Age: 26 (Oct. 10)
5th season in pro football, 4th with Packers
College: Southern Mississippi
Height: 6’2” Weight: 222
Prelude:
Chosen by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1991 NFL draft, Favre saw scant action in Atlanta before being traded to Green Bay after one year. There was no question as to the young quarterback having outstanding tools, in particular a strong passing arm, but with new Head Coach Mike Holmgren looking to operate the West Coast offense, he was viewed as a raw talent with questionable maturity who would back up veteran Don Majkowski. However, Majkowski was injured early in the season and Favre nearly led the Packers to the postseason as he passed for 3227 yards and 18 TDs with a 64.1 completion percentage and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He also displayed toughness, playing the last seven games with a separated left shoulder. There were growing pains in ’93 as Favre, a natural improviser, bridled at Holmgren’s efforts at making him more disciplined. He led the NFL by throwing 24 interceptions, but Green Bay made it to the postseason and Favre was again named to the Pro Bowl. While he wasn’t selected in ’94, his numbers improved to 3882 yards passing with 33 TDs against 14 interceptions.
1995 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 570 [4]
Most attempts, game – 51 vs. St. Louis Rams 9/3
Completions – 359 [2]
Most completions, game – 31 vs. Cincinnati 12/3
Yards – 4413 [1]
Most yards, game – 342 vs. Detroit 10/15
Completion percentage – 63.0 [7]
Yards per attempt – 7.7 [3]
TD passes – 38 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 5 vs. Chicago 11/12
Interceptions – 13 [15, tied with Gus Frerotte & Jim Kelly]
Most interceptions, game – 3 vs. St. Louis Rams 9/3, at Detroit 10/29
Passer rating – 99.5 [2, 1st in NFC]
300-yard passing games – 7
200-yard passing games – 14
Rushing
Attempts – 39
Most attempts, game - 6 (for 15 yds.) vs. Cincinnati 12/3
Yards – 181
Most yards, game – 39 yards (on 2 carries) at Jacksonville 9/24
Yards per attempt – 4.6
TDs – 3
Scoring
TDs – 3
Points - 18
Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 102
Most attempts, game - 39 at Dallas, NFC Championship
Pass completions – 66
Most completions, game - 24 vs. Atlanta, NFC Wild Card playoff
Passing yardage – 805
Most yards, game - 307 at Dallas, NFC Championship
TD passes – 8
Most TD passes, game - 3 vs. Atlanta, NFC Wild Card playoff, at Dallas, NFC Championship
Interceptions – 2
Most interceptions, game - 2 at Dallas, NFC Championship
Rushing attempts – 7
Most rushing attempts, game - 3 vs. Atlanta, NFC Wild Card playoff, at San Francisco, NFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards – 7
Most rushing yards, game - 11 at San Francisco, NFC Divisional playoff
Average gain rushing – 1.0
Rushing TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, PFWA, NEA, Bert Bell Award, Sporting News
NFL Offensive Player of the Year: AP
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Packers went 11-5 to finish first in the NFC Central and the third playoff seed in conference. Won NFC Wild Card playoff over Atlanta Falcons (37-20) and Divisional playoff over San Francisco 49ers (27-17). Lost NFC Championship to Dallas Cowboys (38-27).
Aftermath:
Favre earned MVP honors in each of the next two years and the Packers won the Super Bowl following the ’96 season and were NFC Champions again in ‘97. He led the NFL in touchdown passes each year (39 and 35 respectively) and was a consensus first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection as well. He played through many injuries over the ensuing years to put together a string of 297 consecutive starts that finally ended in 2010. Along the way he had six 4000-yard passing seasons and reached 3000 in 18 years. He also threw 30 or more TD passes nine times. After initially retiring from the Packers in 2007, Favre made a comeback that led to an acrimonious departure from Green Bay and he played with the New York Jets in 2008. A season that started promisingly with the Jets proved disappointing and Favre led the league by tossing 22 interceptions. Again calling it quits, he was lured back by the Minnesota Vikings, finishing up with two seasons there. Overall, Favre left as the all-time NFL leader in pass attempts (10,169), completions (6300), yards (71,838), TD passes (508), and, on the downside, interceptions (336).
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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/12/14]
[Updated 11/28/14]
