While picking the winner of this category wasn't as agonizing as watching the NFC title game against the Saints—having your toenails pulled out with a grapefruit knife might be less agonizing—the choice sure as hell wasn't easy. Adrian Peterson kept up his unreal "human cheat code" routine, Sidney Rice caught passes as if his hands were magnets, Percy Harvin's rookie campaign was electrifying, and Jared Allen had quarterbacks catching mulletphobia. But it was Favre, for all the hype and skepticism and shouts of "Judas!" from across the border, who pushed the Vikings from a great running/defensive team to a threat on all fronts. Racking up one of the best seasons any athlete has ever had at age 40 was almost enough—almost—to get the Vikings to the promised land. And if he makes that final decision not to return and try for that elusive second ring, hopefully he'll be remembered for those stunning moments—his four-touchdown game against the Packers, his 88 percent completion rate against the Seahawks, his long-time-coming 34-3 embarrassment of the Cowboys—than for his unfortunate final pass.