Once again, Favre comes through to down Bucs Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 11 October 1999 Midway through the third quarter of Sunday's battle of the bays, Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre rose from the turf after being planted by Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp and butted heads with his friendly rival. Favre butted him back. The scene typified the feelings the Bucs defense carried off the field. Every time the Bucs and Packers butt heads, it sparks admiration among Tampa Bay's defenders. It also sparks frustration and disappointment, but in the end, the Bucs can't help but respect Favre's handiwork. "I'm not mad at him, it's just respect," safety John Lynch said. "The guy, above all else, is just one of the greatest competitors I've ever had the opportunity to see." What Lynch witnessed was Favre crafting another fourth-quarter comeback, his third this season and 16th of his career. Favre took over with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining and took the Packers into the end zone in six plays. The most amazing feat of the 73-yard drive was a 42-yard toss to wide receiver Bill Schroeder. Of course, the eventual game-winning 21- yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman wasn't bad either. "We were in a position to win that game against one of the greatest," Lynch said. "It's awfully disappointing when you let an opportunity like that go." Favre has done some of his best work against Tampa Bay, producing 29 touchdown passes with only six interceptions. In 14 games against the Bucs, he has 3,267 yards while completing 66 percent of his passes. The plays he produces are more memorable than the numbers, however. In each game, Favre has uncorked some eye-popping plays and Sunday night was no different. You could start with the 51-yard toss he threw to Schroeder on the game's first play, but he proved there were plenty of other jewels in his treasure chest. Favre also had a 19-yard touchdown pass to Freeman in the first quarter, a perfectly-placed 28-yard seam pass to Schroeder in the second quarter and another 28-yarder to Freeman in the third quarter. Even when the Bucs thought they had Favre, he would escape. Third and 26 is an impossible situation for any quarterback - unless you're Favre, scrambling and throwing a 43-yard strike down the middle to Freeman. In the end, however, Tony Dungy said his team had the Packers right where they wanted them. But a lot of teams have mistakenly had those same thoughts about Favre. "We like our defense to go out there in those situations where we get to rush the passer," Dungy said. "The long pass to Schroeder puts you in bad shape. You want to make them go down the field and earn it. We're in a three-deep zone and they outrun us. That's tough. "He's a great player and you like to watch him play. Unfortunately, we have to play him twice a year. He was just tremendous tonight. There's nothing more you can say. Putting it right on the money 25, 30 yards down the field. He played great. He generally plays great against us."