Brett Favre’s 6 Greatest Interception Fests of All Time

Love him or hate him, you have to admit, Brett Favre is a legend whose legacy will never be forgotten.  With that said, in our case, we hate him and the legacy we choose to never forget is the one that involves him spending the latter part of his career as the most prolific interception throwing machine in NFL history.  There was a time when, in a 4th-quarter-two-minute-drive situation, Brett Favre was absolutely lethal.  That time was 1996-1997.  Since then, it’s been a non-stop parade of wobbly passes chucked up into the stratosphere with the game on the line and hauled in by the defense, effectively killing the dreams of legions of “cheeseheads.”  And the occasional New Yorker also.  Good times.

6. September 10th, 2006 – Packers vs. Bears

To kick off the first of what would be many “farewell” seasons for Favre, the Packers took on the eventual NFC champion Chicago Bears in the home opener at Lambeau Field.  While soon-to-be poster boy for all that is unholy at the quarterback position Rex Grossman moved the ball up and down the field with relative ease, Favre threw just five passes for a meager 70 yards in the first half.  But eventually, the real Brett Favre shone through.  And by that, of course, I mean he started chucking the ball everywhich way but correct and ended up with two fourth quarter interceptions.

While the game had little to no playoff implications, it is notable for being the first ever shutout of Brett Favre’s career, with the Bears winning 26-0.  He would get his revenge though when the Packers knocked off the by-then division champion Bears on New Year’s Eve during the final game of the season.  And then he started sobbing like a girl before he even made it to the locker room.  In his defense though, it was a pretty heavy moment in that it was the last time he would ever imply that he was going to retire without everyone within ear shot rolling their eyes and barely containing their disgust.

5. The Last Five Games of the 2008 Season

If Vikings fans are curious as to what they have to look forward to in 2009, they need look no further than Favre’s guffaw inspiring end to his 2008 stint with the New York Jets.  Through week 11, the Jets were an impressive 8-3 under Favre’s elderly leadership.  And then, all hell broke loose.

Over the last five games, Favre threw an impressive nine interceptions while putting up just two TD passes.  The Jets lost four of those last five games.  Things got so tense in the Jets camp that at one point RB Thomas Jones suggested that Favre should have been benched after throwing 3 INT’s in one game.  He wasn’t benched, of course.  In fact, he was selected to represent the AFC in the Pro Bowl.  Makes sense.

All indications at the end of 2008 were that Favre’s geriatric cannon had run out of gas.  In what has to be a promising sign for Vikings fans, Favre briefly considered not coming back because, after an offseason spent working out, he was exhausted.  And the season hasn’t even started.

4. January 20th, 2008 – NFC Championship

Throughout the entire 2007 season, there were but two topics on the lips of every media outlet when it came time to discuss the NFL…Brett Favre and the New England Patriots.  This made the 2007 season different from most other seasons in absolutely no way.  For New England, all of the talk centered around their march to a nearly perfect season that ended in the most perfect way possible for anyone outside of New England.  As for Favre, he was in the midst of his second farewell tour with the Packers and was within reach of just about every passing record imaginable.  Whatever, we were just psyched that he broke the all time interception record.

By all standards, it was an impressive season for Favre.  A season that extended all the way to the NFC Championship game where the Packers hosted the New York Football Giants.  If we can digress for a second, why the hell do people still say “the New York Football Giants?”  The baseball Giants left New York seven hundred years ago.  Stop it.  Anyway, yeah, Favre took them to the NFC Championship.  It was at Lambeau.  It was cold.  The Packers rightfully should have won.  Fortunately, once overtime rolled around, Favre reverted to his late-career form and chucked up an ill advised pass to Donald Driver that was promptly intercepted by the Giants’ Corey Webster.  On the ensuing possession, the Giants would kick the game winning field goal, thus saving the world from a Super Bowl that would have had absolutely no chance of ending well.  Either Favre was going to win another Super Bowl, or the Patriots perfect season would be complete.  Either way, we all would have lost.

3. January 11th, 2004 – NFC Divisional Playoff

It would take a real asshole to not appreciate Brett Favre’s 2003 performance on Monday Night Football just one day after his father died of a heart attack.  Even the Raider fans were cheering him on, and they’re a bunch of douchebags!  But that’s just one game.  By the end of the season, just about everyone was tired of hearing about the “magic” and how “something special” was happening during the Packers improbable playoff run.

When the Packers rolled into Philadelphia for the NFC Divisional Playoff, all signs pointed to another Packers victory.  And then, the wheels fell off.  With a 3-point lead, the Packers had the Eagles stopped at 4th and 26.  For any team with the ghost of Brett’s dad at their back, that should have been enough for the win.  But nay!  Freddie Mitchell somehow found himself open over the middle for a 28 yard completion.  A few plays later, the game was tied and headed into overtime.  It’s at this point that Brett Favre’s father apparently tuned out.

After the Eagles went three and out on their first possession of overtime, Brett Favre took over.  And by “took over” we mean “immediately hurled what looked less like a pass and more like a punt in the direction of Brian Dawkins who hauled it in for an interception”.  A few plays later, a David Akers field goal ended the Packers run to the Super Bowl.  Awesome.

2. January 4th, 2003 – NFC Wild Card Playoff

Hey, Michael Vick, there’s a name we haven’t heard in awhile!  Wonder what that guy is up to these days?  Anyway, back in 2003, Michael Vick was the youngest quarterback in the NFL.  It was widely believed that his Atlanta Falcons had absolutely no chance against the mighty Packers in the NFC Wild Card Playoff that year.  Vick had never seen action in the playoffs.  The Packers had never lost a home playoff game and were 35-0 at Lambeau when the temperature was 34 degrees or less.  The temperature that night was 28.  It wasn’t looking good for Vick and the Falcons.  At least not until the game actually started.

Vick and the Falcons played flawless football and by half time had amassed an insurmountable 24-0 lead.  After leading Green Bay to a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, Favre’s killer instinct took over.  Unfortunately for him, that instinct killed any chance of a comeback.  On their next six possessions, the Pack committed four turnovers, including an interception and a lost fumble by Favre.  Classic Brett.

1. January 20th, 2002 – NFC Divisional Playoff

There are shitty performances, and then there are games like this.  Nobody really expected the Packers to go on the road and take out the St. Louis Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf.  But damn, what people expected even less was for Brett Favre to bust out his absolute worst performance of all time.

Six, COUNT EM’, SIX, interceptions.  Three of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns.  Another was returned to the 4 yard line and led to another touchdown moments later.  Of the Rams 45 points, only 17 were not in some way related to Brett Favre’s interception-y shenanigans.  We almost feel more comfortable making jokes about his dad, because this performance is way more depressing.

This would begin a long string of games in which, afterwards, nobody wanted to say what everybody knew.  Brett Favre played like trash in pressure situations and it cost them the game.  From here on, every season would be riddled with questions about how much longer he would play.  Seven years and several teary eyed press conferences later, we still have no idea.