What do you think Brett Favre was doing during his bye week?

Judging by his commercials, which is how I judge most people, I would bet Favre was on the farm, wearing some Wranglers, playing touch football with a bunch of actors who look like they last played football in the 7th grade. Also a description of the Cleveland Browns, by the way.

Here's some of the other stuff I saw happen while Favre was away in Week 9:

I WAS SURPRISED THAT...

...Eli Manning failed to out-duel Philip Rivers. The battle between the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the 2004 Draft also had an air of desperation for both teams, as the homestanding Giants had lost three straight and were looking for some positive momentum entering their Week 10 bye, while the Chargers were seeking to remain within reach of the Broncos in the AFC West. And while Manning (25-of-33, 215 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) had a slight edge in the statistical battle with Rivers (24-of-36, 209 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), it was the Manning-esque eight-play, 80-yard drive culminating with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson with 21 seconds to play that was the difference in the 21-20 win for the Chargers (5-3). It is going to be a couple of tough weeks in Gotham for Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who played for the field goal with under three minutes to go and New York ahead, 17-14, after a Rivers interception had set them up inside the San Diego 5-yard-line.

...the Bengals trucked the Ravens, 17-7. This was nearly a must-win situation for Baltimore, which could hardly afford to get swept by Cincinnati, fall two games back of the AFC North lead, and give away the tie-breaker to the Bengals. Despite the stakes, John Harbaugh's team came out flat and was beaten in every aspect of the game, with Joe Flacco (18-of-32, 195 yards, 2 INT) consistently failing to sustain drives, the Ravens defense having major trouble getting the Bengals offense (369 total yards, 40:00 time of possession) off the field, and the special teams hammering the final nail into the coffin when (soon-to-be-ex?) kicker Steve Hauschka missed a 38-yard field goal that would have pulled Baltimore within 17-10 with 6:17 to play. Now, the Ravens (4-4) will have to resign themselves to playing for the wild card, unless something extreme happens. The question now becomes, are they even wild card-worthy?

...Josh Freeman was the answer for the Buccaneers under center. Freeman was about a month removed from being Tampa Bay's third quarterback, and it did not seem that the combination of his inexperience, the Bucs' defensive mediocrity, and the Packers' desperation for a win would produce win number one of the Raheem Morris era. But the first-rounder Freeman (14-of-31, 205 yards) threw three touchdown passes versus just one turnover despite the absence of top receiver Antonio Bryant, the Bucs scored touchdowns off a blocked punt return and interception return, and Tampa Bay shocked the heavily-favored Packers, 37-27. No word on whether Tampa will be breaking out those creamsicle-colored throwback uniforms until further notice. Green Bay (4-4), meanwhile, has found something worse than being swept by Brett Favre.

...the Bears were lit up like a Christmas tree by the Cardinals. Chicago defensive tackle and colossal 2009 disappointment Tommie Harris set the tone for this one, earning an ejection a little more than a minute into the game when he threw a sucker-punch at the back of the head of Cardinals' offensive lineman Deuce Lutui. Things would get uglier for Chicago, which fell behind 31-7 at the half in an eventual 41-21 Soldier Field stomping. Arizona churned up 439 yards of total offense in the game, and the Bears were particularly clueless to stop wideout Larry Fitzgerald (9 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TD). The Cardinals (5-3) are now 4-0 on the road for the first time since 1982. In other news...have the Vikings clinched the NFC North yet?

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@