Favre Stuns 49ers with Last Second TD Pass

Favre after his game-winning TD pass and Vernon Davis hauling in 1 of his 2 TDs.

9/27/09

The 49ers were on the verge of victory Sunday afternoon. Shaun Hill had just connected with Vernon Davis for a 20 yd TD reception with about 8 min. left in the 4th quarter to give the 49ers a 24-20 lead. After trading 3 and outs the Vikings had the ball at their own 20 with no time-outs and less than 2 min. to play. And that was when Favre took over and led an incredible drive that culminated in a 32 yard TD pass to Greg Lewis with only 2 seconds left. The Minnesota Vikings won 27-24.

It was a heart wrenching loss for the 49ers who would have been 3-0, in easy command of the NFC West and face the Rams next week. Even after the 9ers punted the ball away to the Vikings, a win seemed inevitable. After all, they had 80 yards to go in about a minute and a half with no time-outs. Even after Favre completed a few passes you thought, "hey, no problem, the 49ers will get a stop, we're still in control." That uneasy confidence quickly turned to nervousness as the Vikings advanced into 49ers territory but it was still "Ok, they completed a few passes, but they still need a TD, a field goal won't win it and they only have time for like 2 more plays." And that nervousness evaporated in an instant to feelings of shock and anger. "No!!! F$&*! No way! Wait, maybe he didn't get his feet in bounds. Oh, he did. Favre I hate you."

As much as my pain was for the 49ers loss, I have serious respect for Brett Favre. This was the latest, in terms of time left in the game, game winning TD pass he has thrown in his career. He eluded a 9ers defensive lineman and threw a rope while getting smacked to the ground. Greg Lewis, who hadn't caught a pass all game, was still behind the 49ers defensive back and Favre led him and put the ball in a perfect spot. Lewis slid behind the d-back and managed to drag his right food inbounds. But, I still can't believe San Francisco couldn't have knocked it down.

Favre's heroic comeback marred a great day for 49ers TE Vernon Davis. Davis caught 7 passes for a career high 96 yards and 2 TDs. He is a team captain and coach Mike Singletary helped to turn Vernon around. After the incident last season when Davis was sent to the locker room in the middle of a game by Singletary, Vernon has developed a lot of respect for Coach Singletary and Singletary calls him "the most misunderstood player on the team."

In other not so good news for the San Francisco 49ers, Frank Gore re-aggravated his right ankle on his first carry of the game. It is reported that he has a high right ankle strain and will likely miss at least 2 games.

Sidney Rice started off the scoring with a 30 yard touchdown catch. It was aided by a big 30+ yard run by Adrian Peterson, who toted the rock 19 times for 85 yards. The 49ers kept Peterson in check though, and did a great job at containing one of the league's most dynamic rushers.

After four 3 and outs to start off the game, not to mention Gore being carted off the field and playing at the Metrodome, the 49ers scored their first TD on a short pass to Vernon Davis. Their first first down that wasn't because of a penalty came with 9:43 left in the 2nd quarter.

Despite the loss of their best offensive player, the 49ers were able to move the ball and Glen Coffee, Gore's back-up filled in and did a solid job against the NFL's best rush defense. But the 49ers offensive success lies on Gore's shoulders, and if this injury keeps him out for a while, San Francisco could be in trouble.

Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell had 2 FGs in the first half and was about to give the Vikings a 16-7 lead on a field goal to end the half. Minnesota had all the momentum, but Ray McDonald and Nate Clements refused to go into the locker room trailing. McDonald stuffed Longwell's 44 yard attempt and Clements scoopd it up and took it 59 yards to the house. The 49ers, in a huge momentum swing, took a 14-13 lead into halftime instead.

Joe Nedney kicked a 37 yard FG after Shantae Spencer's INT and the 9ers, with a 17-13 lead, seemed in control of the game. But, in a game that changed leads so suddenly, the Vikings struck back. Florida rookie WR Percy Harvin took the ensuing kickoff down the middle of the field 101 yards for a TD. Harvin, a former trackstar, and one of the fastest players in the NFL was not going to let the kicker get a fluke tackle on him. This gave the Vikings a 20-17 lead in the 3rd quarter.

But, the 49ers once again showed their resiliency and scored on Vernon Davis's 2nd TD catch of the day. It was set up by long reception by Isaac Bruce and Davis and was after the 49ers were backed up by a penalty and had a 2nd goal at the 20. This came with about 8 min. left in the game.

After Mike Singletary successfully won a challenge, arguing that Brett Favre was over the line of scrimmage when he made a completion for a first down late in the 4th, it seemed like an omen that the 9ers would win. But then maybe I should have taken the fact that the 49ers were 0-11 on 3rd down conversions for the game as a bad omen. If SF could have gotten 1 first down after holding the Vikes on a 4th down play, they would have won the game. But 3 runs by Coffee were stuffed, the ball was punted away, and Favre worked his magic.

Favre's statistics: 24-36, 301 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT. He was the first Minnesota QB to throw for over 300 yards in 63 games.

Picture URLs:

http://www.49ers.com/news-and-events/article-1/49ers-Lose-27-24-to-Vikings/4fb399ef-aaf0-47b4-bee3-672a8f911317

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/photo-gallery/Regular-Season-Game-No-3-vs-49ers---Gallery-II/8d7334b1-19ad-4958-88de-61a64f3a2390