Somehow, he did it.
Less than two weeks from his 40th birthday, he did it.
After a failed late-game drive that was beginning to feel like vintage Brett Favre come-from-behind heroics, the Vikings’ defense forced a punt from the 49ers. And then Favre took it all to the next level, moving the team 80 yards with no timeouts and 89 seconds on the clock.
Favre nickeled-and-dimed the ball down the field, with a smattering of short receptions and way too many seconds ticking off the clock as several plays ended with the receiver catching the ball in bounds.
Ultimately, 12 ticks remained, and Favre and the Vikings were 32 yards from paydirt, trailing by four points.
It felt hopeless for the Vikings, especially with the 49ers keeping multiple defenders deep and Favre still getting acquainted with wideouts who, until the middle of August, expected to be catching passes from Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels.
And then it happened. Favre dropped back, rolled right, and heaved the ball an instant before being flatted from behind.
Somehow, Greg Lewis -- signed off the New England trash heap just before the start of the season -- jumped in the back of the end zone, got two feet down, hit the ground, and maintained possession.
Vikings win, 27-24.
And, in one game at the Metrodome, Favre delivered the kind of a miracle that Minnesotans haven’t witnessed first-hand since Ahmad Rashad reached back and hauled in a Hail Mary from Tommy Kramer at the old Metropolitan Stadium in December 1980.