Posted at: 12/21/2009 4:22 PM | KSAX.com
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Favre, Childress Argue, Panthers Beat Vikes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Nearly every time Brett Favre took a snap it seemed Julius Peppers was in his face. Minnesota wasn't moving the ball and coach Brad Childress had apparently seen enough of his 40-year-old quarterback getting bruised and battered.

Favre would have nothing of it.

A third-quarter argument between Favre and the coach who worked so hard to bring him out of retirement was part of a dismal Sunday night for the Vikings, who instead of celebrating another NFC North title must worry about a stunning 26-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers and their coach-quarterback relationship.

In calling it a "heated discussion," Favre said Childress wanted to take him out with the Vikings (11-3) clinging to a 7-6 lead hours after they clinched the division crown when Green Bay lost to Pittsburgh.

"Brad wanted to go in a different direction. And I wanted to stay in the game," Favre said. "Yeah, it's not 70-6, but we were up 7-6. I said I'm staying in the game. I'm playing."

It didn't work out well, with the Panthers outscoring Minnesota 20-0 in the fourth quarter. Favre threw for only 224 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and was sacked four times.

"We were just having a good conversation about the game was heading at that point and time," Childress said. "And what we needed to do to head the other way."

Turned out, the best quarterback on the field wasn't Favre, but Matt Moore. In his third start for the injured Jake Delhomme and playing behind a makeshift line without both starting tackles, Moore threw for a career-high 299 yards and three touchdowns.

He had plenty of help from his teammates and the poor-tackling, poor-covering Vikings' defense.

Steve Smith caught nine passes for 157 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown pass and a long catch and run set up the clinching score. Jonathan Stewart added 109 yards rushing and a TD on 25 carries, snapping Minnesota's streak of 36 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

The Panthers (6-8), who were officially eliminated from playoff contention a night earlier, were clearly the more energized team, but Favre didn't want to sit. A victory would have moved Minnesota within a game of New Orleans for the best record in the NFC.

"No way being up 7-6 and getting banged around a little bit would I consider coming out," Favre said.

Adrian Peterson had a tackle-breaking 4-yard touchdown run, but was held to 35 yards rushing in another Sunday night dud for the Vikings, who were blown out two weeks ago in Arizona and dropped to 4-3 on the road.

The Panthers lost top rusher DeAngelo Williams to a first-quarter ankle injury, and were already short-handed on defense, but a big play jump-started their offense early in the fourth quarter.

Facing third-and-26, Moore heaved a pass to the right side and Smith beat Antoine Winfield for a 42-yard touchdown and a 12-7 lead.

"Smitty is a special guy, so it was one of those deals where if we get this look we want to throw it up to him and let him make a play," Moore said. "That's really what he did."

It was the beginning of three touchdowns on consecutive drives. Smith's 45-yard, tackle-breaking catch-and-run set up Stewart's 3-yard TD run. Moore then threw a 2-yard TD pass to Stewart to put it away.

Moore, who went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2007, completed 21 of 33 passes with no interceptions and improved to 4-2 as an NFL starter.

"It'll be a win I'll remember for a while, I think," he said.

Favre's difficult night ended when he was picked off in the end zone by Chris Harris in the closing moments. Peppers had only one sack, but was a constant nuisance for Favre - just not enough to come out.

The long-term consequences are uncertain. How will the players react to a player vetoing his coach, when they don't have the same option? Is Favre, who has struggled in two of the last three weeks and seemed particularly immobile Sunday, getting fatigued?

"My response was we've got to win this ballgame," Favre said of what he told Childress. "Unfortunately, I didn't do that. But that was my intention."