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MINNEAPOLIS -- No matter how good they are, the Green Bay Packers just can't seem to play well in the Metrodome.

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Brett Favre threw for only 169 yards against Minnesota's poor pass defense a week after shredding one of the NFL's top defenses, while counterpart Daunte Culpepper threw for one score and ran for another in the Vikings' 35-13 victory Sunday.

It was the Packers' worst regular season loss in eight years.

"We'll find out if we're as good as we think we are," Favre said. "If we play like today, we'll be home for the playoffs."

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre paced the sidelines late in the fourth quarter. Favre threw for only 169 yards and was intercepted once.

Minnesota (3-3), which entered the game ranked 29th in the league against the pass, won for the eighth time in its last 10 home games against Green Bay (4-2).

Favre completed 21 of 35 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. Most of the yards, though, came in the fourth quarter with Green Bay far behind. It was strikingly different from his performance last week in a 31-23 victory over visiting Baltimore, when Favre went 27-of-34 for 337 yards with three TDs.

"It was apparent they wanted the football game more today than we did," Favre said.

Culpepper was 18-for-27 for 184 yards through the air and ran nine times for 70 yards. The rushing touchdown was his fifth of the season. Doug Chapman, subbing for the injured Michael Bennett, had the best game this year by a Vikings running back -- 90 yards on 22 carries.

Vikings stats

Green Bay 0 0 7 6 -- 13

Minnesota 0 20 0 15 -- 35

Second Quarter

Min--Carter 43 pass from Culpepper (Anderson kick), 8:18.

Min--Wong 27 interception return (Anderson kick), 7:56.

Min--FG Anderson 42, 3:29.

Min--FG Anderson 36, :04.

Third Quarter

GB--Franks 2 pass from Favre (Longwell kick), 10:20.

Fourth Quarter

Min--Culpepper 14 run (Reed from Culpepper), 14:07.

Min--Kleinsasser 2 run (Anderson kick), 2:47.

GB--Lee 3 pass from Favre (pass failed), :45.

A--64,165.

GB Min

First downs 10 23

Rushes-yards 15-74 37-196

Passing 160 181

Punt Returns 1-(-1) 3-6

Kickoff Returns 6-111 3-26

Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-27

Comp-Att-Int 21-35-1 18-27-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 1-9 1-3

Punts 5-45.2 3-43.3

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 5-2

Penalties-Yards 5-48 7-54

Time of Possession 22:42 37:18

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Green Bay, Green 11-73, Levens 2-1, Favre 1-0, Henderson 1-0. Minnesota, Chapman 22-90, Culpepper 9-71, Kleinsasser 5-20, Morrow 1-15.

PASSING--Green Bay, Favre 21-35-1-169. Minnesota, Culpepper 18-27-0-184

RECEIVING--Green Bay, Freeman 5-57, Green 5-36, Bradford 4-32, Driver 2-17, Franks 2-9, Henderson 1-12, Lee 1-3, Levens 1-3. Minnesota, Moss 8-73, Carter 3-60, Chamberlain 3-26, Chapman 2-5, Reed 1-14, Kleinsasser 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS--Green Bay, Longwell 51 (WR); 42 (WL).

Vikings schedule

Sept. 9 Carolina, L 24-13

Sept. 23 at Chicago, L 17-10

Sept. 30 Tampa Bay, W 20-16

Oct. 7 at New Orleans, L 28-15

Oct. 14 Detroit, W 31-26

Oct. 21 Green Bay, W 35-13

Oct. 28 at Tampa Bay, noon

Nov. 4 Open Date

Nov. 11 at Philadelphia, 3:15 p.m.

Nov. 19 New York Giants, 8 p.m.

Nov. 25 Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2 at Pittsburgh, noon

Dec. 9 Tennessee, noon

Dec. 16 at Detroit, noon

Dec. 23 Jacksonville, 3:15 p.m.

Dec. 30 at Green Bay, noon

Jan. 7 at Baltimore, 8 p.m.

The Packers, even with the help of two first-quarter fumbles by the Vikings, were terrible in the first half. Ahman Green had 4 yards on eight carries.

Favre and Green were frustrated by a bigger Vikings defensive line that included the recently acquired Stalin Colinet at end and Fred Robbins playing most of the snaps at nose tackle.

Favre, in the shotgun for much of the half, twice had to retrieve errant snaps deep in his own backfield.

"He wasn't comfortable," Vikings defensive end Lance Johnstone said. "He made some bad decisions."

Backpedaling in his own end zone late in the first quarter, he threw the ball directly to Kailee Wong -- who returned the interception 27 yards for his first career touchdown and a 14-0 Vikings lead.

"A game like this gives us confidence," Wong said. "We know we're a good defense, but we want to be just as good as our offense is."

Earlier, the Packers' Chris Akins forced a fumble by hitting Troy Walters while he fielded a punt. That gave Green Bay a first-and-10 at the Vikings 16. But Robbins leveled Green for a loss on fourth-and-1, and Minnesota took over.

The Packers started the second quarter at their own 46, but the drive stalled when William Henderson was stuffed on third-and-1. Ryan Longwell's 42-yard attempt sailed wide left -- his second miss of the half.

The Vikings capped the next possession with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Culpepper to Cris Carter -- who had slipped past Akins and Tyrone Williams -- that made it 7-0.

Gary Anderson added a pair of field goals in the final four minutes of the half to give the Vikings a 20-0 halftime lead. Culpepper's 34-yard run on a draw play to the Green Bay 8 with 23 seconds left set up the second kick.

Green Bay looked like it might jump right back in it in the third quarter when a 61-yard run by Green set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Favre to a wide-open Bubba Franks that cut the lead to 20-7.

"The opening of the second half made a great statement for us," Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "Then that was the end of it."

After nearly blowing a 31-6 lead in last week's win over Detroit, the Vikings put the game away this time with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took 9:34 off the clock. Jim Kleinsasser muscled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out to make it 35-7.

"The guys said, 'Hey, we need to finish and learn from last week,"' Vikings tight end Byron Chamberlain said.

Notes: The Vikings lead the teams' series 40-39-1. ... Randy Moss, who has been limited by a lingering injury to his right ankle, made several tough catches -- twice getting pancaked by Darren Sharper -- and had eight receptions for 73 yards. ... Green Bay SS LeRoy Butler, who started his 113th consecutive game, was carted off in the first half with a bruised chest and didn't return. ... Bill Schroeder, the Packers' leading receiver, was inactive with a sprained ankle. ... This was Green Bay's most lopsided loss in the regular season since a 36-14 defeat at Dallas on Oct. 3, 1993.