National Football League

Brett Favre says his elbow 'felt great' in win over Cowboys

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:14 p.m. ET

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Vikings quarterback Brett Favre said his elbow tendinitis "felt great" in Sunday's 24-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys thanks to a cortisone shot and two days of rest.

Now the tricky part -- Favre thinks he's allowed a cortisone shot about every six weeks, so he must learn to manage the tendinitis the organic way as Green Bay looms this week.

Favre doesn't want to rest because he needs the work after missing camp and managing the offense with new receivers.

"I'm going to try to take as many reps as I can from a timing standpoint because I think it's important," Favre said. "I'll try to be smart about it."

Favre has been limited in recent practices because of the elbow and has battled ankle issues.

Favre completed 14 of 19 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown amid an NFL investigation after he allegedly sent inappropriate photos to former Jets employee Jenn Sterger in 2008.

Favre said he will "let (the investigation) take its course" and added that he never declined to meet with NFL security on the matter last week, contrary to an ESPN report Sunday. Favre is reportedly scheduled to meet with the NFL on Tuesday.

Abdullah injured: Safety Husain Abdullah said he "went blank" on a play in the first half that knocked him out of the game and might have been a concussion.

Abdullah, the starting safety, said he expects to recover smoothly despite leaving the game and sitting out the second half. He finished with three tackles. The play that caused the injury is uncertain.

Backup Jamarca Sanford filled in nicely for the Vikings, who didn't give up a passing play longer than 31 yards.

"He did a great job, I thought, playing in the back end and still attends to our kicking team because he is every bit as valuable as Heath Farwell is on our kick game," said coach Brad Childress of Sanford, who had two tackles.

AP's milestone: Adrian Peterson's 73 rushing yards were a season low, but it was a record-setting performance nonetheless.

He became just the fourth Vikings player to eclipse 5,000 yards and reached that milestone faster than anyone in team history. Peterson only needed 51 games to accomplish what it took Chuck Foreman 68 games. With 5,037 yards, Peterson is fourth behind Bill Brown (5,757), Foreman (5,879) and Robert Smith (6,818) on Minnesota's all-time list.

"Feels good," Peterson said. "Give credit to my offensive line; they're doing a great job. (Center) Jon Cooper, stepping up against a guy twice as big as him -- a Pro bowl guy (nose tackle Jay Ratliff) -- he really did a good job up there. I've got to give those guys credit for that."

Cowboys in deep hole: The Vikings avoided falling into a deep hole at 1-4. The Cowboys were not as fortunate.

Since the NFL expanded to 12 playoff teams in 1990, only five out of the 240 teams that qualified for the postseason started the season with four losses in their first five games.

The Cowboys, whose Super Bowl expectations were amplified because the big game will be played in Dallas for the first time, face a daunting task. Coach Wade Phillips faces even more scrutiny after his team, which entered the day the second-most penalized in the NFL, committed 11 more infractions for 91 yards against the Vikings.

"Obviously, it's coaching," Phillips said when asked about the penalties. "We're going to keep working on it until we get it right."

Miles Austin was flagged 15 yards for excessive celebrating after the Cowboys' first touchdown gave them a 7-0 lead. The ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, giving the Vikings the ball at the Dallas 45-yard line.

Although Minnesota did not score, Phillips was hardly placated.

"We need to celebrate after we win a game, that's when we need to celebrate," he said.

Roster moves/tight end love: There was lots of movement on the Vikings roster Sunday as fullback Naufahu Tahi and defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy were inactive.

Cornerback Chris Cook, who tore his meniscus Sept. 26 against Detroit, also missed the game as expected. The Vikings played with four cornerbacks: Antoine Winfield, Lito Sheppard, Asher Allen and newly acquired Frank Walker.

Quarterback Joe Webb, wide receiver Hank Baskett, safety Tyrell Johnson, guard Chris DeGeare and defensive end Everson Griffen completed the inactive list.

The Vikings gave a shot to Albert Young, who was inactive for the previous three games after playing in the season opener against the Saints. Young saw two snaps Sunday.

Tahi, who has missed one game since 2008, struggled to pick up delayed blitzes from the Jets last week. The Vikings used their three tight ends -- Visanthe Shiancoe, Jeff Dugan and Jim Kleinsasser -- in backfield blocking formations, sometimes playing all three at once for what's called the "Trio Package," Kleinsasser said.

"We're just trying to plug away out there with good blocking, moving the ball downfield," Kleinsasser said.

The Vikings started Jon Cooper at center instead of Ryan Cook, who started against the Jets but struggled in protection. Cooper is the third player to start at center in the past three games.

Kennedy had four tackles and a half-sack through two games of action this season. Kennedy told the Pioneer Press earlier in the week about frustrations with playing time.

Quote of note: "(Chicago) is still sitting in the driver's seat. There's a lot of football left for all of us. We needed the win more than those guys needed it. There is still a lot left, still have to play those guys a couple of times." -- Favre, on the NFC North

The writers can be reached at jfowler@pioneerpress.com and bmurphy@pioneerpress.com .

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