Brett Favre answers age-old question

Reporting from Minneapolis —  It was supposed to be too late for Brett Favre.

Too late in his career. Too late in the season. Too late to make it work with his head coach.

By now, he was supposed to be on a tractor on his farm in Mississippi.

Instead, he was helping the Minnesota Vikings plow through the Dallas Cowboys’ well-regarded defense in a 34-3 victory Sunday that earned the Vikings the right to meet the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game.

Favre, 40, threw for four touchdowns and 234 yards, and had a 134.4 passer rating. He celebrated big completions with chest bumps, side bumps and fist pumps.

He smiled a lot too, with a grin that seemed to stretch from Minneapolis to Green Bay.

“This,” Favre said, “is what I came back for.”

His teammates have been impressed.

“He’s gotten better and better every game,” said tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Favre.

Favre said he was playing with as much enthusiasm as ever.

“I know how difficult it is to win a playoff game, regardless of age,” he said. “I probably appreciate it a little more than the other guys in the locker room, especially the younger guys.”

Sixty percent of Favre’s passing yards went to Sidney Rice, who has had a breakout season playing with the future Hall of Fame member. Rice had six catches for 141 yards and three touchdowns Sunday.

On his first touchdown, Rice was covered man to man by strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh on a fly pattern. After a strike by Favre for the 47-yard score, Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips, who reportedly has a contract extension in the works, was yelling at secondary coach Dave Campo.

On the second touchdown, Rice’s assignment on the play was to block Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware. He did, and found himself on the ground. He got up and ran to an open spot in the field. Favre scrambled and found Rice for the 16-yard score.

The final scoring hookup, a 45-yard pass play, came with both safeties blitzing. Left one on one with cornerback Mike Jenkins, the 6-foot-4 Rice ran a post route and Favre delivered.

As successful as the Favre-Rice combination was, the Vikings’ defense also was impressive, coming up with six sacks and three take-aways. It was “without question” their best defensive performance of the season, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said.

“We put on a nice show today, coverage and rush,” tackle Kevin Williams said.

The Vikings, who didn’t look rusty despite a two-week layoff, took a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter and were never challenged after that.

Perhaps the Vikings and Saints are saving the drama for their matchup.

dpompei@tribune.com