Favre Leaves ‘Em Out in Cold : NFC: Packer quarterback stays hot in freezing weather, throwing three touchdown passes in 35-13 victory over Buccaneers.

Brett Favre hates the cold, but not as much as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I can’t explain it because I sure hate it,” said Favre, who kept Tampa Bay winless in wintry weather Sunday while reinforcing his reputation as the NFL’s ultimate cold-weather quarterback.

“If we’re not playing, I’m inside.”

Favre threw three touchdowns, two of them to Robert Brooks, and guided Green Bay (8-4) on five touchdown drives as the Packers beat the Buccaneers, 35-13, in the most pivotal game ever between the division rivals.

Favre improved to 11-0 in games where temperatures are near or below freezing. Sunday’s temperature was 34 degrees following a three-inch overnight snowfall.

In their 20-year history, the Buccaneers have never won in temperatures below 42 degrees.

Favre, the NFL’s leader with 28 touchdown passes, was 16 for 24 passes for 267 yards as Green Bay stayed one game ahead of Chicago in the NFC Central.

“Brett Favre might be the hottest player in the NFL right now,” Tampa Bay Coach Sam Wyche said.

The teams had never before met when both had winning records, and a Tampa Bay victory would have put the Bucs (6-6) in a tie for the NFC Central lead this late in the season for the first time since 1980.

But Errict Rhett, the NFC’s third-leading rusher, was held to minus-one yard in 13 carries, and Trent Dilfer was held without a touchdown pass for the eighth consecutive game as the Buccaneers lost for the fourth time in five weeks.

“Today was an important game to see how we would react to being in first. We were playing a Tampa team that was playing pretty good and playing for first place,” Favre said.

“It was a big win for us, a huge win. Both teams had a lot at stake. It keeps us leading our division, and it keeps our momentum going,” Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren said.

Favre threw touchdowns passes covering 54 and three yards to Brooks and another to Mark Ingram from nine yards out. Two other drives ended in one-yard touchdown runs by Dorsey Levens.

The Packers, four games over .500 for the first time under Holmgren, began attacking the middle after linebacker Hardy Nickerson was ejected for throwing a punch at center Frank Winters with 11:29 left.

Wyche, who said the ejection “tore the heart and guts out of our defense” suggested Winters started it and should have been flagged too.

Green Bay ran six plays in a row up the middle, moving from midfield to the Tampa Bay three, where Favre, pressured, twirled and hit Brooks for the final margin with 6:49 left. Brooks had six catches for 144 yards and went over 1,000 for the first time in his four-year career.

“If he’s not the finest quarterback in the NFL right now, I don’t know who is,” Dilfer said.

Wyche said, “Sometimes you’re watching a football team and you can just tell. There are no inhibitions. They are completely loose.”

The Packers, who took advantage of poor punting by Reggie Roby all day, scored twice in the final 2:12 of the first half to take a 21-10 halftime lead.

Dilfer finished 28 for 49 for a career-best 324 yards but was sacked four times. Former Green Bay tight end Jackie Harris caught a career-high 10 passes for 122 yards.