National Football League

Favre sits as Giants rout Vikings

Published Dec. 13, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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The New York Giants are working on an important streak of their own, and it didn’t matter to them that Brett Favre watched them lengthen it.

They kept pace with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East with a 21-3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night at Ford Field, home stadium of the Detroit Lions. It was the Giants’ third straight win and kept them tied with the Eagles in the East. Both are 9-4 and have a showdown next week at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

''We're going to have to be resilient again this week because we've got a short week before a big game against the Eagles,'' Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. ''They had a nice win yesterday, and we had to match them.''

The loss ended the Vikings’ two-game winning streak under interim head coach Leslie Frazier and dropped their record to 5-8, eliminating them from the playoffs.

''It's embarrassing,'' defensive end Jared Allen said.

The game drew 45,910 fans, who got in for free under a ticket-giveaway program enacted by the Lions and the NFL.

Monday night’s game was marked by the end of Favre’s NFL record of 297 consecutive starts. Favre was on the inactive list because of an injury to his right shoulder, sustained early in last week’s victory over Buffalo.

Tarvaris Jackson started in Favre’s place but was ineffective, twice leaving the game briefly for injuries before returning both times. He was rushed heavily all night, fumbled two snaps and never getting into a passing rhythm.

''I was very pleased with the way the defense bailed us out after two early turnovers,'' Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

The Giants and quarterback Eli Manning struggled early with two first-half interceptions but took control late in the half.

The Vikings took a 3-0 lead on Ryan Longwell’s 21-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the momentum swung in New York’s favor and never went back to the Vikings.

Brandon Jacobs’ 1-yard scoring run gave the Giants a 7-3 lead midway through the second quarter. Manning then finished off a 71-yard, nine-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss with three seconds left in the first half to make it 14-3.

Ahmad Bradshaw, Jacobs’ running mate, broke a 48-yard scoring run off left tackle with less than three minutes left in the third quarter to increase the lead to 21-3. The Vikings never seriously threatened again.

The game was moved to Detroit because of a snowstorm that hit the Minneapolis area on Saturday. The weight of the snow caused the Metrodome’s roof to collapse Sunday morning, forcing the Vikings and NFL officials to find an alternative stadium.

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