite awhile. We ran some bootlegs. Now, talk to me in 10 years and we may think differently, but then again, we may not. Here I am, 20 years [in the NFL]. I don’t know how many games — a lot — and I still feel like I can play at a high level, getting hit like that. I think what would keep most guys out for a long time obviously hasn’t kept me out. Call it dumb. Call it hard-headed. Call it what you want. Maybe all of the above. I love to compete."
Favre didn’t practice last Wednesday or Thursday due to the ankle, and he participated in a very limited basis Friday. He missed the team walkthrough Saturday and went so far as to say he was "shocked" he was able to play against the Patriots on Sunday.
"I was shocked that I was able to play and move around the way I was," Favre said. "My prayers were answered. I wanted the chance to play. I wanted the chance to play and play at a high enough level to give us a chance to win. That was my main concern, which it would be if you were [Childress] or anyone else. I didn’t want to play just to play. I didn’t want to come in for one play to get a start. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to come in and help this team win. It was touch-and-go even before the game [Sunday].
"I don’t know what to say. The foot is still broken. It is a clear break. It probably should hurt worse than it does. I don’t know what to say, so to be able to come out and play and to give us a chance to win and play at a high enough level, you know, Monday and Tuesday I couldn’t even walk."
