The Brett Favre era may have opened, but Adrian Peterson is still the heart of the team: he took a handoff from Favre for a 75-yard TD on the first play of the game. Here’s the press reaction:
Two weeks after joining the Vikings, Brett Favre played into the third quarter of his team’s 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans. The future Hall of Fame quarterback threw his first touchdown pass as a member of the franchise, twice lined as a wide receiver as the Vikings unveiled their version of the Wildcat offense and even threw a vicious block from that formation.
And if that wasn’t enough, Favre also caused a pregame stir when ESPN reported he might be playing with a cracked rib. But no matter what Favre was able to accomplish in his first extensive action in purple, one thing was made abundantly clear to the Vikings and a national television audience.
This remains Adrian Peterson’s offense.
It’s still very much the preseason, as the Vikings committed a disturbing number of penalties; they’re averaging 12 per game. Favre was scheduled to play the first half, followed by Tarvaris Jackson in the third and Sage Rosenfels in the fourth, but Favre lobbied the coach to get another series after halftime, so Jackson’s appearance was very short. Rosenfels got on the field after both teams had switched to second- and third-string players, so it wasn’t a great opportunity for him to shine like Jackson did in the previous game.
Favre will probably be getting a fine from the league for his illegal block on Eugene Wilson, who was injured on the play and did not return.
Update, 5 September: Yep. The league penalized Favre $10,000 for the illegal hit.
