On Thanksgiving night, the Green Bay Packers will retire the No. 4 of future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.
An 11-time Pro Bowler, Favre played 16 seasons in Green Bay, starting 253 games and throwing 442 of his 508 career touchdowns for the Packers from 1992 to 2007. Under Favre, the Packers won 160 regular season games, 12 playoff games and one Super Bowl (XXXI).
His name and number will now live on in big yellow letters along the facade of Lambeau Field, where other Packer greats—such as Bart Starr, Reggie White, Ray Nitschke and Don Huston—are remembered.
Here are the five biggest moments of Favre’s brilliant career in Green Bay:
Legend is Born
Every star needs a beginning, and Favre’s entrance moment came in Week 3 of the 1992 season.
After entering the game for an injured Don Majikowski, Favre led the Packers back from a 17-3 deficit, throwing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stun the Cincinnati Bengals. He capped off the comeback with a 35-yard strike to Kittrick Taylor with 13 seconds left. Favre would start the next 275 games for the Packers, including the playoffs.
Setting the TD Record
Favre set one of the NFL’s most important records during his historic 2007 season. Facing the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome—a place of horrors early in his career—Favre completed a fastball to receiver Greg Jennings, who raced into the end zone for the 421st touchdown of the quarterback’s career.
The score broke Dan Marino’s long standing record. He threw 21 more that season as the Packers finished 13-3 and nearly advanced to Favre’s third Super Bowl.
Back to the Super Bowl
The game is somewhat forgotten because of the season’s later triumph, but there’s no downplaying what the Packers’ win in the 1996 NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field meant to the franchise.
For the first since the Ice Bowl in 1967, the Packers hosted a title game. Favre made it all worthwhile, throwing two touchdowns—one to Dorsey Levens and another to Antonio Freeman—as the Packers beat the Carolina Panthers by a 30-13 final. Two weeks later, Favre helped bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay for the first time in 30 years.
Winning Super Bowl XXXI
The pinnacle moment of Favre’s career came in New Orleans, roughly 50 miles from where he grew up and the site of Super Bowl XXXI. The Packers raced out to a lead as Favre audibled to a deep post to Andre Rison on the game’s second play. He later set a Super Bowl record with an 81-yard touchdown to Antonio Freeman, and he also scrambled in for a two-yard touchdown before half time.
The Packers won, 35-21, as Favre threw for 246 yards and contributed three scores. Desmond Howard was named Super Bowl MVP, but it could have just as easily gone to Favre.
Playing for his Dad
Possibly no player in the history of the game has produced such an extraordinary performance in a more vulnerable setting. One day after his father died of a heart attack, Favre—who played for his dad in high school—threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns during a 41-7 win over the Oakland Raiders.
He made incredible throw after incredible throw, and his receivers kept making big play after big play. Winning the Super Bowl was a crowning achievement for Favre, but no one will ever be able to take away the historic performance he delivered in honor of his dad on a somber December night in late 2003.