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News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

Vikings-Packers: 107th Meeting Fuels Rivalry

Look back at photos through the years featuring games between the Vikings and Packers.

One of the NFL's most heated rivalries gets its 107th renewal on 11/23/14. The game is unique for the clubs because it will be the 2nd time the teams have met on the campus of the University of Minnesota- the 1st coming on 10/5/69 when the Minnesota Twins were involved in a playoff series and forced the Vikings to play 1 game at the UofM's Memorial Stadium, the only regular season NFL game played in the venue. 

The all-time series is tilted to Green Bay's favor 57-49-2, the last deadlocked game coming in 2013 in a 26-26 knot at Lambeau Field. The Vikings hold the longest win streak in the all-time series- a 7 game stretch from 1975-78 and from 1975-79 the Vikings held an 8-1-1 edge over the border rivals.

The Vikings-Packers series went to a new level in 2009 and 2010 when future Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre played in 4 of the games as the Vikings starter after spending 33 games of the series under center for the Packers. The Vikings swept the series in 2009 while the Packers returned the favor in 2010.

The border series was heavily in favor of the Packers during their glory years of the 1960s. Green Bay won the opening 6 games of the series against the upstart Vikings and from 1961-66 the Pack went 10-2 in the 12 games. When Bud Grant took over the Vikings in 1967 the fortunes began to change for the Vikings. Grant won his 1st meeting in the Vikings-Packers series, claiming a 10-7 win in Milwaukee and then turned the tide. The Vikings notched the 1st season sweep of the Packers in 1968 and would go on to sweep them in 1969, '71, '73, '75, '76, '77 and in 1978 the Vikings won in Minnesota and had the 1st tie game in the series on the road. From 1975-79 the Vikings were 8-1-1 against the Packers, including an 8-0-1 stretch before losing on the road in the 2nd meeting of the clubs in 1979.

The Vikings and Packers dominated their divisional and conference opponents in the 1960s and 1970s. From 1961-78 the border rivals won 16 of the 18 Western Conference or Central Division championships. In 1967 the modern Central Division with Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit was established in the NFL and in 1970 when the NFL and AFL merged, the NFC Central evolved with the same teams. Green Bay claimed Conference/Division titles in 1961, '62, '65, '66, '67 and '72- playing in Super Bowls I and II. Following Green Bay's decline after Super Bowl II, the Vikings picked up the flag and won the Central in 1968, '69, '70, '71, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77 and '78, playing in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX and XI following the 1969, '73, '74 and '76 seasons.

The Vikings have won 16 Division titles since entering the NFL in 1961 and Green Bay is 2nd on the Western/Central titles tally post with 11 championships. Since re-alignment in 2002, the Packers have won the NFC North 7 times with the Vikings and Bears each claiming 2 titles. Green Bay is the only Divisional rival the Vikings have played in the post-season, going 1-1 in a pair of playoff games at Lambeau Field- winning the 2004 Wild Card matchup 31-17 and falling to the Packers in 2012 in a Wild Card game 24-10.

Some of the top performances and proudest moments in Vikings franchise history have come against the opponents to the East over the history of the club. The connections between the clubs runs deep from the field of play to the front office. Former Vikings Head Coach Jerry Burns jumped enemy lines for the 1968 season to serve as Vikings offensive coordinator after spending 1966 and '67 as DBs coach for the Packers when they won Super Bowls I and II. From 1968-85 Burns taught the Vikings offense before taking over as Head Coach from 1986-91.

The personal nature of the Vikings-Packers rivalry has helped make it one of the most entertaining across the NFL. The proximity of the states and the stoic nature of their inhabitants have made the twice-yearly meetings more passionate as the years have added color and vinegar to the fans and foes alike. A Vikings icon, Grant, is a native of Superior, WI but attended the University of Minnesota before embarking on a pro football and basketball career and eventually settling in as the Vikings coach in 1967. In his Vikings career, Grant posted a 22-12-1 mark against the Packers.

The Vikings defense has risen to the challenge time and time again when facing the Packers and turned in some of the top performances in club history. In the 1994 season opener at Green Bay, LB Ed McDaniel turned in a career-best 21 tackle day, the 3rd-best tackle total in Vikings history. A pair of defenders have notched 4.0-sack days when Keith Millard in 1989 and Doug Martin in 1983 terrorized Packers QBs- both sack marks rank 1 sack shy of the team record. Two Vikings have tied the club interception record in a game with 3 against the Packers- Bobby Bryant in 1973 and Vencie Glenn in 1992. With the game on the line in 2005 at the Metrodome, Paul Edinger boomed the longest FG in Vikings history to seal a 23-20 win when he connected on a 56-yarder.

MOST SACKS BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Jared Allen, 10/5/09            4.5

Keith Millard, 10/15/89        4.0

Doug Martin, 10/23/83        4.0

MOST TACKLES BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Ed McDaniel, 9/4/94            21

Matt Blair, 11/13/83           20

LONGEST CATCHES BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Randy Moss, 12/17/00       78t (from Daunte Culpepper)

Michael Jenkins, 10/23/11 72  (from Christian Ponder)

Nate Burleson, 12/24/04    68t (from Daunte Culpepper)

Darrin Nelson, 11/13/83    68  (from Steve Dils)

RECEIVING YARDS BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Randy Moss, 10/5/98          190

Randy Moss, 11/22/98        153

Randy Moss, 9/7/03            150

RECEPTIONS BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Nate Burleson, 11/14/04             11

Joe Senser, 11/29/81                  11

Cris Carter, 10/20/94                   10

Tommy Mason, 11/10/63            10

RUSHING YARDS BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Adrian Peterson, 12/2/12        210

Adrian Peterson, 12/30/12      199

Adrian Peterson, 11/9/08        192

PASSING TDs BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Tommy Kramer, 9/28/86               6

Daunte Culpepper, 11/14/0           4

Randall Cunningham, 10/5/98        4

Brett Favre, 11/1/09                      4

PASSER RATING BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Daunte Culpepper, 12/24/04           151.3

Randall Cunningham, 10/5/98         145.8

Brett Favre, 10/5/09                      135.3

LONGEST FGs BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Paul Edinger, 10/23/05               56

Ryan Longwell, 11/9/09              54

Blair Walsh, 12/30/12                  54

MOST INTs BY VIKINGS VS. GREEN BAY

Vencie Glenn, 12/27/92               3

Bobby Bryant, 12/8/73                  3

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