<
>

MNF moments, No. 3: Favre plays for dad

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

To celebrate the 45th season of "Monday Night Football," a panel of ESPN.com contributors has selected the 45 most memorable moments in MNF history. Follow along as we reveal one per day and count down to this season's MNF debut.

No. 3: Packers 41, Raiders 7 | Dec. 22, 2003


Irvin Favre died Dec. 21, 2003. The next night, his son Brett would take the field against the Oakland Raiders on "Monday Night Football." On why he decided to play during such an emotional time, the Green Bay Packers quarterback said, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play."

The result was the game of a lifetime.

Favre finished with 399 passing yards and four touchdown passes (all in the first half), contributing to a 154.9 NFL passer rating. Favre never posted a higher passer rating in his 302-game career, and he had only two games with more passing yards. It wasn't without help though, as teammates repeatedly leapt into coverage to make catch after catch.

The Packers won 41-7 and all but clinched a playoff berth in the process. In the end, the night belonged to Brett and the Favre family.


#ThrowbackMNF: Now it's your turn. Share your most vivid MNF memories, photos and videos on Twitter at @ESPNMondayNight or on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" Facebook page by using #ThrowbackMNF. Reader submissions: Sept. 8 | Sept. 4 | Sept. 3.