GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Why did Brett Favre's longtime agent, Bus Cook, want the Green Bay Packers to hold the ceremony to unveil his client’s retired No. 4 on the Lambeau Field façade during a game against the Chicago Bears?
Because some of Favre’s most memorable games came against the Packers’ longtime rival.
While playing for the Packers from 1992-2007, Favre compiled a 22-10 record against the Bears. He threw 53 touchdowns and 38 interceptions against them in those 32 games. He won 20 of his first 24 starts against the Bears and had separate winning streaks of seven (2000-2003) and 10 games (1994-98) against them.
Leading up to Thursday night’s halftime ceremony, here’s a look at Favre's four most memorable games with the Packers against the Bears:
Nov. 12, 1995: Seven days earlier, Favre badly sprained his left ankle in a loss at the Minnesota Vikings -- a game backup Ty Detmer was forced to finish. The injury, which was so severe he ended up having surgery after the season to remove bone spurs, left many under the impression that Favre would not play the next week. Not only did Favre play, he threw a Packers’ career-high (and what was then a franchise-record tying) five touchdowns in a 35-28 win against the Bears at Lambeau Field. "After what I would say was, for me, a very serious injury, I always played [well] the next week," Favre said this past summer during an interview with ESPN.com. "I can say games after I was injured would be one of my memorable moments."
Oct. 31, 1994: In a driving rain and wind on Halloween night -- when the Bears honored legends Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers -- Favre didn’t complete a pass until the third quarter. He finished only 6-of-15 for 82 yards, but he scrambled for a 36-yard touchdown run on bootleg keeper -- instead of pitching to running back Edgar Bennett -- on the way to a 33-6 win on "Monday Night Football." "We had fun that night," Bennett, the Packers offensive coordinator, recalled this week. "That was awesome playing in the elements."
Sept. 11, 1995: On third-and-10 from his own 1-yard line, Favre dropped back into the end zone, pump faked to freeze the Bears’ secondary and then lofted a pass down the right sideline to Robert Brooks, who caught the ball at the 30-yard line and ran another 70 yards for an NFL-record 99-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter on "Monday Night Football." Favre threw three touchdown passes in that Week 2 27-24 victory. He went on to win his first of three straight NFL MVP awards that season.
Dec. 31, 2006: A 26-7 victory at Soldier Field on New Year’s Eve was more memorable for what happened after the game. At age 37, he sounded like a guy who was ready to retire. During a tearful postgame interview on the NBC telecast, Favre said: "If it is my last game, I want to remember it." First-year coach Mike McCarthy took Favre out of the game with 1:53 remaining. When Favre went to the bench, he hugged several teammates, including receiver Donald Driver, who picked up Favre in a fireman’s carry like the quarterback had done to Driver after touchdown catches that season. After the game, Favre posed for pictures on the field with his offensive linemen and said he would decide soon whether he would retire, which, of course, he did not.
