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In his first home game as a Viking, Brett Favre gave his new fan base a big thrill. Favre hit a leaping Greg Lewis (pictured) on a 32-yard TD pass with 2 seconds left, lifting Minnesota to a 27-24 victory over the 49ers. It was Lewis' only catch of the day. Favre finished with 301 passing yards. Week 3 leaders

By John Clayton, ESPN.com

1. Brady still rusty: Here is a scary thought for the rest of the NFL: Despite passing for 277 yards in a 26-10 rout of the Falcons, New England QB Tom Brady clearly isn't in sync with his receivers.

Brady, coming off knee reconstruction surgery, missed Randy Moss and others with long passes he normally completes. He ventured into the Falcons' red zone four times, and settled for Stephen Gostkowski field goals all four times. With slot receiver Wes Welker resting a nagging knee injury, Brady clearly can't get in sync with his replacement, Joey Galloway. At one point before the half, Galloway couldn't come up with a short completion and Brady started shouting at him.

Brady's mechanics still need work. His long passes aren't as accurate because he's not getting his legs into the throws. But even though his play has been up and down so far, Brady's leadership hasn't wavered. Brady's always trying to motivate his teammates, regardless of how the Patriots' offense is performing.

"That's why he's good,'' halfback Fred Taylor said. "He demands that you try to be perfect. If he didn't, he'd just be another guy.''

2. Redskins reeling: I never thought I'd say that Washington coach Jim Zorn would be in trouble after 19 games, but I never thought I'd be discussing a 19-14 Redskins loss to the Detroit Lions. Redskins tight end Chris Cooley summed up Sunday's loss the best: "It's disgusting really.''

The Lions entered Week 3 with a 19-game losing streak. They entered with a rookie quarterback, Matthew Stafford. In the second half, running back Kevin Smith was lost to an injury.

Zorn is squandering the biggest gift in the NFL: an easy schedule. Beatable teams like St. Louis, Detroit, Denver, Oakland, Kansas City and Tampa Bay dot the Redskins' schedule. The Redskins barely beat the Rams in Week 2, winning 9-7, and their inability to score from the Lions' 1-yard line cost the Redskins on Sunday. On their first offensive possession, the Redskins drove to Detroit's 9, where they seemed lost. Jason Campbell had to call a timeout. The first pass was incomplete. A third-down play got Campbell down to the Lions' 1. Then Zorn called a running play to the right, but halfback Clinton Portis was stopped before he could get into the end zone.

You could almost feel the Redskins lose confidence right there. The Lions scored 10 points on their next two possessions, taking Zorn out of a normal game plan. The Redskins are averaging 13.3 points a game, down from 16.6 last year. More bad news for the Redskins came when prized DT Albert Haynesworth was carted off the field with a leg injury. The Redskins' season is suddenly looking very shaky. When you consider their schedule, that shouldn't be the case.

3. Favre lifts Vikings: This is why the Vikings and Brad Childress signed Brett Favre out of retirement. Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels likely wouldn't have hit Greg Lewis with a 32-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds to beat the 49ers 27-24.

Over the past three years, the Vikings have averaged nine games a season that have been decided by eight points a less. Their record in those games is 13-16. Well, Favre stepped up when the Vikings needed him with a come-from behind touchdown drive -- 80 yards on 10 plays in 89 seconds. It was the 40th fourth-quarter comeback of his career, first among active quarterbacks. He was 6-of-10 for 80 yards on the winning drive. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 16-of-27 for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Maybe it's time for Vikings ownership to buy Favre a ceremonial tractor for his farm because he's driving them to the playoffs with his will to win and savvy.

4. Bengals shake up AFC North: The Bengals officially have moved into the surprise team category with their 23-20 victory over the Steelers. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter, but QB Carson Palmer took control. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning TD pass to Andre Caldwell. With Palmer out most of last year because of an elbow injury, the Bengals dropped to 4-12. Their offense was hopeless. Now, Palmer offers hope.

The outcome puts the AFC North in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3-0 and have a two-game lead over the Steelers. The Steelers and Ravens don't meet until Nov. 29 in Baltimore, so it's going to be hard for the Steelers to catch up. The Ravens have outscored opponents 103-53. Joe Flacco has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Backup halfback Willis McGahee has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Suddenly, the AFC North belongs to Baltimore, not Pittsburgh.

5. Titans, Dolphins in trouble: Two spots in the AFC playoffs have all but officially been opened. The Titans dropped to 0-3 after a 24-17 loss to the New York Jets. The Dolphins are also winless after falling to the Chargers, 23-13. No NFL team has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start since 1998.

The Dolphins made the 2008 playoffs with good coaching and an easy schedule, playing the AFC West and NFC West. They were 11-5, but much of their success was due to the surprise of the Wildcat formation. Well, the Wildcat has lost its magic in Miami. Head coach Tony Sparano had to junk all of those Pat White Wildcat plays when starting QB Chad Pennington injured his shoulder and had to be replaced by Chad Henne, technically third on the depth chart, in the third quarter. Putting Henne into the game before the fourth quarter disqualified Pennington and White from playing quarterback by rule. Once Pennington went out, the Dolphins had no chance. They aren't built for come-from-behind wins because this is more of a running, short-passing team.

The Titans' drop from 13-3 to 0-3 is more baffling. Sure, their early schedule has been tough, particularly with road games in Pittsburgh and in the Meadowlands. The problem with the Titans has been their pass defense. Jets QB Mark Sanchez threw for only 171 yards, but he was able to get eight completions to Jerricho Cotchery for 108 yards and a touchdown. The departure of Haynesworth and his ability to crunch the opposing quarterback's pocket has clearly had an effect on the Titans.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers isn't going to hold up with the number of hits the offensive line is allowing him to take. He was sacked 10 times in the first two games and twice in Sunday's easy victory over the Rams. Rodgers was hit hard early, but things settled down. Statisticians in the Rams' press box officially gave him three hits to go along with his two sacks. … Officials might be getting too quick with their flags in protecting the quarterback. Falcons defensive end Jamaal Anderson (on Brady) and Vikings middle linebacker E.J. Henderson (on 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill) received 15-yard personal foul penalties for roughing the quarterback when they were just basically touching them after throws. … The Patriots' Fred Taylor saved the day for aging running backs. The 33-year-old Taylor rushed for 105 yards on 21 tough carries. He did it on a day when 30-year-old LaDainian Tomlinson, 29-year-old Jamal Lewis and 30-year-old Brian Westbrook were inactive. … It's only Week 3, but offensive linemen are dropping at an alarming rate. The list of inactive offensive linemen Sunday included Nate Livings (Cincinnati), Floyd Womack (Cleveland), Daniel Loper (Detroit), Chad Clifton (Green Bay), Jammal Brown (New Orleans), Robert Gallery (Oakland), Jason Smith (St. Louis), Sean Locklear and Walter Jones of the Seahawks, Louis Vasquez and Nick Hardwick of the Chargers, Jeff Faine of the Bucs and Todd Herremans of the Eagles. … Cedric Benson may be the steal of the 2008 season. He signed with the Bengals after being released by Tampa Bay and has re-established himself. He's third in the NFL with 293 rushing yards, two ahead of Fred Jackson of the Bills. … Philip Rivers is carrying the Chargers' offense. In three games, he has passed for 991 yards and three touchdowns. Just in case you're wondering, Drew Brees of the Saints has 841 yards, nine touchdowns and a 118.1 quarterback rating. … The Raiders probably have no plans to bench JaMarcus Russell, but it's going to be harder and harder to keep him as a starter with these numbers -- 31-of-75, 378 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions and a 39.8 quarterback rating.