MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- When Brett Favre made the decision, finally, to return for a 20th NFL season, he made it clear from the start that duplicating last year's magic with the Minnesota Vikings wasn't going to be easy.
Then again, he didn't think it was going to be THIS hard.
Favre was intercepted three times and the Miami Dolphins defense stopped Adrian Peterson on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to preserve a 14-10 victory over the Vikings on Sunday.
After throwing two interceptions at the Metrodome all of last season, Favre accounted for four turnovers in the 2010 home opener, with the other a fumble on a sack by Cameron Wake in the end zone that Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi recovered to give Miami a 14-0 lead in the third quarter.
"It's just hard to repeat those type of numbers and statistics and it's hard to repeat wins," Favre said of 2009, when the Vikings went 9-0 at home and he threw 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions to lead them to the NFC title game.
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The offense had trouble clicking at the start of last season too, but games against pushovers Cleveland and Detroit helped the Vikings start 2-0. This year, with openers against the New Orleans Saints and Dolphins, and with star receiver Sidney Rice out with a hip injury and several other key players missing big chunks of time in the preseason with ailments, the Vikings have dug themselves quite a hole with sloppy performances on offense.
"It was more what we didn't do than what they did, but I give those guys credit," Favre said.
The 40-year-old Favre had his worst day as a Viking with a 44.3 quarterback rating. Two of his interceptions came at the Miami goal line. One came on a tipped ball and another on what appeared to be miscommunication with Bernard Berrian. But the end result is the same -- the Vikings are 0-2, with a game against the Detroit Lions before a daunting post-bye schedule awaits.
"I don't think any of these guys are panicked," coach Brad Childress said. "But I do feel like the urgency will definitely pick up."
This game was every bit the hard-nosed, grind-it-out slugfest it was expected to be. The Vikings offense came into the week out of sync in the passing game and promised to feature Peterson more on the ground, which is where the Dolphins have made their living since Tony Sparano took over as coach.
Peterson rushed for 145 yards for the Vikings, who forced two fumbles of their own, one that set up Peterson's 1-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 14-7 late in the third quarter.
But Miami's defense never wavered, holding the Vikings to a field goal in the fourth quarter and then getting the big stop with the Vikings threatening to take the lead late in the game.
