DETROIT (AP) -Brett Favre is set to break the NFL record for consecutive starts. Chances are, he will have fond memories of the milestone-making game in a Minnesota Vikings uniform against perhaps his friendliest foe: the Detroit Lions.
Favre has 8,524 yards passing against the lowly Lions, his highest total versus any team, and the first of 25 career victories against them was in his first playoff game in 1994.
When Favre takes his first snap Sunday in Detroit, he will start for the 271st regular-season game in a row.
He tied former Jim Marshall’s mark in his Vikings debut last week.
“I was talking to my wife on Sunday night when I got home and I said, `That is a lot of games,”’ Favre recalled. “I don’t know when the light went off that I played in a lot of games. I can remember the record (for consecutive starts by a quarterback), I can’t remember who we played it might have been in Chicago, but I broke Ron Jaworski’s record.
nd I was like, `It’s not that big of a deal. It is, but it isn’t.’ I feel like stopping the game every time now.”
Favre insisted the streak in and of itself is not important. He just wants to play, have fun and win.
The three-time MVP can expect to do each of those three things in the Motor City because the Lions have lost 18 straight games dating to the 2007 season and 13 of 14 the last 14 in their series with Minnesota.
Past performance doesn’t necessarily dictate future results, but Favre is facing a team that was helpless only a week ago as it let Drew Brees match a Saints record with six touchdown passes, and Mike Bell run for a career-high 143 yards.
Detroit seems doomed even if Favre simply hands off to Adrian Peterson and dares its defense to do something about it.
Peterson became the first player in league history to run for 180 yards and three touchdowns in an opener in a win over Cleveland. He led the NFL with 1,760 yards rushing last season and ran for a league-record 296 yards in a game two years ago as a rookie.
s and scored.”
Cunningham, with 40 years of coaching experience, said Peterson’s combination of speed and power reminds him of one player.
“I hate to use this guy’s name, but probably O.J. Simpson,” Cunningham said. “He’s probably not as fluid of an athlete, but he’s got more power. Eric Dickerson was big and strong like him, but Adrian’s got more moves and can jump cut and get up to full speed again.”
The Lions are hoping rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford can quickly get up to speed after throwing three interceptions in his first regular-season game at New Orleans.
First-year coach Jim Schwartz, though, said he doesn’t still debate the decision to start the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft ahead of Daunte Culpepper, who showed glimpses in the preseason of the Pro Bowl form he had in Minnesota.
“I’m not a believer in holding things back,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz believes Stafford is mentally ready to do the job.
“It doesn’t take Bill Walsh or Vince Lombardi to see that he has a great arm and a quick release,” Schwartz said. “Where he impressed us the most is his demeanor, his knowledge of the game, his intelligence. You have to be comfortable being in the skin of a quarterback.”
Schwartz and Stafford’s teammates say the key to his development this year is bouncing back from adversity. As a star QB in Dallas and at Georgia, Stafford didn’t get much practice.
something I’m getting used to, being in the NFL,” he said. “I came from a really good high school team. A college game, you lose a game you’re out of it. In the NFL, it’s not the case.
“You know, only one team in history has ever won them all.”
And only one team has lost them all: Detroit.
The Lions became the NFL’s most infamous team last season, the first to go 0-16, but cornerback Antoine Winfield isn’t cocky about Minnesota’s chances after beating Detroit by a combined six points in two games in 2008.
“We can’t go in there with the mind that we’re just going to throw our helmets out there and win the game,” Winfield said. “They’ll always play us tough. They could have easily beat us twice last year, so it’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
It might also be tough for Stafford to avoid being awed when he meets Favre, who he acknowledged being a fan of growing up, for the first time.
“I don’t know if he is a chatty guy or not,” Stafford said. “I’m excited to play against him, watch him play a little bit and take some notes.”
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