GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN // Brett Favre spent what seemed to be an eternity sitting at his locker, head in hands, searching for something before approaching the podium. He limped to the microphone, finally beaten by his former team for the first time.
"It'll be tough to get over this loss as it's tough to get over any loss. But we have to find a way to do it and the reality is if I can play but not be effective, then it's not worth playing," Favre said after his Minnesota Vikings lost 28-24 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
"I know the heart's in the right place, though. I know I left it on the field, it was just disappointing that it didn't work our way."
In the waning moments, trailing by four, it looked as though Favre would accomplish what he had done so many times before - leading an improbable comeback as he limped down the field.
He threw an apparent touchdown pass to Percy Harvin with 48 seconds left, and the 41-year-old quarterback - in his 291st consecutive start - jumped into the arms of Jeff Dugan, the back-up tight end, and got a hug from Tarvaris Jackson.
But officials reviewed a would-be Vikings touchdown for the third time in the game, and the call was again reversed by the officials.
"Three times and you get a touchdown taken away by review. It's tough," said Adrian Peterson, who ran for 131 yards and a score.
On fourth-and-15 at the 20, Favre threw incomplete trying to find Randy Moss in the back of the end zone, and the game was over.
