Jim Souhan: Vikings fumble away Super Bowl shot

NEW ORLEANS

It's hard to count the number of times the Vikings have broken the hearts of their fans, or the number of times Brett Favre has thrown an ulcer-inducing interception. Sunday, those times increased by one because, for the Vikings, it was simply hard to count.

A penalty for having an extra man in their huddle led to a series of predictably cursed events on Sunday, as the Vikings lost the NFC championship game 31-28, in overtime, to the New Orleans Saints before 71,276 partying fans at the Louisiana Superdome.

After the game, Favre, limping from the beating he took from the Saints' defense, said that he considered the season a "success," and that he would spend time with his family before deciding if he'll return to the Vikings. "I can say it's been a great year," he said.

Perhaps only an unusual penalty kept the Vikings from the Super Bowl.

Despite six fumbles, the Vikings took control of the game in the waning minutes of regulation. The score was tied, 28-28. They took the ball at their own 21-yard-line with 2:37 remaining.

Favre converted a third-and-7 with a 10-yard pass to Bernard Berrian, then threw to Sidney Rice for 29 yards. After Chester Taylor ran for 14 more, the Vikings had a first down at the Saints' 33 yard-line with a little more than a minute remaining.

As the Vikings huddled, running backs coach Eric Bieniemy started waving his arms, trying to get a player to leave the huddle. When the Vikings broke for the line of scrimmage, an official threw a flag, because only 11 players are allowed in the huddle and the Vikings had 12.

The five-yard penalty made it third-and-15. Favre, feeling he needed to throw down field to give Longwell a chance, rolled right, ignored the open ground ahead of him, and evoked memories of "Bad Brett," the dark side of the most prolific passer in NFL history.

"After the penalty, we were out of field goal range," Favre said. "I probably should have ran it, in hindsight, that's probably what I should have done."

Instead, he made a basic quarterbacking mistake, throwing late over the middle. His pass was intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter.

Favre wouldn't touch the ball again, meaning that the last pass he threw in his last two NFC title games was an interception that led to the winning score.

The Saints won the toss in overtime and returned the kickoff to the 40, and Saints kicker Garrett Hartley converted a 40-yard field goal to end the Vikings' season, leaving several Vikings kneeling in exhaustion and grief long after gold-and-black confetti settled onto the field.

Favre suffered a sprained ankle and was still limping long after the game ended. "I thought it was a gutty, gutty, performance," Vikings coach Brad Childress said of Favre. "He'll be the first to tell you he'd like a couple of those throws back."

The atmosphere was like Mardi Gras, with timeouts. The din inside the Superdome defied description; the game itself defied explanation, as the football turned seemingly slick as andouille sausage plucked from a bowl of gumbo.

The Vikings fumbled six times in one of the most tumultuous and excruciating games in franchise history.

It was the third overtime in the history of the NFC championship game, and the first two ended ominously.

"They all hurt," Favre said. "I don't even know where to begin."

He could have been talking about his bruises, or his interceptions. Now that he's a Viking, he was probably referring to the kinds of losses that make you believe in curses.