Patriots-Vikings Matchup In 2010 An Unforgettable Evening In Foxboro
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's not often that the Patriots and Vikings meet, as evidenced by this Sunday's clash being just the third game between the two teams in the last decade. The first came in Week 8 of the 2006 season, a forgettable 31-7 trouncing by Tom Brady and Co. at the Metrodome on a Monday night.
But the last time these two met -- Halloween 2010 -- it was a memorable event for a number of quirky reasons.
First and foremost, it was the return of Randy Moss to Foxboro. Moss had the single best season of all time by a Patriots wide receiver in 2007, but by 2010, he had worn out his welcome in New England, using his postgame press conference following a Week 1 victory to announce that he didn't feel wanted by the team and that it would be his final year with the Patriots. Bill Belichick shipped Moss back to his original NFL home in Minnesota, where he didn't do much except complain about the food provided to the team by a local restaurant. (Side note: The Pats acquired a third-round pick for Moss, and that pick turned out to be Ryan Mallett, who was just traded for a conditional seventh- or sixth-round pick. So, Randy Moss --> Ryan Mallett --> seventh-round pick.)
And on this afternoon in Foxboro, Moss looked like a man who really wanted to be a member of the New England Patriots. He went out of his way to talk to Robert Kraft on the field before the game, and the two shared an embrace. After the game, Moss sought out Belichick for a hug and a quick chat, and of course, Moss took time to give a hug to Tom Brady -- or as Moss calls him, Tommy Boy -- on the 50-yard line.
"I miss them guys, man. I miss the team. ... I miss the hell out of them, every last helmet in that locker room, man," Moss said after the game in a hilarious press conference during which he took no questions and served as his own moderator. "Coach Belichick gave me a chance to be a part of something special, and I take that to heart. ... I'm gonna leave the New England Patriots, Coach Belichick with a salute, man. I love you guys. I miss you. I'm out."
(The entire press conference is worth watching, if you have five minutes to spare. Seriously.)
Moss, in between exposing the feelings inside his heart, also essentially said head coach Brad Childress did a terrible job in game-planning against the Patriots, and so a day later, the team dumped him, thus ending his second stint with Minnesota much sooner than anyone anticipated.
But aside from Moss' postgame speech, there was plenty to remember from the game itself.
For one, the Patriots were wearing those glorious Pat Patriot throwbacks, which are always a welcome sight (so long as you can forget the years of ineptitude from whence they came.) Also, Tom Brady's hair was long. What a mane!
On offense, Brady turned in one of the most amazing plays of his career. On a second-and-10 midway through the third quarter and the Vikings leading 10-7, Brady faked a handoff to BenJarvus Green-Ellis and looked up the right seam at a streaking Wes Welker. Brady then shifted his gaze toward the middle of the field and then over to the left sideline, where Brandon Tate had run a comeback route. But Brady was pressured from the right side, so he ran left and pump-faked toward Tate. Brady then ran backward into no man's land and was quickly surrounded by two white jerseys, so he heaved a back-foot deep ball to Tate up the left sideline. It was right on the money, Tate took it to the house for a 65-yard score, the Pats took the lead and they never lost it again.
"It was great to see the back of his jersey, running," Brady said of Tate after the win. "That was pretty sweet."
Also, Danny Woodhead did this jump. And any time Danny Woodhead leaps this high, we're all legally obligated to share the photo:
This is all, of course, a lead-up to the most memorable moment of the game -- at least in my mind. It came with 7:36 left in the game and the Patriots leading 21-10. Brett Favre faced a third-and-goal from the New England 3-yard line. The quarterback took the shotgun snap and was absolutely destroyed by Myron Pryor upon letting go of the pass.
Pryor drove his helmet into the chest of Favre, and the 41-year-old QB went down like a sack of potatoes.
Now, normally it's not funny when any player gets injured, and at the time I distinctly recall believing that Favre had just suffered a broken jaw and/or a brain injury. Here was one of the toughest QBs to ever play the game, unable to get off the field under his own power as a team trainer looked to be holding Favre's jaw in place. And obviously, had Favre actually suffered a broken jaw or a concussion, there would be nothing funny about the ensuing cart ride, where Favre was lying completely prone, eyes closed, as that same trainer held his jaw in place while scores of fans cheered and jeered. I know that I for one didn't like the way it looked as the fans mocked Favre and celebrated his exit, because it looked like a very serious injury -- perhaps even a career-ender. If that was Favre's final moment on the football field, then it was kind of sad.
I mean, it looked like he might legitimately be dying.
But ... it turned out to just be a boo-boo.
That's it.
And after causing a massive scene for something as small as a simple chin abrasion, Favre had the audacity to step to the podium and brag about his pain tolerance!
"I don't want to make a big deal out of it," the ol' gunslinger said with a straight face before boasting about being able to play on a bad foot. "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."
Favre then volunteered the information that he had received eight stitches in his chin (nobody asked).
"For the physical side of it, I really can't complain. I probably should," Favre heroically stated, perhaps with the Superman theme playing in his head. "I played with a broken foot and I am getting eight stitches in my chin and then the elbow. I have been battling tendonitis. I thought I threw the ball as well as I have thrown it in quite a while."
(Favre threw zero TDs and one interception in the game.)
Then came the most unforgettable quote of them all.
"I still feel like I can play at a high level, getting hit like that," he said. "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."
Nobody liked to deify ol' Brett like Brett himself. What a perfect Favre moment: He suffers a boo-boo, gets carted off the field with his eyes closed while a trainer held his face and told him everything's going to be OK, soaks in the everybody-please-look-at-me attention that he always so desperately craved, and then takes the podium to count his stitches and thump his chest about how he's tougher than most everybody else. It was truly remarkable.
And knowing all that you now know, the comment from Brady after the game just looks hilarious: "I hope Favre's OK."
Suffice it to say, this random October matchup between the Patriots and Vikings is one that won't make it into any retrospective DVDs of the Brady-Belichick era, but it was nonetheless a wild game that remains memorable for a number of reasons.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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