ST. LOUIS -- Brett Favre was one yard from matching Dan Marino's NFL record of 61,361 yards passing early in the fourth quarter Sunday. But Favre didn't know. And he didn't care. Winning, as always, was No. 1 with No. 4.

The Packers had a first and 10 on their own 38 and a comfy 13-point lead en route to a 33-14 victory against the St. Louis Rams. That's when Coach Mike McCarthy whispered the play into Favre's headset. Favre, over center, took the snap and fired a quick slant to wide receiver Donald Driver, who was lined up on the left side. Seven yards. History. And suddenly, Marino was No. 2 in another all-time passing category.

"I knew it was coming, he gave me a little look and after that I knew I was going to catch it," Driver said. "I just had to make sure to catch the ball and they told us if I caught it, that one would break the record, so I just wanted to make sure I'd go into the record books with him at least on one play."

Favre, for his part, was clueless. He wondered why the game was being stopped. But thousands in the heady, pro-Packers crowd knew it was a pause to savor the historic moment.

"Actually, when they stopped the game my first impression was, 'What happened?' A penalty or something like that," Favre said.

Driver had missed out on assisting Favre with the Ruthian record he set on Sept. 30 in Minnesota, when second-year wide receiver Greg Jennings caught the quarterback's 421st touchdown pass to knock Marino off the top spot.

But more important than any record, the Packers (12-2) clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs with their victory, coupled with Carolina's 13-10 victory against Seattle. If the Packers can win their final two games and the Dallas Cowboys (12-2) lose one, Green Bay will have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Green Bay won the war with St. Louis, despite losing the statistical skirmish. The Rams had more yards on offense than the Packers, 364-279, but Green Bay never really needed to mount a long drive. Koren Robinson gave the Packers excellent field position on three kick returns, averaging 43.3 yards and a long of 66 on three attempts. Green Bay's longest touchdown drive was just 52 yards.

And the Packers survived a deficit in turnovers, 3-2. Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted Favre twice and Ryan Grant lost a fumble. The Packers got two interceptions of Marc Bulger by Atari Bigby. When Green Bay's offense sputtered, Mason Crosby kicked four field goals.

Meanwhile, back at the record-setting pass by Favre ...

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