MINNEAPOLIS — Brett Favre still has quite the winning touch.
Greg Lewis leaped for a 32-yard
touchdown in the back of the end zone with two seconds left to lift Minnesota to a 27-24
victory over the stunned San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, keeping the
Vikings unbeaten.
An official review upheld Lewis'
unbelievable catch, sending the sellout crowd into
a frenzy. Some of the fans had already left after two unsuccessful
possessions prior to that against a stingy 49ers defense. More of them
booed a few times during the second half as the offense struggled to
move the ball, and many of Favre's passes were badly off target.
But they were sure on at the end,
during an 80-yard drive that ate up 87 of the 89 seconds that remained
when the Vikings (3-0) got the ball back. Favre completed six passes
during the drive and finished 24 for 47 for 301 yards, two scores and
his first interception, though he could have had a few more of the
latter.
The 45 attempts were the most by
Favre since Nov. 11, 2007, when he beat the Vikings while with the
Green Bay Packers by going 33 for 46 for 351 yards and three
touchdowns.
Save for a handful of clutch
completions on this afternoon, including a perfectly placed 30-yard
touchdown pass to Sidney Rice on a skinny post route in the first
quarter, Favre did not look sharp.
He took two delay-of-game penalties.
He took some body blows, too, including a late hit by Justin Smith in
the second quarter from which Favre got up gingerly and showed
discomfort in his left leg.
He was healthy enough later to throw
a third-down pass from his own end zone to Bernard Berrian for a
36-yard gain and sprint upfield past a zig-zagging Berrian to put his
body into linebacker Patrick Willis for a block at the end of that run.
But until the end, Favre was being
beaten by Shaun Hill, a former Minnesota third-stringer who threw two
touchdown passes to tight end Vernon Davis. The second one was a
20-yard toss over three defenders that lifted San Francisco (2-1) to a
24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
One subplot to this game, a matchup of the NFC's top two runners, disappeared quickly.
Frank Gore sprained his right ankle
on San Francisco's second series and, after X-rays revealed no broken
bones, didn't return. Adrian Peterson was more productive than his
career-worst 3-yard performance of two years ago against the 49ers, but
he again found holes in San Francisco's 3-4 defense difficult to find
with Willis chasing him from side to side.
Peterson finished with 85 yards on 19 carries.
The Vikings trailed at the half for
the third straight week, the result of a stunning end to the second
quarter after Ryan Longwell lined up for a 44-yard field goal attempt
that would've put them up by nine points. Ray McDonald pushed through
the line for the block, and Nate Clements picked up the ball for a
59-yard touchdown to put the Niners up 14-13.
After allowing an NFL-record seven special teams scores last year, the Vikings have given up two more this season.
They can answer them at least,
though. Rookie Percy Harvin produced a 101-yard kickoff return in the
third quarter, putting Minnesota back in front 20-17.