Favre Stands Up to Reputation of the Ravens

Brett Favre doesn’t feel he has anything left to prove to anybody, and that’s why he relished showing Ray Lewis he’s still the best quarterback in the NFL.

Favre tore apart the Baltimore Raven defense for 337 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-34 passing as the Green Bay Packers beat the defending Super Bowl champions, 31-23, on Sunday.

During the week, Raven Coach Brian Billick challenged his defense to prove it was the best ever by shutting down the three-time most valuable player. But Lewis responded that Baltimore was the barometer for Favre to prove his worth.

Challenge accepted.

Favre said he was getting his ankles taped before the game when assistant trainer Kurt Fielding pointed out Lewis’ quote.

“I’m trying to relax and not think about how great their defense is,” Favre recounted. “And he said, ‘Can you believe they said that?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ They won the Super Bowl last year. They have the best defense. Ray Lewis, he’s one of the best I’ve seen. What’s to keep him from saying something like that?”

But Favre wasn’t about to back down.

“In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘I’m pretty good too,”’ Favre said. “I don’t feel like I have to say that. I’ve played a long time in this league. I’ve earned a right to be respected to a certain degree.”

Spreading out the defense with multiple-receiver sets and empty backfields, Favre connected with nine receivers, including Antonio Freeman nine times for 138 yards and a touchdown.

The Packers (4-1) forced four turnovers and scored more points against the Ravens (3-2) than any team since Jacksonville in a 39-36 loss to Baltimore on Sept. 10, 2000.

Baltimore, which hadn’t allowed a touchdown drive longer than 33 yards this season, surrendered touchdown drives of 59, 74, 80 and 82 yards. Ahman Green, the league’s leading rusher, was limited to 54 yards in 20 carries, but his one-yard touchdown run made it 24-10 late in the third quarter. And Bubba Franks’ second two-yard touchdown catch made it 31-10 with seven minutes remaining.

“Earlier in the week, I said they had a weakness and Chicago proved that by going five [wide receivers] and spreading the field on them,” Franks said. “And our plan was to spread the field and just keep going at them and going at them and it worked.”