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Sunday's 128^th Border Battle went from "Wow!" to "Whew" by the time the game clock struck zero.

The Vikings outlasted the Packers for a 31-29 victory at Lambeau Field, with Aaron Jones working in one leap during his first trip back to Green Bay.

The contest was lopsided early, with Minnesota (4-0) building a 28-zip lead then clinging on with fingernails extended by the end, turning a blowout into a blood pressure monitoring situation.

But the Vikings made enough plays to close out a division rival.

Byron Murphy, Jr., recorded a key interception and forced a fumble.

Up next is a trip to London to face the New York Jets (2-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before a Week 6 bye and a potentially massive Week 7 game against Detroit.

First, team congratulations on a great win in Green Bay! The Vikings are awesome. I'm just wondering what happened in the second half? One of the least important statistics is the score at halftime. How did the Packers get back into the game?

— Skip Ringerud

As good as four of Minnesota's first five drives of the first half were (TD, TD, TD, punt, TD), the first four drives of the second half resulted in bad outcomes (INT, punt, punt, fumble).

Green Bay found its rhythm in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns that bookended the sack fumble.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell spoke about the importance of momentum within a football game.

The Packers were able to have extremely short fields (Minnesota 3-yard line after a muffed punt late in the first half and the Minnesota 20 after the fumble) on two of their four touchdown drives.

Green Bay made some important plays, but Minnesota can have some learning opportunities from this one.

Truthfully, it might not be the worst thing for the team to have worked through some mistakes.

In 240 minutes of football, the Vikings have only trailed for 3:26 (Week 1 at New York after a Giants field goal that resulted from a short field).

Bill Belichick had mentioned last week that he is interested in seeing how Minnesota responds to playing from behind.

Although the Vikings didn't trail — and some of the strife was self-inflicted — the team answered the final bell.

Another great Border Battle. Amazingly dumb plays to end the first half that gifted the Packers a TD and momentum. Too bad we let the Packers back in the game. We were lucky to win. Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Back-to-back-to-back-TD-scoring drives to open the game. First, big third-down conversion to Jalen Nailor, then TD pass to Jordan Addison. Followed by a drive laden with Packers penalties and then a TD pass to Josh Oliver. Followed by an interception and another TD to Addison. Bud Grant couldn't have scripted this better. Very nicely done.

2. The Vikings defense pitched a shutout for virtually the whole first half. Impressive defensive play again. Very nicely done.

3. The fourth quarter FG drive and our final drive. The Justin Jefferson catch on the sideline in the late fourth quarter.

DOWNS:

1. Wasted time out early on defense. And another delay of game after a first down and yet another wasted timeout on offense after a first down? I wish we could be so much better in this area.

2. Third-and-one to close out the first half, and we pass? Bonehead call — let's figure a way to give the Packers a chance to score in the first half? Easily the poorest Vikings coaching call of the decade. Just plain ignorant. And that is just as bad as attempting to field that late punt at all in that situation. Leave it to the Vikings to gift the Packers a TD and momentum to boot. Dumb. Just an unforgivable play call and player decision on the punt. Looking for my blood pressure meds. Sad.

3. Couldn't score in the third quarter. Didn't win the third quarter. Sustained the Packers momentum.

Just a shame that we allowed the Packers to get back in the game. I hope we can play better next week against the Jets.

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

People were able to see more of what things look like with Jefferson, Addison and Nailor in the mix, and the Vikings moved the ball around the offense with some great distributions by Sam Darnold in the first half.

Jefferson's catches in the fourth quarter included a 17-yarder on the play that followed the sack fumble and the 14-yarder along the sideline that belongs in the toe drag swag Hall of Fame.

The third-and-1 play that Jeff mentioned was a triple whammy for Minnesota. The incompletion stopped the clock with 1:17 remaining, and Brandon Powell was shaken up (he later returned to the game). That meant Nailor filled in for Powell on a Packers punt.

In hindsight, Nailor would have been better served to just let that one go. Arms should probably never go over a punt returner's head to field a punt. Just letting the ball go would have probably resulted in kneel-down by Minnesota and a 28-0 halftime edge.

You tell me [Saturday] that this result is coming, I take it with glee. A W at Lambeau is always welcome with delight. And if you tell me two missed kicks are coming, I shake my head and say not THIS again. Once again, we are NOT talking about a Vikings kicker missing key kicks. Huge!!

But come on! Should it ever have been that close? Key Vikings plays were made in the second half at key moments. But the team made it too easy for Green Bay after halftime. I despise the bend-don't- break-defense. Allowing short, quick passes lets an offense get in rhythm, gain confidence and get the opposing crowd into it. NO!! Always apply pressure. No 3-man rushes, especially with a mobility-compromised QB.

Credit [Packers Head Coach Matt] LaFleur. He baited the Vikings into some penalties, made great adjustments at halftime, and despite his tantrum, got touchdowns instead of field goals. But O'Connell was the overall better coach. And the Vikings have the overall better team. It showed.

On to London and Packer Emeritus Aaron Rodgers.

Skol!

— Jeff in Sacramento

Definitely would like to mention how reliable Will Reichard has been so far. His lone field goal attempt Sunday was the same length as an extra point and from the middle of the field instead of a hash mark, but he drilled it confidently.

It wasn't a long one, but it was a big one because of it providing a nine-point edge.

This Packers game was disappointing! Our second-half defense looked like the old defense under Coordinator [Ed] Donatell! Looked like we had no idea what we were doing. Out of position, let them back in the game. Our offense got stagnant. If Green Bay didn't have so many turnovers and two missed field goals, we don't win this game. Like they say, each week in the NFL can humble you. Don't know why we didn't stay aggressive on both sides of the ball in the second half? Lucky to escape with the win. Skol! Trying to age me.

— Frankie in Connecticut

I definitely get the disdain for the goings on in the second half, but the big picture is the Vikings have already made their trip to Lambeau Field this season and banked a victory in the division (and a third NFC victory, too).

I'm sure the Packers will have in mind to even the season up when they visit the Vikings in late December.

There's no greater joy than sitting with my brother, a Packers fan, and watching us dominate the first half. It was awesome. Then the second half, we let them right back in it. Way too close for comfort. I'm sure our defense is going to watch film and not be too happy with the yards and points given up. A win's a win, so can't be too critical at 4-0. The refs did not have a good day either. Darnold's pick near the end zone was clearly not. At least O'Connell won a couple reversals. Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in London next week. Let's keep the unbeaten streak in London going!

— J.B. Brunet

Part of what makes this rivalry so great is the way rooting interests span family members and friends.

I also thought Xavier McKinney stepped out of bounds before completing the catch on that interception, but that's not the way it worked out.

O'Connell did a great job of knowing when to throw the challenge flag. It seemed like there were more questionable catches than in a usual week.

I've been a Vikings fan all my life, 42 now, and that was just ugly. Way too many flashbacks to past collapses. In fact, that we did not keep the foot on the gas and played much too conservative in the second half, too much prevent defense, too much running and attempts to burn the clock instead of acting like we were down by 3 with 2 minutes left at all times, is just unforgiveable.

I'm terrified we'll look back on that second half as the moment other teams figured out the Flores defense and find ourselves collapsing more.

So please, please, put the pedal to the metal, stop holding back. A TD or at least possession is worth far more than a bit of burned time! I thought we had the killer instinct after Week 1 and 3, but this game makes me think it is gone, and we're turning into the same old Vikings I've seen all my life.

Still, glad we pulled the win. SKOL! Let's go show the Jets and A-Rod a bad time!

— Eric from Fargo, North Dakota!

And

Well, 4-0, but I'm not impressed the way we called defense in second half, giving up 300 yards and 4 TDs — not good. Our team is built for putting the pedal down, and not time management. Our defense is made for blitzing 70 percent because our cornerbacks can do their job for a long enough time!! I really hope we learned that today. We got Rodgers next in England. Let's see how we respond. Skol.

— Toby in Alaska

And

We fought through self-inflicted adversity to get out of Green Bay with a win! Never an easy task to do! Congrats players & coaches! But when will we ever learn to stay aggressive with a lead?! Do NOT implement a conservative game plan with a big lead! "Pedal to the metal" to the end! A lesson that I hope both O'Connell and Brian Flores learned today in Green Bay!

— Randy in Las Vegas, Nevada

I love that there's a reference of "pedal to the metal" coming from North Dakota, Alaska and Nevada in one mailbag. Messages received.

I guess it will come down to whether the second half was part of Flores' original game plan or a shift in approach to try to avoid explosive plays, which still wound up happening.

Minnesota did total four takeaways, which were needed and important.

I do think the Vikings were aggressive on the 17-yard pass to Jefferson immediately after the sack fumble, but I wonder if the defense wishes it had dialed up a couple more blitzes in the second half.

Turnovers gave us the lead. Turnovers let Green Bay get back into it. I like our team, but we need to minimize turnovers if we have championship aspirations.

— Gerald Goblirsch

There's nothing more important than protecting the football.

If a team loses a ball, then it needs to take it back more than it gives it away.

I'm sure this will come up a lot if it hasn't already, but I understand how teams can and will make adjustments at halftime, right? Why does it seem like our team goes conservative once we have a big lead? I understand how competitive the NFL is but still doesn't make sense sometimes.

— Joshua Kiel in Owatonna, Minnesota

It was just kind of wild having gathered with co-workers on Saturday night to watch the Georgia-Alabama game and how much that one mirrored Sunday's game featuring a team with a G logo, at least with seismic momentum shifts.

It's hard to keep a good team — and most view Green Bay as at least that and quite possibly more — down for a whole game.

An underrated part of Minnesota building such a big lead was forcing Green Bay away from what had been a really strong rushing attack through the first three weeks of the season.

Josh Jacobs rushed for 51 yards on nine carries, but his long for the day was 13 yards. The Packers totaled 35 yards on 10 other carries.

Please provide your best analysis on the Vikings first four games compared to the teams they have faced so far. I understand that you can only play the team ahead of you, but I think this is a very strong start when compared to the teams we've faced.

Skol from Albert Lea,

— Dan Jones

The Vikings have been able to defeat three teams who were in the postseason earlier this year and log three NFC victories while being an underdog (at least by external predictors) heading into each game.

That's two road trips in which the Vikings have stormed to leads and one where Minnesota needed to bow up after failing to put away the Packers.

People have been high on the 49ers, Texans and Packers chances of going back to the playoffs, and now they are coming around to give the Vikings more laurels.

Minnesota also has shown signs of restoring home-field advantage, which is immensely important.