Favre goes out with a whimper in Chicago

Brett Favre bent down, scooped a clump of loose Soldier Field grass, and tossed it disgustedly into the wind.

The old quarterback walked to the sideline slowly, the only speed his achy body goes at age 41.

Maybe that, once and for all, was the final toss for No. 4 at Soldier Field.

Or, more likely, it was the throw seconds before, when Favre eluded pressure, stepped up in the pocket and fired downfield. Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe slipped, and Bears safety Chris Harris swooped in to make a diving interception.

The Bears' offense ate up the remaining 2:27 on the clock, preserving a 27-13 victory and delivering another devastating loss to a Vikings team that had realistic Super Bowl expectations when the season started.

With seven games remaining, the Vikings (3-6) have to win close to all of them just to get back in the playoffs.

“We're running out of games,” said Favre, who's running out of them, too. “At the rate we're playing, it won't take but a couple of more and we'll be out of it.

“That's just being honest. I don't know how to sugarcoat it. If we don't play any better than we did today, or we did for 56 minutes or whatever last week (a late comeback win over Arizona), the writing's on the wall.”

Favre finished 18 of 31 for 170 yards with 1 touchdown pass and 3 interceptions, numbers that were especially mediocre considering he completed his first 7 passes, using short throws to dissect the Bears' Cover 2 defense. He also fumbled a ball away.

Minnesota coach Brad Childress, who hasn't always seen eye to eye with Favre, defended his quarterback.

“I thought his decision-making was good,” Childress said.

On the second play from scrimmage in the second half, Bears defensive tackle Israel Idonije deflected a Favre pass and nickel back D.J. Moore intercepted the ball at the Minnesota 13.

The Bears settled for a Robbie Gould field goal, stretching their lead to 17-10.

Lance Briggs and Harris intercepted Favre in the fourth quarter.

Favre dismissed the notion that the Bears made any halftime adjustments to get him and the Vikings off their game. Minnesota's only second-half points came on a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell.

“The Chicago Bears don't adjust; they just play their defense,” Favre said. “They play it well.”

Favre has said he will retire after the season.

Of course, he has said that before.

At game's end, the Green Bay Packers legend walked to the middle of the field and embraced several Bears, including Jay Cutler, Lance Briggs, Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher.

“As I told Brian, Lance, Tommie Harris, those guys, ‘It's been a pleasure,' ” Favre said. “Not really. But you know what I mean. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for those guys and the guys I played against all the years I played here.”

Regardless of what happens the rest of the season for the Vikings, Favre said again Sunday that he has no regrets about returning for a second season with Minnesota.

“I haven't missed a game since '92, but the passion is still there,” he said. “The disappointment after a tough loss or tough season has never gotten easy, but the wins like last week and the seasons like last year are what make my decision to come back the right decision.”

Maybe he'll be back next season.