Vikings come back to stun Packers 23-20

By John Onan | Sunday, October 23, 2005 | ( 0 )

Got something to say?

The disappointing Minnesota Vikings found themselves once again at the short end of the score early on, but looked like a totally different team after the break, as they roared back from a 17-0 deficit to stun the Green Bay Packers 23-20 on a game-winning Paul Edinger 56-yard field goal as time expired.

The Vikings, who have been an object of criticism for their poor play and off the field antics, fell behind as Green Bay scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter. Packers' quarterback Brett Favre threw touchdowns passes to Donald Driver and Antonio Chatman, and kicker Ryan Longwell booted a 53-yard field goal late in the half.

Favre, who has a reputation of struggling in domed stadiums, had a magnificent throwing day. He went 28-of-36 for 315 yards with the two scoring strikes. Driver caught eight of those tosses for 114 yards on the day.

However, in the third and fourth quarters, it was all Minnesota. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who has been having his worst season as a pro, threw for two scores. The first touchdown was a 27-yard connection with Marcus Robinson to cut the Green Bay lead to 17-10.

After an Edinger 22-yard field goal to bring Minnesota to within four, they took their first lead of the game on a Culpepper to Mewelde Moore 14-yard scoring pass. Culpepper was 23-of-31 on the afternoon for 280 yards, and more importantly, no interceptions after coming into the game with a league-high 12.

The Packers tied the game at 20 on a Longwell 39-yard field goal, which set the Vikings up for the final drive. After a solid kickoff return from Koren Robinson, which set them up at their own 36, Culpepper completed two throws for 26 yards. Edinger them came on and calmly knocked through the 56-yarder for an emotional win.

With the victory, the Minnesota Vikings moved to 2-4, and stayed very much in the hunt for an NFC North title. The Green Bay Packers fell to 1-5 and to the bottom of the NFC North.

Got something to say?