MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings suffered their first home loss of the season, falling 30-13 to the Packers on Sunday in the 110th Border Battle.
The outcome gives both teams a 7-3 mark atop the NFC North, with six to play, including a rematch in the season finale on Jan. 3, 2016 at Lambeau Field.
The Packers claimed the head-to-head edge by capitalizing on third downs on offense and a season-high 110 penalty yards assessed to the Vikings to become the first team in the NFL to score more than 23 points against Minnesota this season.
They also managed to limit Adrian Peterson to 45 yards on 13 carries. Peterson, the NFL's leading rusher, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in a season for the seventh time in his career, but did so on a carry that ended with a fumble at the Green Bay 22 with the Vikings trailing 27-13 early in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Rudolph had six catches for 106 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown from Teddy Bridgewater that gave the Vikings a 6-3 lead (missed PAT) in the first quarter and a 33-yard reception that set up a 6-yard TD run by Peterson.
On the TD by Rudolph, the tight end worked his way down the field through contact from Micah Hyde. Rudolph slipped behind Hyde at the 20 where Bridgewater delivered the ball over Hyde with precision. Rudolph gathered it, avoided an arm tackle from Hyde from behind at the 10-yard line and kept his balance with a hop step for a few easy strides into the end zone. It was the fourth TD of the season for Rudolph and 21st of his career.
Green Bay, however, responded to the Rudolph touchdown with a 70-yard kickoff return from Jeff Janis and was able to get a 47-yard field goal from Mason Crosby without getting a first down. Crosby was 5-for-5 on field goals of 42, 47, 40, 42 and 52.
The Packers seized momentum by scoring a touchdown on their final possession of the first half and a field goal on their first possession of the second half. They added another touchdown on their first play of the fourth quarter.
Aaron Rodgers found Randall Cobb on a slant on third-and-goal for a 10-yard touchdown with six seconds left in the first half. In the fourth quarter, Rodgers' ability to extend the play outside of the pocket allowed James Jones to find space in the back of the end zone and keep both feet in bounds as he collected the ball for a 27-yard score.
View game action images from Sunday's game vs. Green Bay.
The Packers scored their first touchdown with a drive that covered 80 yards in 2:13, including 55 yards on penalties and two of the three first downs Green Bay gained on the drive.
Facing third-and-15 from the Green Bay 15, Rodgers heaved a deep ball toward Jeff Janis, who got tangled with Terence Newman for a 50-yard penalty.
Facing third-and-9 from the Minnesota 15, officials flagged David Bakhtiari for holding but then flagged Linval Joseph for roughing the passer. The fouls offset and the down was replayed, but Anthony Barr then drew a flag for illegal contact, which results in 5 yards and an automatic first down. Rodgers hit Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen in the stomach for an incompletion on first down, threw it out of the back of the end zone on second but found Cobb for a 10-yard TD on third down.
