The Arizona Cardinals looked like they had a win in the bag. The Minnesota Vikings were playing poorly, the crowd was out of it and Coach Brad Childress was already packing his bags.
Then the fourth quarter came around, and all of that changed. The Vikings defense came alive, putting a stop to the Cardinals offensive attack and rendering Derek Anderson useless. Brett Favre relived his glory days, piecing together two effective drives for touchdowns to tie the game at 24.
After shutting down Arizona one more time, the game went into overtime. The Cardinals won the toss, and there was hope that LaRod Stephens-Howling could break one loose and end this awful game.
The ball was brought out to the 27-yard line, and Anderson took the field once more. He was sacked twice and could not move the ball forward, causing a quick punt. At this point, the game was all but over as the Vikings had all the momentum and a world of adrenaline running through the team's collective veins.
What can be said about this loss? The Cardinals are just not very good. Anderson proved once again why he's not worthy of being a starting quarterback in the NFL, throwing for only 176 yards on the game. While he threw no interceptions, he had no vision either - there was no eye-popping plays, no reason to have confidence in his abilities.
Tim Hightower carried the ball 13 times, yielding only 39 yards. There is no bright side to this heartbreaking loss, no beacon of hope in the darkness.
Ryan Longwell won the game for the Vikings, nailing a 35-yard field goal to end the game. Coach Whisenhunt has a lot of explaining to do for this inexplicable loss.
Visit Revenge of the Birds blog for more post game commiseration.