Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie had what he called his "worst day ever" in Sunday's 23-16 loss to Green Bay, and he wasn't talking about his shaky performance.

Still affected by a food poisoning incident last week, McKinnie vomited several times on the Metrodome sidelines and needed an IV just before halftime. The Vikings finally removed him from the game midway through the fourth quarter, replacing him with right guard Artis Hicks.

"I thought I had gotten it completely out of my system," McKinnie said. "But I guess I hadn't."

McKinnie said he began feeling sick last Monday, and that he received an IV after practice Wednesday. Sunday, however, he was seen draped over a sideline trash can at least three times.

In between, Packers right end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila sacked Vikings quarterback Kelly Holcomb twice.

"It's going to look like I had a terrible game against him," McKinnie said. "But I felt terrible."

Taylor back

Tailback Chester Taylor returned to his starting role after missing two games to a strained oblique.

Taylor carried eight times for 40 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards. Although he appeared in 16 more plays than rookie Adrian Peterson, Taylor still finished with 40 plays -- a welcome respite from last season's every-down pounding.

"I feel a lot better after today than I would have last year," Taylor said. "I'm just looking forward to finishing the last 12 games and finishing the season out strong."

Taylor's return enabled Peterson to resume his role as the primary kick returner. He had a 51-yard runback among his three kickoff returns.

Running back Mewelde Moore was inactive for the second time this season. Also inactive were receiver Aundre Allison, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, cornerback Ronyell Whitaker, tight end Garrett Mills, offensive tackle Chase Johnson, defensive tackle Fred Evans and defensive end Erasmus James.

Take your swing

The Vikings threw four deep passes, but all fell incomplete.

Holcomb targeted receiver Sidney Rice twice on the Vikings' first drive, narrowly missing a connection the first time but overthrowing him badly on the second.

Holcomb later fired twice toward receiver Troy Williamson. He caught one pass out of bounds and could not catch up to the other.

"You like to take those shots when you can get those 1-on-1s," coach Brad Childress said. "It's the old, 'You can't get a hit if you don't swing the bat.' "

Close call