Favre ties NFL touchdown pass record

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre marked another National Football League milestone on Sunday as he guided the Packers to a 31-24 victory against the San Diego Chargers.

Favre tied Dan Marino's all-time record for career touchdown passes as the surprising Packers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2001.

Favre threw for three scores, giving him 420 in his career to tie Marino's mark.

"The record would have meant nothing if we had lost this game," said Favre, who engineered his 38th career fourth-quarter comeback. "I am so glad we won, that I could care less about the record."

Favre matched the mark in dramatic fashion, finding Greg Jennings over the middle for a 57-yard score with 2:30 remaining to give the Packers a 24-21 lead.

"The thing about it is that he did it in a fashion where he came from behind, which he has done many times, in pure Brett Favre fashion to tie the record, which is outstanding," Marino told CBS television. "To tie the record in that fashion, you have to feel good for him since he's such a great competitor."

Favre celebrated the record by sprinting down field with his arms in the air. He congratulated Jennings, then jumped into the arms of Donald Driver.

Earlier in the contest, Favre had a 5-yard TD pass to Donald Driver and a 5-yard connection to tight end Bubba Franks.

The latest mark for Favre came one week after he won his 149th career win, breaking John Elway's all-time record.

Favre completed 28-of-45 passes for 369 yards without a turnover in shredding a porous San Diego defense.

All three of Green Bay's victories have come against teams that reached the playoffs last season.

"To come in and beat that team was amazing and to be 3-0," Packers receiver Donald Driver, who caught Favre's first TD pass of the day, told reporters.

"That's a big accomplishment, my hat's off to him," Driver said. "He has one more to break it, so I'm hoping I can get that one."

The Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts also improved to 3-0 Sunday, along with the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys.

The Colts, who barely escaped with their record unblemished against the Tennessee Titans last week, responded with a 30-24 victory against the Houston Texans.

Joseph Addai rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns and Peyton Manning threw for 273 yards and one score.

New England quarterback Tom Brady tied a career high with four touchdown passes as the Patriots cruised to a 38-7 win over the Buffalo Bills.

Randy Moss, acquired from the Oakland Raiders this offseason, hauled in two of Brady's touchdown passes and finished with five receptions for 115 yards.

The former Pro Bowl receiver has five touchdowns already this season and is the first player to crack the 100-yard receiving mark in each of his first three games with a new team.

Brady finished 23-of-29 for 311 yards and no interceptions as the Patriots scored 38 points for the third consecutive week.

In Chicago, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns as Dallas pounded the Bears 34-10.

The Steelers gave new coach Mike Tomlin a 3-0 start to the season with a 37-16 rout of the San Francisco 49ers.

The Philadelphia Eagles offense, led by quarterback Donovan McNabb, erupted for a 56-21 victory against the Detroit Lions. McNabb, who struggled in his first two games, threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

In other games, Tampa Bay beat St. Louis 24-3, Kansas City edged Minnesota 13-10, Baltimore beat Arizona 26-23 and the New York Jets beat Miami 31-28.

The New York Giants scored 21 points after halftime as they rallied for a 24-17 victory against the Washington Redskins.

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Denver Broncos 23-14, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21 and the Carolina Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons 27-20.

The Oakland Raiders snapped an 11-game losing streak dating to last season with a 26-24 victory against the Cleveland Browns.

Tommy Kelly blocked Phil Dawson's 40-yard field goal attempt as time expired to preserve the Raiders' victory, just their fourth in their last 28 games.

AFP

(China Daily 09/25/2007 page24)