Strahan broke the 17-year-old single-season record of 22 set by Mark Gastineau when he got to 22½ with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter on Sunday, falling on Favre after the quarterback rolled out and fell down.

The Packers were leading 34-25 and Favre didn't have a blocker in front of him on the rollout.

Strahan put his face in the turf and then ran over to the Giants' bench after being congratulated on the field by both teams.

"It's stood for a long time, through a lot of great players," Strahan said earlier this week about the record. "When you look at some of the names that have come close, it puts you in an elite class."

Gastineau, who played for the rival Jets when he set the record in 1984, was at the game. While he had mixed emotions losing the standard, he said he was happy to see an upstanding guy break his mark.

Gastineau has had numerouns problems with the law, and he served an 11-month sentence recently for violating probation in relation to an 1998 conviction for assaulting his wife.

"To get a record like this is so hard to do, because it's not something you can just take light of," Gastineau said before the game. "Getting sacks in the NFL is not something they just give. It's really very tough. I give him all the credit in the world, because I know what he's gone through. It is a very, very big accomplishment."

Some of the NFL's best players came close to the record, but Strahan's challenge was the closest in more than a decade.

The late Derrick Thomas of Kansas City had 20 in 1990. Chris Doleman of Minnesota had 21 the year before, while Giants' Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor had 20½ in 1986.

Strahan flushed Favre out of the pocket twice in the opening 17 minutes. Early in the second quarter, Favre threw the ball away when Strahan started closing in. As the crowd booed, the two players seemed to laugh, putting their arms around each other. Favre then patted Strahan on the helmet.

Strahan's big season has been diminished somewhat by the fact the Giants are not going to the playoffs only one year after playing in the Super Bowl.

After failing to register a sack in his first two games, Strahan got 13½ in his next five, including a four-sack effort against Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams.