Favre stages magical comeback as Vikings top Cards

MINNEAPOLIS - Even Brett Favre thought the Minnesota Vikings were done - for the game, and quite possibly the season.

Down 14 with less than five minutes to play against Arizona. Chants of "Fire Childress!" filling the Metrodome. A Super Bowl-or-bust season on the brink.

Suddenly, Favre conjured the kind of magic that simply hasn't been there all season, engineering another jaw-dropping fourth-quarter comeback that may have not only saved the Vikings' season but coach Brad Childress' job as well.

Favre threw for a career-high 446 yards and rallied the Vikings from 14 points down in the final 41/2 minutes, and Ryan Longwell's 35-yard field goal in overtime gave them a 27-24 victory over the Cardinals yesterday.

"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, who has 46 career fourth-quarter comeback wins. "But we did."

Favre threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe with 27 seconds to play in regulation, then hooked up with Bernard Berrian on a 22-yard pass in overtime to move the Vikings into position for an improbable victory.

The 41-year-old quarterback completed 36 of 47 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions in easily his best performance of the season. Percy Harvin had nine catches for a career-high 126 yards and Adrian Peterson racked up 144 total yards and two TDs for the Vikings (3-5), who were dogged by questions about Childress' job security all week long.

Asked if he felt he was playing for Childress' job, Favre said, "I felt like I was playing for mine. I'm just being honest . . . Have I always got along with my coach, head coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator? No. Do I always agree with the plays that are called? No. Why should that factor into me wanting to be the best player I can be?"