New Orleans Saints in the 31-28 overtime defeat

NEW ORLEANS — For once, Brett Favre looked his age after the Minnesota Vikings’ loss Sunday in the National Football Conference championship game. After being battered by the New Orleans Saints in the 31-28 overtime defeat, the 40-year-old Favre struggled to dress in the locker room. He winced as he put a tennis shoe on his left ankle, which was injured in the third quarter when he was high hit by Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele and low by defensive end Bobby McCray. But Favre had a question for nearby reporters about the hit: “Did it look bad?” Told by one reporter that it looked terrible, Favre acknowledged that he thought he had broken his ankle. “I can’t even move,” Favre said, adding that he felt 49 years old. But in typical Favre fashion, he stayed in the game, only to throw a costly interception near the end of regulation with his team close to field-goal range. Before the third-and-15 play from the New Orleans 38, Minnesota was flagged for a 5-yard penalty for having 12 players in the huddle. The penalty moved the Vikings out of field-goal range. The play was supposed to go to Minnesota wide receiver Bernard Berrian in the flat, but the Saints changed their coverage. So instead Favre made a late throw to Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice that was intercepted by New Orleans cornerback Tracy Porter at the New Orleans 22-yard line with about 19 seconds left. Instead of throwing the ball, Favre said he should have run. He did not get a chance to redeem himself because Minnesota did not get the ball in overtime. CONTINUE READING...