Favre said on Wednesday that it was his elbow, not the investigation, that hampered him against the Jets.

He completed 14 of 34 passes and grabbed his arm several times as he tried to rally the Vikings. He threw three touchdowns in the second half, but also sealed their fate with an interception that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Coming off the most accurate season of his career, Favre missed several wide open receivers on throws “that I could have made blindfolded” were it not for the pain in his elbow.

“You’re not going to make every throw but I would have made some of those throws,” Favre said.

He insisted yet again that the allegations from a Deadspin report played no factor in his performance. Favre said his preparation and focus “may even be better” now than it’s ever been.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said he’s “worried about both” Favre’s physical condition with the elbow injury and his mental state with the investigation ongoing. But he also said that he feels that way about all of his players after the slow start for a team that began the year with Super Bowl aspirations.

“I am not overly concerned about where he’s at with whatever he’s got going on in his life,” Childress said. “I don’t mean to minimize it. It is what it is. But I see a guy that is here ready and prepared and doing the work. I don’t see ill effects from that.”

His teammates are rallying around their leader, the man they prodded to return for one more run at a title.

“I respect the guy so much, and I’ve seen him go through a lot over the 14 years we’ve been together,” said Longwell, who was one of three Vikings to visit Favre in Mississippi in August. “And certainly we realize he stuck out his neck for us when we went down there and we certainly are not going to turn now at this point.”

The Vikings host the struggling Cowboys on Sunday and then have games at Green Bay and at New England to finish a brutal four-game stretch.

Favre said he will “be smart” with his practice reps this week to rest his elbow as much as possible, all while trying to quickly forge a connection with new receiver Randy Moss.

He feels “very good about the preparation” this week to face a desperate Cowboys team that needs a win as much as the Vikings do.

As for the investigation, said Childress on Monday night: “We can’t afford to have it carry over the rest of the season.”