The Minnesota Vikings used a furious, 14-point fourth quarter comeback to force overtime against the Arizona Cardinals in early NFL action today. The Vikings, after forcing the Cardinals to punt on the first possession of the extra period, used a big Adrian Peterson run and a 22-yard Bernard Berrian catch to set up Ryan Longwell for the game-winning field goal from 35-yards out.
Derek Anderson, starting for the ineffective Max Hall, threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Tim Hightower added 39 yards on the ground and Larry Fitzgerald caught seven passes for 1-6 yards. The real damage for the Cardinals was done with special teams. LaRod Stephens-Howling returned a kickoff 96-yards for the score and the Cardinals forced a Percy Harvin fumble on a kickoff, returning it 30 yards for a touchdown.
Brett Favre threw 47 passes, completing 36 of them, for 446 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Harvin led all receivers with 126 yards. Peterson was an all-around back, rushing for 81 yards and a touchdown and catching four passes for 63 yards and a score.
The Cardinals fall to 3-5 on the season, good for third place in the NFC West behind the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. The Vikings improve to 3-5. Arizona hosts the Seahawks next Sunday. The Vikings travel to Chicago to take on the Bears.