Voyage with the Vikings | Stack Attack's Blog

As we say farewell to the third week of our season long voyage with the Vikings, the biggest thing that any Vikings fan can say is "this is why we have Brett Favre." And it is.

This game against the 49ers was why the Vikings got Brett Favre.

This is why Brad Childress picked Favre up from the airport in his black SUV followed by a chopper bringing back memories of OJ in his Bronco.

This is why Zygi Wilf sent his private plane down to Hattiesberg to pick up Brett Favre and his wife Deanna.

This is why the Vikings gave Brett Favre $12 million this year. For this one win.

Should the Vikings have not have had to rely on Favre to lead the team in a come-from-behind victory over the 49ers? Perhaps not. Ryan Longwell's blocked FG that was returned for a TD to end the first half. That was a 10 point swing. The Vikings had at least six drops from their wide receivers, one of them resulting in Brett Favre's first interception of the year. Brett Favre was pressured all day and Adrian Peterson had only 85 yards rushing.

I came away real impressed with San Francisco. They lost Frank Gore after just one carry, but former Viking Shaun Hill threw two TDs to a revitalized Vernon Davis that kept the 49ers in the game, even giving them the lead in the 4th quarter.

The Vikings defense played pretty good, but they certaintly did not apply a lot of pressure on the QB, allowing Hill to throw to receivers who were open.

When the Vikings turned the ball over on downs, hundreds of Vikings' fans left to beat the traffic. The Vikings had 3 timeouts. The lack of faith in this team is something that isn't completely unheard of. Remember:

The 1999 NFC Championship game when Gary Anderson missed the 38-yd FG and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the 15-1 Vikings to advance to the Super Bowl.
4 Super Bowl losses in the 70s.
Numerous blown leads including against the Cardinals a few years ago. Remember the pushout? Remember KFAN's Paul Allan saying, "No, no, no, he caught it! The Cardinals have knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs."
And the lack of success with our QBs in recent years further illustrates that point.

But, you never should underestimate one Brett Favre. The magician who has led over 40 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories pulled another rabbit out of his hat. With 1:29 left, Favre orchestrated an 80-yard drive capped off with the now famous 32-yard TD pass to Greg Lewis (who?), yes that Greg Lewis who used to be with the Eagles when Childress was there. The same Greg Lewis who was signed after Bobby Wade was released. How he kept his feet in, only God knows. The dome exploded. I have never heard the Metrodome that loud before and I've been to over 25 Vikings games. All of a sudden, it seemed like everyone came back to their seats. What a play, what a game.

Yes you can say, it was only the 49ers. Yes you can say it is only one game, the third game of the season no less. Yes, I agree with you, but if you still were uncertain about the Brett Favre as a Viking before the game, you aren't anymore. With the Green Bay Packers coming to town next Monday night (8:30 ET ESPN) you can bet there will be lots of hype surrounding Favre facing the Packers. But, at least for one game, this puts Brett Favre in Vikings lore and has led the Vikings to a 3-0 start.

How many victories is Brett Favre worth? At least one. And more to come.

That is why the Vikings got Brett Favre!