Favre, Vikings hold on for 24-21 win over Cowboys

[October 18, 2010]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Percy Harvin's 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown gave Minnesota a spark to start the second half, and the Vikings overcame another uneven game by Brett Favre in a 24-21 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Playing with a bad elbow and the NFL investigating alleged racy messages he sent to a former New York Jets employee, Favre took a bunch of big hits and finished 14 for 19 for 118 yards, one touchdown and one turnover.

Randy Moss's first home game since joining the Vikings in trade turned into an afterthought, but the defense and special teams did plenty to make up for Favre's unpolished play.

The Vikings (2-3) won this matchup of preseason NFC favorites, though even in defeat the Cowboys (1-4) could still wind up as contenders in the mediocre conference.

Tony Romo, who found Roy Williams for touchdowns twice in the first half, went 25 for 33 for 211 yards mostly on dump-offs and screens. Romo hit rookie Dez Bryant from 31 yards out with 10:18 left to tie the game at 21, but he was intercepted twice by E.J. Henderson deep in his own territory -- leading to 10 points for the Vikings.

The second one set up Ryan Longwell's 38-yard field goal with 4:05 remaining that put Minnesota in front 24-21, and the Vikings -- pressuring Romo and stopping the run just like they did in the playoff game last season -- promptly forced a three-and-out.

Favre described the elbow pain during the Jets game as the worst he's felt all season, and the Vikings listed him as questionable on the injury report after limiting his time in practice during the week. This is Favre, though, the old country-tough quarterback who has played with worse injuries and built his part of his popularity and fame around that durability.

But whatever the reason -- his body being banged up, being distracted by his off-the-field situation, or simply a fierce pass rush by the Cowboys -- Favre looked skittish in the pocket and lacked a veteran's presence.

Yet again, the offense put the defense in difficult spots while digging a first-half hole -- with Favre on the lead shovel. His first-quarter handoff at midfield was too low, putting the ball in Adrian Peterson's stomach when the All-Pro running back had his arms open at his chest. The fumble was charged to Favre, his 11th turnover of the season.

The Cowboys turned that into a touchdown when Williams beat Lito Sheppard, moved up on Minnesota's depth chart at cornerback with Cedric Griffin and Chris Cook out, for the first of two scores on quick slant patterns. Sheppard was on the coverage, too, when Bryant beat him for the tying score.

The Cowboys, despite six penalties for 63 yards, outgained the Vikings 190-60 in the first half and took a 14-7 lead into the locker room. Favre was hit on eight of his first 10 dropbacks and sacked three times, once losing 12 yards on third-and-7 at the Dallas 30 when he did a bunch of pirouettes around the pocket instead of getting rid of the ball to push the Vikings out of field-goal range midway through the third quarter.

Boos came from the crowd as Favre and the Vikings left the field at the end of the half.

Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin had a tough first half. He was flagged for excessive celebration when he leapfrogged Williams in the end zone after the first touchdown. Then, he got called for pass interference on what would've been his 68-yard touchdown catch and run when his one-handed shove of Asher Allen sent the Vikings cornerback falling to the turf.

After Bryant's touchdown, Austin simply came over and shook his hand.

Last week, Cowboys right tackle Marc Colombo slipped while trying to chest bump a teammate after a touchdown and got a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct because of the NFL rule that prohibits going to the ground to celebrate.

[Associated Press; By DAVE CAMPBELL]

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