Difference for Vikings comes down to a foot
MINNEAPOLIS - As great as Brett Favre was yesterday, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback was pretty sure he wasn’t good enough.
So sure that the Vikings were headed to their first defeat, Favre couldn’t bear to watch as Baltimore kicker Steve Hauschka lined up for a 44-yard field goal with two seconds to play.
Yet thanks to Favre, receiver Sidney Rice, and a whole lot of luck, the Vikings are 6-0.
Favre’s 58-yard completion to Rice set up Ryan Longwell’s fourth field goal, and Hauschka’s kick was wide left at the final whistle, allowing the Vikings to remain undefeated, 33-31.
“I hate to say that I was not real confident because I’m confident in our team, period,’’ said Favre, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. “But offensively, they probably just felt like, ‘We could do whatever.’ ’’
The game turned from a blowout to a nail-biter in a sensational final quarter, with the Ravens erasing a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes to play.
Joe Flacco threw for 385 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens (3-3), who scored twice on drives that totaled just 56 seconds to take a 31-30 lead with 3:37 to play.
The Ravens’ once-impenetrable defense has shown plenty of cracks in their three-game losing streak. Adrian Peterson became the second running back in a row to top 100 yards against the Ravens after Baltimore had gone 39 games not allowing one. He totaled 143 yards on 22 carries.
The Vikings took a 14-0 lead in the first nine minutes and led, 27-10, when Visanthe Shiancoe caught his second TD pass of the game with 10:08 to play. But Flacco was just getting started.
He threw a 32-yard TD pass to Mark Clayton. After a field goal by Longwell, Flacco capped a 49-second drive with a 12-yard TD pass to Derrick Mason, and it was 30-24. Ray Rice’s 33-yard run gave Baltimore its first lead seven seconds after it got the ball back.
The reeling Vikings turned to Favre - in just the situation they signed him for. He pump-faked and unloaded to Rice for the 58-yard gain. That set up Longwell’s 31-yard field goal.
