MINNEAPOLIS — Just. Be. Relentless.

That three-word slogan keyed Minnesota's defense in "America's Game of the Week" on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, as the Vikings decorated the end of the holiday season with a 27-25 win over the Packers.

It's the mindset Jonathan Greenard said enabled the swarming Purple defense to upend Green Bay's high-profile offense, which entered the Week 17 contest with 30-plus points in five consecutive games.

And sheer determination that limited Jordan Love to 45 first-half passing yards (the fewest in a half in his career; min. 10 attempts) and 185 overall, and resulted in three sacks and eight hits on the quarterback.

In the locker room afterwards, Greenard stood in front of reporters and sighed.

"I'm mad," he said with a most unselfish smile. "Only because I didn't get my sack."

Greenard paced the pass rush with three QB hits on Love, who completed 19 of 30 throws for 185 yards and a touchdown. It was a shell of the performance Love gave in Week 4 when he had close to 400 yards.

"We understand what type of player he is. I mean one of the best quarterbacks in the league, talent-wise with his arm – he can make any throw on the field," Greenard said, noting Minnesota's containment of Love was accomplished by creating an uncomfortable setting for him and denying him right-side escapes.

Love entered Sunday as one of the least-sacked players in the NFL. Earlier this year, Minnesota got him down on a single occasion. But in this iteration of the Border Battle, the Vikings dropped Love thrice, which tied his most times fallen in a game this season and matched his previous five-game total.

Joshua Metellus lionized the defensive front as "life-saving."

Blake Cashman had 1.5 sacks, improving his single-season career high to 4.5. Andrew Van Ginkel earned a split with the Eden Prairie native, raising his single-season career high to 11.5. Rookie Dallas Turner bear-hugged Love to the turf, too, giving him 3.0 on the year and a pair in the past three weeks.

The relentlessness effectively overwhelmed Green Bay for the majority of the game.

"We were able to go out there and really do a good job, minus the last few minutes of the game – we can be better there, but as a complete game, to hold a great offense to that limited amount of yards, that's a good thing for us," Camryn Bynum commented. "But we know there's a lot more work to do."

In total, the Packers netted 271 yards on offense, their fewest in a game this season.

Love passed for 121 in hurry-up mode on Green Bay's last two possessions, which tightened the score with a couple touchdowns and a 2-point conversion – but never stripped the Vikings of their confidence.

"They get paid, too," Metellus quipped.

"That's a playoff football team," the captain continued. "You give anybody a chance to come back and they're gonna do it. Hats off to the [offense], though, for being able to put them away and get it done."

Bynum said wisely, "It's never going to be perfect. [But] we like our odds against anybody.

"They have a lot of good, quick receivers that like to run away from your leverage; a lot of over-routes and in-breakers, so we know that that's a challenge," he explained. "But we embraced it completely."

Behind Minnesota's relentless pass-rush plans, the secondary played an increase in man coverage. Bynum said the group prepared for that tweak in philosophy by conditioning their hamstrings, spending time in the ice tub and getting their bodies right to run all over the field with a goal of restricting airspace.

While the Vikings defense didn't technically finish strongly, it made an immediate impression.

On the fifth play from scrimmage, Jerry Tillery, who along with Cashman were the defenders who received game balls from Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell, caused a fumble in Minnesota territory that Bynum recovered.

The quick takeaway gave the Vikings one in each of their first 16 games to start a season for the first time since 1992. And in doing so, Brian Flores' unit tied the longest run to begin a season in franchise history.

"That's the biggest thing about this whole defense – there's so many players that are capable of making big plays. You see somebody new every single week having that big-play moment and having that big-time game," Bynum said, expressing he's matured the past four seasons and now is focused on doing the mundane tasks right rather than hunting to make an impact – because those moments just happen.

And when they do, he's proven to always have a viral-worthy celebration ready.

This week, after recovering the Jacobs fumble poked free by Tillery, five Vikings players reenacted in the end zone the "We're All In This Together" dance from the 2006 hit Disney movie High School Musical.

"Whenever we do something, we have to have something good cooked up for the viewers, and that's what I love," Bynum said with a wide grin. "I love giving people an exciting moment to watch and just something to remember, especially for people my age and my generation seeing the throwbacks."

Bynum admitted to messing up this week's tribute but that can be blamed on overexcitement.

"It's below my standard, but I'm sure the people are still going to enjoy it," Bynum said.

Ivan Pace, Jr., on the other hand had to explain his involvement as an impromptu background dancer.

"I don't know what I was doing," Pace laughed. "They went through their little choreography yesterday and I wasn't there. I just tried keeping up with their pace but then I was like, 'I'll just do my own thing!' "

Pace's impact was appreciated – and well-timed considering he was shelved on Injured Reserve the past four games. He hopped into the starting lineup, again, and helped slow down Green Bay's ground game.

Packers running backs Josh Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson each scored a touchdown and combined for 104 yards on 24 carries – a healthy 4.3-yard average – but their explosiveness was dimmed by Pace and the rest of Minnesota's defense. Jacobs submitted a long rush of 13, and Wilson's best carry went for 14.

"He brings a lot of energy with the way he plays," Metellus said of Pace, who had several solid blitzes and three assists on tackles. "I was happy to be able to see him feel comfortable and play his style of game."

Greenard acknowledged the significance of 14 wins, but disliked letting Green Bay fight its way back.

"We are not satisfied at all," he said. "We hate leaving hope out there."

Leave it to the longest-tenured Vikings player, Harrison Smith, to put in perspective the success so far.

"Coming back as a guy on the backend of his career, and coming back to the team I've always played for that didn't have a lot of expectations from the outside for the season, but just having belief in the people from the top down, it's been a lot of fun, and challenging and tough," Smith reflected after he improved to 12-11-1 in regular-season Border Battles.

Smith concluded: "It's a special group, for sure. Still a lot left to do."