Brett Favre’s consecutive NFL start streak could finally come to an end this week at New England. Favre hasn’t missed a game since 1992, and has made 291 consecutive regular season starts. To put that in perspective, the next closest streak in the NFL by a starter belongs to Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. If Manning can stay healthy and continue to make consecutive starts in the NFL, he would pass Favre’s record some time during the 2016 season.

If Favre is unable to go, Tavaris Jackson will get the start for Minnesota (2-4) at New England (5-1). This could be a chance for Tavaris Jackson to step up and show the NFL what he is capable of. Too bad it has to come on the road against an NFL powerhouse like the New England Patriots. Jackson is currently signed to a one year, $1.176 million dollar contract, and will be a free agent when this season ends. Jackson sounds as if he is up for the challenge if Favre can’t go. “I’ve been working hard throughout this whole process, and I’ll continue to work hard.” Favre was injured Sunday Night when the Vikings made their latest visit to Green Bay, and were beaten by the Packers 28-24.

In the second half of the game, Packers linebacker Brad Jones was attempting to sack Favre. While Jones was lying on the field, he grabbed Favre’s surgically repaired ankle from behind and pulled him to the ground. Doctors are saying that Favre has two separate fractures in his ankle, and its something only time off and rest will heal. Vikings head coach Brad Childress has already stated that if Favre is healthy enough to start, he will.

Tavaris Jackson has been trough quite allot of drama with this Vikings team, and in this start, he could be showcasing his skills for a new contract with Minnesota, or even quite possibly another NFL team. Jackson was the starter for the Vikings before Brett Favre came on the scene in Minnesota, but inconsistent play and interceptions cost him his starting job.

When Favre retired for the second time after playing one season with the New York Jets, Vikings head coach Brad Childress persuaded Favre to come back and sign a two-year contract with Minnesota. Just before Favre decided to come back, Childress came out and stated, “Tavaris Jackson is our quarterback and that’s how were heading into the season.” For as many interceptions that Jackson has thrown in his career, he can’t really do much worse than Favre is doing this season.

The career numbers for Tavaris Jackson actually don’t look that bad on paper. For his career he has 21 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. Favre this season, has a miserable passer rating of 68.0, and has only 7 touchdowns, and an eye-popping total of 10 interceptions through six games. Jackson will also be helped out in this game on offense by being surrounded with great talent. He has a deep threat in Randy Moss at wide receiver, as well as a sure handed, well rounded receiver in Percy Harvin. It also doesn’t hurt to have the NFL’s best current running back in Adrian Peterson, lining up behind him in the backfield.

The Vikings defense will have their hands full with the New England Patriots offense, and this will be the biggest challenge offensively, that Minnesota’s defense has faced to date this season.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a passer rating of 96.0, and has already thrown 11 touchdowns this season, with only 4 interceptions. The Patriots offense also sports the number one scoring average in the NFL, putting up an average of 29.5 points a game against their opponents this season.