The significance of Brett Favre's interception in 2009 NFC Championship Game

Hall of Famer Brett Favre had one of the greatest careers in NFL history for a quarterback. At the time of his retirement in 2010, he held every single major passing record in the league. He was that prolific and elite. However, he only finished with one Super Bowl in 20 seasons. He made two appearances with the Packers in back-to-back seasons (1997-98). However, he was seconds away from making his third career appearance and his first with the Minnesota Vikings in 2009. However, the New Orleans Saints had other plans.

With 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter of a tie game in New Orleans in January of 2010, Favre rolled out and threw across his body with the Vikings already in field goal range. The throw would be intercepted and the Saints would go on to win the NFC Championship Game. They would end up beating Peyton Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. 

That interception was the difference between Brett Favre taking his career into another stratosphere and retiring with just one ring, which is exactly what he did. Had Brett Favre and the Vikings won that game and won the Super Bowl, Favre would have joined a rare list of quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowls and at least three MVPs. That list includes Tom Brady, Johnny Unitas, and Joe Montana. 

The interception doesn't diminish anything Favre did in his storied career. He is one of the greatest passers of the football ever and certainly one of the greatest competitors in the history of sports. However, having multiple Super Bowl rings would've taken him to a whole new arena in terms of championships. It would have taken him from the Trent Dilfer category into the Joe Montana-Tom Brady category.

Favre's teams won with him. Favre's teams lost with him. He was a gunslinger, and that is what people loved about him. However, sometimes his gunslinging ability would get him and his teams into trouble. On this particular night, the Minnesota Vikings got into big trouble.