Flag on Hutchinson a rare career event

Steve Hutchinson made 97 starts and played thousands of snaps between Dec. 7, 2003, and Oct. 25 in Pittsburgh, but one thing the Pro Bowl left guard never did during that time was get called for a holding penalty.

That remarkable streak came to an end in the third quarter last Sunday at Lambeau Field when Hutchinson was penalized by referee Tony Corrente's crew for holding Green Bay defensive end Cullen Jenkins during a second-and-7 play on which running back Adrian Peterson initially gained 2 yards.

Hutchinson hadn't had 10 yards marked off against him for a hold before that since Nov. 20, 2003, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The veteran was playing for Seattle at the time and the second-quarter call negated a 1-yard run by Shaun Alexander against Cleveland.

Hutchinson did not miss a start during his streak, which included 91 regular-season games, five playoff games and a Super Bowl. His miscue Sunday was quickly forgotten when quarterback Brett Favre hit wide receiver Percy Harvin on a 51-yard touchdown pass three plays later in the Vikings' 38-26 victory.

What might be just as surprising as Hutchinson getting called for holding is that he was called for a penalty for the second game in a row. Two weeks ago, Hutchinson was penalized for a false start against Pittsburgh.

Research indicates Hutchin- son has been called for only three penalties that were accepted against him in the four seasons and 57 games he has played since joining the Vikings in 2006.

He was called for a false start on Sept. 16, 2007, in an overtime loss at Detroit, making it the first accepted penalty against him since Nov. 14, 2004, and ending a 44-game streak without an infraction. He then started another streak that went 37 games, including the postseason, until that one ended in the Pittsburgh game.

Overall, Hutchinson has been called for holding six times in nine NFL seasons, including twice in 2001 as a rookie and three times in 2003. He has been penalized for false starts five times, including twice in 2001 and once in 2004, '07 and '09.

Favre's four touchdown passes Sunday earned him NFC offensive player of the week honors for the second time this season. Both times it has come after victories over his former team.

Favre completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards with no interceptions. He won the award after a 30-23 victory on Oct. 5 at the Metrodome when he completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Sunday marked the 21st four-touchdown game of Favre's career, matching Dan Marino for the NFL record. Favre, who had a 135.9 passer rating in the two games against Green Bay, has been named either the NFC or AFC offensive player of the week 15 times in his 19-year career. He earned the honor 11 times in 16 seasons with the Packers and won it twice in 2008 with the Jets.

• At least some Vikings knew Favre had a groin injury entering Sunday's game. Favre did not reveal that much information until he did an interview with Sports Illustrated on Sunday night.

"I knew," Peterson said. "I'd be watching him sometimes and see him kind of limping around with the groin. But it didn't affect anything. He threw the ball well. ... I didn't see anything."

• The Vikings will have three consecutive home games coming out of the bye week and there are plenty of tickets available to the first two. The team has approximately 4,000 tickets remaining for the Nov. 15 game vs. Detroit and about 3,500 for the Nov. 22 game vs. Seattle. There are only a few hundred left for the Nov. 29 game vs. Chicago. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, online at www.vikings.com or at the Vikings ticket office. The team hasn't had a blackout in 12 years.