Adrian Peterson rushed for 192 yards, including a 29-yard go-ahead touchdown with 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, as the Minnesota Vikings edged the Green Bay Packers, 28-27, at the Metrodome.
Peterson had 30 carries and also caught three passes for 33 yards, while Gus Frerotte completed 15-of-28 passes for 151 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Vikings (5-4), who have won two straight games and four of their last five. Minnesota and Chicago are now tied for first place atop the NFC North Division, as the Bears lost to Tennessee on Sunday.
Chester Taylor had four catches for 84 yards and a score, and Sidney Rice caught a three-yard TD pass in the win.
Aaron Rodgers finished 15-of-26 passing for 142 yards, while Ryan Grant rushed for 75 yards and a score for Green Bay (4-5), which has lost two in a row. Nick Collins had a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown and Will Blackmon returned a punt 65 yards for a score in defeat. Mason Crosby added a pair of field goals for the Packers, but missed a 52-yard attempt in the final moments that would have won the game.
Donald Driver had five catches for 46 yards and set the Green Bay franchise record with receptions in 104 consecutive games, surpassing Sterling Sharpe.
With the Packers holding a 27-21 lead with 5:56 left in the fourth quarter, Peterson single-handedly put Minnesota back in front, capping a seven-play, 69-yard drive. Three Peterson runs and a three catches helped the hosts get to the Packers 29. The star running back then put the finishing touches on the drive when he took a handoff from Frerotte, went around right tackle and sprinted down the sideline for the score.
Green Bay challenged that Peterson's knee was down before crossing the goal line, but the play was upheld and the Vikes went back in front with Ryan Longwell's extra point.
Green Bay mounted one last charge and managed to get down to the Minnesota 34, but Crosby's 52-yard effort sailed wide right with 26 seconds remaining. The Vikings then ran out the clock to preserve the win.
With Minnesota clinging to a 14-10 lead after one half, the Vikings found the end zone on their opening drive of the third quarter. Staring at a 3rd-and-5 from the Packers 47, Frerotte got a quick short pass to Taylor. The veteran running back then made a shift move on backup linebacker Desmond Bishop and sprinted the distance for the score.
After the Packers went three-and-out and were forced to punt, the Vikings got good field position again, this time starting at their own 45. Frerotte, however, attempted to go across the middle to Visanthe Shiancoe on the first play of the set and was intercepted by Collins, who returned it 59 yards for a touchdown, making it a 21-17 game with 5:21 left in the third period.
Blackmon's 65-yard punt return for a score following a Vikings three-and-out on their ensuing possession put the Pack in front 24-21.
Minnesota got the ball back with just over 12 minutes left in the fourth after a Green Bay punt and starting from its own five-yard line quickly advanced it to the 41. Then facing 4th-and-short, Vikings head coach Brad Childress initially called for the punting unit, but changed his mind after appearing to be getting some verbal abuse from Peterson on the sideline.
Childress then reversed course and put the offense back on the field and Peterson had the ball stripped by Bishop with Green Bay taking over on downs at the Vikings 41. A 40-yard field goal by Crosby with 5:56 remaining increased the visitors' lead to 27-21.
Minnesota opened the scoring on its first possession of the contest. After the Packers went three-and-out to start the game, Charles Gordon returned Derrick Frost's line-drive punt 20 yards to the Green Bay 39-yard line. The Vikings were then successful on two key third-down conversions and following a hard seven-yard run by Peterson, Minnesota got to the three. Two plays later, Frerotte hit Rice over the middle for the score.
Grant's one-yard touchdown run with 4:01 left in the opening quarter tied things at 7-7. Following a Charles Woodson interception that set up the Packers with good field position at the Vikings 48, Rodgers quickly led the offense down the field on a six-play scoring jaunt. Grant capped the drive when he took a pitch from the signal-caller, ran over left end and dove into the end zone.
A season-long 54-yard field goal by Longwell in the opening stages of the second quarter put the Vikes back in front by a 10-7 margin. Then with Green Bay facing a 2nd-and-20 from its own 10-yard line, Rogers was whistled for an illegal forward pass in the end zone, crediting the hosts with a safety and upping the lead to five.
Jared Allen's sack of Rodgers in the end zone with 44 seconds left in the half pushed the Vikings' lead to 14-7, but a 47-yard field goal by Crosby as time expired cut the Packers' deficit to four heading into the break.
Game Notes
Peterson has rushed for 100-plus yards in four consecutive games...The Vikings will play at Tampa Bay on November 16, while Green Bay hosts Chicago...Packers starting linebacker Nick Barnett left the game with a sprained right knee in the third quarter and did not return...Despite the loss, Green Bay leads the all-time regular season series, which dates back to the 1961 season with a 49-45-1 record. Minnesota snapped a five-game skid versus the Packers. Green Bay beat Minnesota, 24-19, in Week 1 at Lambeau Field...Childress is now 1-5 versus Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy.
