We interrupt Hype Week to bring you news from the other 30 teams in the NFL. Actually, just one team. The Packers
I'd just gone to bed without about two minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Green Bay-Denver Monday nighter, but I couldn't resist. I put in an ear-bud with the Westwood One broadcast, listening to Dave Sims and Bob Trumpy describe how the Broncos went the length of the field and forced overtime on yet another Jason Elam clutch field goal as time ran out. Then Green Bay won the toss to start overtime, and the rest soon became history.
Brett Favre, 38 but playing like 24, faded back to pass for the 14th time since the half. For the 13th time he completed the pass, according to Sims, a high-arching spiral to Greg Jennings down the sideline, caught in perfect stride at the Denver 40 over Broncos corner Dre Bly. He jogged in for the winning touchdown.
Brett Favre is magic!!!" screamed Trumpy
"I need oxygen!!!" screamed Sims
Stupid me, I should have stayed downstairs, with the TV on. Now there's no way I could sleep for at least 15 or 20 minutes. My heart was beating a mile a minute, like I was there.
Is Brett Favre ever going to age? Let's just look at his stat line. He's second in the NFL -- even with a bye week -- with 2,046 passing yards, second only to Tom Brady's 2,431. Favre has completed 66 percent of his passes, nearly a percentage point better than Peyton Manning. His touchdown-to-interception differential is +5, the same as Carson Palmer's. And his rating, 92.5, is in line with the best of his career.
I've said this all season: The only way Favre should retire after this year is if he truly wants to or if there's something else he really wants to do. Because right now, he's carrying the Packers to the playoffs at the same age most quarterbacks enter the television booth. And just like he was a decade ago, he's incredibly fun to watch. And, for some history-ignoring football followers, fun to listen to as well.
Now on to your e-mails.
BRING ON THE BROWNS. From Jeffrey Hersh of Columbus, Ohio: "With the way he is leading the Browns, has Derek Anderson entered into (albeit somewhere lower) your MVP rankings?"