Joe Buck and Troy Aikman ripped Brett Favre like a coupon from a newspaper last night after he threw his closing-seconds interception to Tracy Porter on third-and-15 from New Orleans’ 38-yard line.

ESPN.com called it a ‘gruesome interception’ and more than likely you heard worse around your water cooler today.

But the 31-28 Vikings loss can’t be blamed on Favre.  And if you took the four points at BetJamaica, you aren’t blaming anyone at all.

I know what you’re thinking: another Brett Favre lover. You would be thinking wrong. I'm not a hater either, though I have grown tired of the retirement parties the last couple of seasons.

But if you’re looking for somewhere to point the finger, Favre shouldn’t be at the top of your list. He threw for 310 yards, came through on a lot of key third downs and played through the pain after taking a serious beating.

Adrian Peterson’s fumble on second-and-goal late in the first half was far more costly than Favre's pick. Even worse was Percy Harvin’s fumble in the fourth quarter on his own 7-yard line that gift wrapped a quick 7 for the Saints.

All Favre’s interception did, meanwhile, was ensure the game would go to overtime instead of giving Ryan Longwell a chance to make the most pressure packed kick of his life from 52 or 53 yards – and that’s only if Favre could hobble another three or four yards up field on a mangled ankle.

It was a pretty bad interception, mind you. I think Buck called it ‘Pop Warner’ stuff on TV and Favre admitted as much after the game.

But it wasn’t the sole, nor even the biggest reason the Vikes lost to the Saints on Sunday. There is a lot more blame to go around than that and you don’t have to look hard to find it.