Favre's late show: 3 TD passes, one big interception

One day after his 41st birthday, grizzled, gray Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre, operating on muscle memory, tapped into the old Favre magic as opposed to the old Favre. In his first appearance against the Jets since he played for them in 2008, Favre looked his age in the first half, but he threw three second-half touchdown passes, looking as comfortable as in one of his Wranglers jeans commercials.

It was a night of milestones for Favre, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach the 70,000-yard passing mark, and he became the first to throw 500 TD passes when he hit a 37-yard strike to Randy Moss to cut the Jets' lead to 12-7 in the third quarter.

Favre added two more TD passes to Percy Harvin, the last with 3:09 left to cut the Jets' lead to 22-20. Minnesota got the ball back with 1:48 to play at its own 16-yard line, and Favre had a chance to make good on a promise to his teammates to play "lights out," but on third-and-5, cornerback Dwight Lowery turned the lights out on Favre with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown that sealed a 29-20 Jets victory last night at New Meadowlands Stadium.

Favre finished with 14 completions in 34 attempts for 264 yards and three TDs, and he was sacked three times and fumbled twice. His return had been anticipated ever since the schedule was announced, and the trade on Wednesday of wide receiver Moss from the Patriots to the Vikings only added to it.

But that story line was overtaken by the NFL's announcement on Thursday that it is "aggressively investigating" allegations that Favre texted inappropriate photos and messages to former in-house Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. Two massage therapists who worked with the Jets also have complained of receiving inappropriate text messages when Favre was with the team.

The media attention to the unseemly allegations that followed prompted Favre to apologize to his teammates in a meeting Monday morning for creating a distraction, according to multiple reports. That's when Favre promised to play "lights out tonight."

Depending on the outcome of the NFL investigation, Favre is subject to discipline under the league's personal conduct policy. "Once we determine those facts, then we'll determine what the next tep is from there, if any," commissioner Roger Goodell said.

Once the game started after a lengthy lightning delay, Favre's first series ended with a punt, and the Vikings' second series ended with Favre being sacked at his own 10 by blitzing Jets cornerback Drew Coleman. In the first half, Favre looked like a senior citizen. He completed 3 of 7 passes for 15 net yards thanks to two sacks, lost a fumbled snap, converted 0 of 5 third-down plays and led the Vikings to three total first downs as they trailed 9-0 at intermission.

His second-half act was much better, but the bottom line is the Vikings ended the night 1-3 and it seems Favre will have a hard time duplicating last season's run to the NFC title game.