Vikings Defeat Cardinals Thanks To Favre’s Prodigious Passing
With less than five minutes left in the game, Brett Favre showed that he still has some magic left in him, after suffering foot, ankle, and chin problems last week. Favre is well known for never quitting in a game, helping the Minnesota Vikings defeat the
Arizona Cardinals in overtime, 27-24.
With Favre throwing for 446 yards, a career high, he helped the Vikings come back after being down 14 with four and a half minutes left in the fourth, followed by Ryan Longwell’s 35 yard field goal to clinch the win.
"There was a point in that game where I think everyone in the building thought this is not going well. We don't stand a chance," said Favre. "But we did."
Favre had 45 career fourth-quarter comeback wins, and made his 46th on Sunday afternoon at Metrodome in Minneapolis. He threw 36 completions of 47 attempts, with two interceptions and two touchdowns, which could arguably be called the best performance
he’s shown all season. He threw to Visanthe Shianco for a 25 yard TD with 27 seconds left in the game, and then moved the Vikings into scoring position in OT with a 22 yard pass to Bernard Berrian.
Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson also had a great game, with Harvin receiving 126 yards, a career high, and Peterson running for 2 TDs while racking up 144 yards.
The Cardinals were also doing great until Favre’s scoring frenzy, with Michael Adams returning a fumble for 30 yards to score. LaRod Stephens-Howling returned a kick for 96 yards to score a TD. The Cardinals, and most likely everyone else watching, though
that they had the win after forcing a turnover on 4th and goal at the one yard line, with six minutes left in the game. At that time, they were ahead 14 points, 24-10.
It was a rather stirring week for the Vikings, after head coach Brad Childress, decided to cut wide receiver Randy Moss. That move, along with nearly getting into a physical brawl with Harvin in practice, stunned players, management, and fans of almost every
NFL team, and showed their dismay with chants of “Fire Childress!”
Zygi Wilf, the owner of the Vikings, had nothing to say about the endangerment of Childress’ job, saying only "The big thing is getting a win right now. The big thing is to win this game and to be crowned division champions and we're going to fight our [butts]
off."
They really did.
Greg Camarillo, the Vikings receiver, also played a huge role in the win, chasing down Cardinals safety, Kerry Rhodes after he intercepted a pass, and was returning for a touchdown. He took Rhodes down just before he reached the end zone, causing Rhodes
to fumble the ball, which went out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
"I didn't see him at all," Rhodes said. "I thought I was in."
The game started with the Vikings scoring first in the second quarter, with a 12 yard pass from Favre to A. Peterson, followed by Longwell kicking the point after, putting them ahead 7-0.
Next was Stephens-Howling’s 96 yard kickoff return, with Arizona’s Jay Feely kicking the point after, evening the score at 7-7.
With 6:22 left in the second, Longwell kicked a 21 yard FG, to put the Vikings ahead again, 10-7.
Now came the Cardinal’s scoring session, with Andre Roberts passing 30 yards to Derek Anderson, and a successful point after, with the Cardinals ahead now, 14-10.
Michael Adams returned a fumble 30 yards to score a touchdown, followed by a PAT in the third quarter, and then a 22 yard FG by Feely in the beginning of the fourth, to put them ahead by 14, 24-10.
With 3:34 left in the fourth, the Vikings’ A. Peterson ran 4 yards for a TD, followed by Longwell’s PAT, to close the Cardinals’ lead, 17-24. Favre then caught a 25 yard pass from Favre with 27 seconds left in the fourth, to even the score at 24-24. With
9:42 left in OT, Longwell kicked a 35 yard FG for the Vikings, to keep the win, 27-24.
The Vikings really showed a great deal of determination, not backing down even after being behind 14 points.
"For this team, we showed no quit," Harvin said. "It showed us that we can turn this thing around."
Tags: