Favre, Peterson lead Vikings to 34-20 win over Browns

CLEVELAND — Brett Favre looked pleasing in purple. Adrian Peterson always does.

The ageless quarterback threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin in his debut with the Minnesota Vikings, and Peterson scored three touchdowns in a 34-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Making his 270th consecutive start after a will-he-or-won't-he flirtation that dominated NFL headlines this summer, the 39-year-old Favre showed he can still fire the football with authority — and hasn't lost his boyish love for the game.

After hooking up with Harvin, Favre sprinted into the end zone and tackled the young wide receiver who was just 4 years old when his QB joined Green Bay.

Peterson scored on a pair of 1-yard plunges and capped his day with an electrifying 64-yarder in the fourth quarter to make it 34-13.

Peterson, who was held to 25 yards in the first half, finished with 180 on 25 carries.

Favre was 14 of 21 for 110 yards and appeared to be fully recovered from offseason surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon, an injury that plagued him down the stretch last season with the Jets. Favre threw nine interceptions in New York's final five games, a slide that cost his team a playoff spot and led to coach Eric Mangini's firing.

Mangini is now with Cleveland, and one game into his tenure, little has changed with the Browns. They fell to 1-10 in season openers since 1999, but did score their first offensive touchdown in seven games when Brady Quinn hit tight end Robert Royal with 28 seconds left.

Quinn, picked by Mangini to start after a drawn-out battle with Derek Anderson, had a rocky opener. He went 21 of 35 for 205 yards, but most of his completions came on dumpoffs and short routes. He had one interception and the game's most comical moment when he had the ball pop out of his hand and fall behind him following a scramble.

Joshua Cribbs scored on a 67-yard punt return for Cleveland's first TD.

It was a game in the first half.

The second one belonged to the Vikings, who trailed 13-10 at the break.