Packers escape with 24-21 victory over Vikings

Before the Vikings dinked and dunked their way down the field for a late touchdown that pulled them within three points of the Green Bay Packers, Brian Robison barked out a message to his offensive teammates on the sideline.

"If y'all get a touchdown," the defensive end told them, "we'll get the ball back for you."

Never mind that the Packers had just marched 87 yards downfield for another touchdown.

Never mind that Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was terrorizing the Vikings again.

Never mind that bowling-ball running back Eddie Lacy was closing in on 100 rushing yards.

The Vikings offense held up its end of the bargain. And when the defense headed back out onto the field with 3 minutes, 23 seconds remaining, Robison and his fellow defenders were certain they would shove Rodgers, Lacy and the rest of the Packers back to the sideline.

Five Lacy runs, 27 tough yards and two first downs later, Robison's promise went unfulfilled.

The Vikings weren't pushovers in Sunday's 24-21 loss — at least not in the first three quarters. The defense played tough against a Packers team that had scored more than 50 points in back-to-back games before showing up at TCF Bank Stadium. And the offense pulled together after another slow start and tried its hardest to keep pace with the NFL's hottest offense.

But in the end, Rodgers and Lacy were simply too much to handle as the Packers showed why they remain the class of the NFC North and Super Bowl contenders as long as Rodgers is upright.

Rodgers completed 19 of his 29 attempts for 209 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Vikings. He added 34 yards on six scrambles.

Lacy rumbled for 125 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. And his fourth-quarter touchdown reception gave the Packers the points they needed to win.

The Packers scored on four of their eight drives that didn't end in a kneel-down. They were 6-for-11 on third-down conversions. They averaged 5.8 yards per play.

"It was different playing against a Mike Zimmer team," Rodgers said. "Mike is a great football mind, and he had a great plan for us again."

But Rodgers and Lacy busted Zimmer's plans often enough for the Packers to avoid the upset.

On Rodgers' second- quarter touchdown pass to tight end Richard Rodgers, which helped the visitors take a 14-10 lead into halftime, the quarterback took the snap at the Vikings 1-yard line and rolled to his right. As he neared the sideline, and the Vikings' pass rush neared him, he lobbed a pass across the width of the field to the tight end, who was wide open in the end zone.

"It is Aaron Rodgers, and he makes things happen," Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. "He is a great quarterback, Hall of Fame."

Rodgers made something happen again in the fourth quarter when the Vikings had the Packers in a third-and-6 situation. The Vikings sent six rushers and blanketed his receivers with 1-on-1 coverage on the outside. But Rodgers evaded the rush and sneaked out of the pocket to run for 18 yards and a first down.

The Vikings defense never recovered, though. Lacy scored on a shovel pass four plays later.

Soon, Robison would be on the sideline, making promises the defense couldn't keep.

Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — who had a rocky first half in which he overshot open receivers and threw up a bad interception that the Packers offense cashed in for a touchdown — delivered in the second half by leading the Vikings on a 79-yard drive, punctuated by a touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings and an eerily similar two-point conversion to wideout Charles Johnson.

Zimmer opted to not try an onside kick, trusting that his defense would get the ball back. But even though everyone in TCF Bank Stadium, including a large and loud chunk of Packers fans, knew that Lacy would be getting the ball, the Vikings got bowled over.

"I think everyone sees him as a bruiser, which he is, but he is also pretty nifty and can slip out of tackles and has good vision," Vikings safety Harrison Smith said. "He's a good back. We just have to get multiple guys to wrap him up."

In those four games, Lacy rushed for 434 yards and five touchdowns.

And then there is Rodgers. The MVP contender is now 11-4 career against the Vikings, including playoffs, with 32 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.

With Lacy and the running game as a complement, Rodgers and the first-place Packers have been making it look easy. And as Robison and the Vikings defense were reminded again Sunday, stopping Rodgers and the Packers when they get on a roll is a most challenging task.

"Shut down the run, get them in the passing game and then get to Rodgers," Robison said. "It sounds simple, but it's not always the easiest thing to do."

Matt Vensel matt.vensel@startribune.com