Sunday Night Football: Vikings Win NFC North, Defeat Packers 20-13 At Lambeau

The Minnesota Vikings came into Lambeau in Week 17 with a chance at unseating the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North and establishing themselves as the young, new power of the division.

They did just that.

Staking themselves to a 20-3 lead in front of what was an eerily quiet crowd for a good portion of the game, the Vikings (11-5) staved off a late rally by the Packers -- ultimately sealing a 20-13 win partially in thanks to cornerback Xavier Rhodes' interception of Aaron Rodgers in the end zone on a fourth and goal deep in Vikings territory.

Rodgers would get one more shot with just over a minute left close to midfield, but the drive ended on a missed connection with WR James Jones.

Minnesota didn't get much at all done on offense, gaining just 242 total yards which included just 91 total yards by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. However, Adrian Peterson did just enough to keep the Vikings afloat (67 yards, 1 TD), Captain Munnerlyn took an Aaron Rodgers sack-and-strip 55 yards to the house, and Minnesota evened the season series with an ugly but massive road win.

On the other side, Green Bay was terrible on third downs -- going 2 of 13 on the night. A lot of that had to do with another frustrating performance for the running game (26 carries, 76 yards). Aaron Rodgers was serviceable as a whole despite two turnovers, throwing for 271 yards and a score.

With the win, Minnesota clinches the #3 seed and will host the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC Wild Card matchup next week. Green Bay falls to the #5 seed and will be on the road against the NFC East champion Washington Redskins.

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Related Topics: Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers