MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers Sunday in a shoot-out 37-34 to reach the playoffs and set up a re-match with the Packers next weekend.
Adrian Peterson, in a valiant effort, came up just 9 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record. Peterson carried the ball for 199 yards on 34 carries. He rushed for one touchdown and caught a touchdown pass.
Viking quarterback Christian Ponder threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions on an efficient 16 completions in 28 attempts for 234 yards.
Aaron Rodgers completed 28 of 40 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Minnesota raced out to a 10-0 lead and went into the half up 20-10. But Green Bay would not go away, with Rodgers engineering a number of big pass plays and scoring drives to keep the game close.
With the victory, the Vikings enter the playoffs as th NFC’s #6 seed while the Packers enter as the #3 seed. The Pack missed out on a chance for a first round bye if they had won.
