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Favre-less Vikings lead Giants 3-0 after 1st
Tarvaris Jackson completing 6 of 8 passes while replacing Brett Favre as Minnesota's quarterback, and the Vikings took a 3-0 lead over the New York Giants after one quarter Monday night.
Favre, whose record streak of 297 consecutive starts came to an end when he was deactivated, stood on the sideline next to Jackson after the team's first possession as the Vikings discussed strategy. Jackson hurt his knee late in the quarter, but the injury wasn't serious and he returned quickly.
Minnesota took advantage of an errant pass by Eli Manning that Frank Walker intercepted, giving the Vikings great field position at the New York 34-yard line. Minnesota took the lead on Ryan Longwell's 21-yard field goal in front of a fairly large crowd at Ford Field, where the game was moved after the Metrodome roof in Minneapolis collapsed.
The lower bowl was full, and the upper deck was about half full. Tickets were given away for free.
Before the game, the big question was whether Favre could once again manage to start despite a right shoulder injury. The three-time MVP wasn't on the field about 90 minutes before kickoff, and the Vikings announced moments later he was inactive.
Favre finally came out about 35 minutes before the game started, wearing a T-shirt and warmup pants. He hugged a teammate while receiving a few cheers from the crowd, then stood at the 15-yard line and chatted with Jackson.
After Minnesota's first drive, Favre looked at photo printouts with Jackson.
When Jackson was briefly sidelined, the new backup, Joe Webb, went in and threw an incompletion. It's not clear what the Vikings would do if both quarterback are hurt, because they didn't list a third quarterback.
The Lions released a statement saying there was an ''overwhelming response'' to tickets for the game. Approximately 30,000 tickets were distributed, according to Lions spokesman Bill Keenist.
Those holding tickets to the Giants-Vikings game, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon Minneapolis, were given preferred seating at Ford Field. Fans with tickets from the Packers-Lions game on Sunday in Detroit were told they'd get in free, with no reserved seating in the 65,000-seat indoor stadium with a steel roof.
