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Favre TD pass in OT sinks Broncos

Oct 30, 2007 - 5:23 AM By Tony Desiere PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) - Brett Favre still has some Monday night magic.

Playing in what could be his last Monday night game, Favre threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime to lead the Green Bay Packers to a stunning 19-13 victory over the Denver Broncos.

It was the second-longest pass to end a game in overtime in NFL history and marked the 36th career comeback in the fourth quarter and overtime by Favre.

"Great read, great throw and great catch," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought we handled the overtime very well. The place was obviously electric and this is a very tough place to play."

Favre finished 21-of-27 for 331 yards and two touchdowns as Green Bay (6-1) tied the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the NFC. He completed his first 12 passes of the second half and finished 13-of-14 after the break.

On the winning play, Favre lofted a pass down the left sideline to Jennings, who got behind cornerback Dre Bly and raced to the end zone for the winning score.

"I saw the ball and I was trying to fight Dre (Bly) off me," Jennings said. "I knew if I got the ball, he was a step behind me and I would able to go for the score."

"Greg ran a great route," Favre said. "We wanted to take a shot there and he was able to get ahead of the coverage. It was a great play."

The late heroics stymied a superb last-minute drive led by Broncos second-year quarterback Jay Cutler, who brought his team the length of the field for a tying 21-yard field goal by Jason Elam as time expired.

Starting at his own 7 with 2:27 left, Cutler completed consecutive passes of 39 and 13 yards to Brandon Marshall, but the Broncos still had to have their field goal team race on the field and just beat the clock on Elam's tying kick.

"We couldn't close the deal," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "We got the ball inside the 5-yard line a couple of times and came away with three points. That's how you lose the football game."

"We made a great drive at the end," Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "That's what's disappointing. We fought so hard and got the ball down to 4-yard line and couldn't put it in."

Denver, which was coming off a home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, was trying to keep pace with San Diego and Kansas City in the AFC West.

With the loss, the Broncos (3-4) fall a game back in the race for the division.

Cutler looked sharp early in the game, completing six of his first nine passes for 70 yards. He orchestrated a 10-play, 60-yard drive for a touchdown to open the scoring, hitting tight end Tony Scheffler with a 5-yard pass.

The drive was aided by a third down pass interference call on Atari Bigby that set the Broncos up with a first down at the Green Bay 1-yard line.

Favre responded with a 79-yard touchdown pass to rookie James Jones on the very next play from scrimmage. Jones got behind All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey for the completion, then dodged a number of Bronco defenders, running across the field to the end zone.

Denver drove down the field once again, but turned the ball over when Cutler fumbled after being hit by left guard Chris Kuper at the Green Bay 1-yard line.

"That was a tough play," Cutler said. "We had a lot of chances tonight to put more points on the board, not just there. We needed to move on and keep on moving the football."

Favre then led the Packers on a 98-yard drive that was with a 19-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. On the drive, which ate up more than seven minutes, rookie Ryan Grant ran for 58 yards on eight carries.

Grant rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries in his first career start and provided the first 100-yard effort the Green Bay's anemic running game since Ahman Green on December 3, 2006.

The Packers continued to move the ball in the first half against the Broncos defense. On their next possession, Green Bay pounded the ball with Grant again, driving down to the Denver 8-yard line, and had to settle for another Crosby field goal when Favre's third down pass to Donald Driver fell incomplete.

Denver added a 45-yard field goal by Elam with 3:00 left in the third quarter to trim the Packers' lead to 13-10.

Cutler finished 21-of-34 for 264 yards and a touchdown pass.