Favre's 271st consecutive start sets record

DETROIT — Somehow it seems fitting that in the game in which Brett Favre established an NFL record for durability, the veteran quarterback came away hurting.

Favre, who broke former Viking Jim Marshall's record with his 271st consecutive start Sunday, hurt his throwing hand in the fourth quarter on an 8-yard pass to wide receiver Bernard Berrian deep in Lions territory.

Favre appeared to hit his hand on either linebacker Larry Foote or defensive tackle Sammie Hill as they applied pressure. Favre remained on the Ford Field turf for a moment but got up and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin on the next play.

Tarvaris Jackson replaced Favre on the next possession, but that didn't come as a surprise with the Vikings leading by 14 points.

"It's all right," Favre said afterward when asked about his hand. Coach Brad Childress also dismissed the notion that Favre might have done some damage.

One thing that wasn't dismissed was Favre's consecutive-starts streak -- a mark that dates to the third game of the 1992 season.

"It's hard to put into perspective," Childress said. "I had a discussion with Jim Marshall this week. Jim was going to try to travel with us to this game. However this happens to be a first wedding anniversary for him and he kind of thought that maybe that would not be a good idea. ... [But] perspective is hard to have. When you go back to whatever it is, 1992. All you guys in this room think about what you were doing in 1992. That's a long time."

Favre's streak of consecutive games played stands at 273 games, putting him nine behind Marshall's record for a nonkicker or punter. Asked about his latest accomplishment, Favre said: "I feel grateful. I know how difficult it is."

For the second straight season, Lions right tackle Gosder Cherilus angered the Vikings defense.

A year ago, Cherilus caused defensive end Jared Allen to suffer a sprained knee when he hit him low while he chased a play.

On Sunday, Allen was in pile at the end of a running play in the second quarter. Cherilus ran up and began yanking on the back off Allen's shoulder pads, trying to pull him off.

Vikings tackle Kevin Williams shoved Cherilus to the ground, drawing an unnecessary-roughness penalty.

"I was just sticking up for my guy," Williams said. "[Cherilus] was doing unnecessary stuff. I didn't push him that hard anyway. He should have won an Oscar for all that acting he pulled on that. He's yanking on my guy and I was getting him off. He's the same guy that did the dirty mess last year. You can't expect nothing else out of him."

Allen joked that he might have to pay half of any fine Williams received from the NFL. "He had my back," Allen said.

The Vikings unveiled the Wildcat formation for the first time in the regular season after toying with it during the preseason.

Harvin took the direct snap in the first quarter and handed the ball to Adrian Peterson, who was in motion. Peterson rushed for 1 yard.

"We're still working it in a little bit and we still need a little work," Harvin said. Favre remained on the sideline so they didn't have to split him out wide. "Just a different version," Childress said. "Just coaches getting creative."

Vikings backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was used on punt coverage in the second quarter. The Lions' Dennis Northcutt signaled for a fair catch at his own 14-yard line on the play.

"What it does is it makes them check their rush a little bit and at some point and time the ball's got an opportunity to come back to him if we get a look we're looking for," Childress said. "Generally it's going to get you a fair catch and no return."

Favre has been sacked seven times in the first two games, including three times on Sunday.

"It did [concern me] early," Childress said. "I thought when we got to some of the quick game rhythm it was much improved, but they gave us a couple zero blitzes there and by nature they're going to have one more than you can block. There were a couple of them I thought they caved in pretty well and wasn't happy with that.

"But he's going to get hit. The quarterback is going to get hit."

• Safety Madieu Williams had to leave the game briefly after making a hit on Calvin Johnson at the end of a 22-yard reception. Williams' braces cut through his lip.

• Harvin finished with 134 total yards and scored a touchdown for the second consecutive week on a 3-yard pass from Favre. Harvin averaged 26.3 yards on three kickoff returns.

• Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy had a sack and four tackles in the Vikings' opener, but that didn't keep him among the active players Sunday. Fred Evans replaced Kennedy. Safety Husain Abdullah was replaced by rookie Jamarca Sanford among the actives, and for the second consecutive week Sage Rosenfels was the No. 3 quarterback.

• Ryan Longwell's two field goals Sunday give him 300 for his career, 19th most in NFL history. Longwell moved into 20th place in NFL history for points with 1,389.