Despite winning their last four home games to finish with an overall record of 5–10–1, the Vikings fired head coach Leslie Frazier after just over three seasons with the team.

With Josh Freeman ruled out after suffering a concussion in the previous game, Christian Ponder reclaimed his spot as starting quarterback.

Cordarrelle Patterson got the game off to a good start for the Vikings, returning the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown to tie the NFL record.

However, Aaron Rodgers responded for the Packers by leading his offense on a 14-play, 90-yard drive, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson.

On the Vikings' next possession, they were forced to punt, but Micah Hyde was able to return the kick 93 yards for another Packers touchdown to make the score 24–10.

After another three-and-out for the Vikings, the Packers offense picked up four first downs in the space of five plays on the way to a 25-yard touchdown run for James Starks.

Following the high-scoring loss to the Packers, the Vikings, continuing with Christian Ponder as their quarterback, travel to Arlington, Texas to face the Dallas Cowboys.

In the second quarter, Bailey made another field goal from 44 yards to put the Cowboys up by 3, but the Vikings took a 10–6 lead into halftime, capping the ensuing 79-yard drive with a 6-yard run by Ponder.

After the half, Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo completed two consecutive 26-yard passes to tight end Jason Witten to give them an early touchdown and restore their three-point lead.

The Vikings responded immediately with a quick, six-play drive, culminating with a 31-yard pass from Ponder to Kyle Rudolph to cut the Cowboys' lead back to three points.

With less than 30 seconds to play, but they were unable to make any significant territorial gains and Ponder's last-second hail mary fell short, giving the Cowboys a 27–23 win.

Flynn then led the Packers on three consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter, starting with a 3-yard touchdown run for Eddie Lacy.

Inside the two-minute warning, Flynn combined with James Jones for a 28-yard completion on 4th-and-6, setting up Mason Crosby for the game-tying, 27-yard field goal.

The Packers won the overtime coin toss and took the opening possession down to the Minnesota 2-yard line before having to settle for a field goal, only for Walsh to respond with a 35-yard effort.

However, Matt Cassel threw a TD pass to Patterson to put the Vikings back in the lead 14–13, which they managed to hold onto for the remaining nine minutes of the game.