Wild Card, 2004: Minnesota 31 Green Bay 17

Game information
The Vikings, like the Rams, went 8–8 during the regular season. Furthermore, they had stumbled into the post-season losing 7 of their last 10 games, the worst performance in NFL history by a playoff team in a final 10-game span. Two of their losses, by identical 34–31 scores, came in last-second games to the Packers. This time, however, there was no denying the Vikings as they avenged their regular season sweep, coming out with a stellar performance on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 54 yards, while the Vikings defense, who only intercepted 11 passes all season, picked off Green Bay counterpart Brett Favre four times. Wide receiver Randy Moss caught two touchdowns for Minnesota, but drew controversy for his celebration after his second, which decided the outcome of the contest. Moss pretended to "moon" Packer fans by pretending to pull down his pants, mocking a move done by Packer fans to the losing team's bus as they left Green Bay. Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Buck was visibly upset by Moss's celebratory move, calling it "a disgusting act". The NFL was also not amused and fined Moss $10,000 for his actions a few days later. When asked by a fan how he would the pay the fine, Moss replied, "straight cash homie".

On the Vikings' opening drive, Culpepper narrowly avoided a sack with a short completion to running back Moe Williams, who then dodged a tackle attempt from safety Darren Sharper and took off for a 68-yard touchdown reception. The Packers were forced to punt after Favre was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down by Chris Claiborne, and Nate Burleson returned the ball 7 yards to the 45-yard line. Three plays later, Culpepper threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Moss, giving Minnesota a 14–0 lead after just 5:05 had elapsed in the game. A 30-yard kickoff return by Najeh Davenport gave the Packers good field position on their 42-yard line, but two plays later, corner Antoine Winfield intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 3 yards to the Vikings 43. After that, Culpepper completed two passes for 19 yards and rushed for 23, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Morten Andersen and increasing the lead to 17–0.

After being completely dominated up to this point, the Packers managed to rally back. First Davenport returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards to the 38-yard line. Then a 21-yard completion from Favre to Javon Walker set up a 43-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell. The Vikings were forced to punt after Culpepper was sacked on third down by Michael Hawthorne, and Green Bay subsequently drove 54 yards in 12 plays and scored on Favre's 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bubba Franks, cutting their deficit to 17–10 with 10:24 left in the second quarter. But on the Vikings' next drive, a 29-yard reception by Burleson and a 23-yard run by Culpepper helped move the ball to the Packers 9-yard line. Green Bay seemed to catch a break when Anderson slipped on a field goal attempt, resulting in a block. But on the next play, safety Brian Russell intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 14 yards to the Packers 28-yard line. One play later, Culpepper threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Burleson, putting the Vikings up 24–10. The Packers subsequently drove to Minnesota's 8-yard line, but while scrambling around looking for an open receiver, Favre threw an illegal forward pass when he could have run for a first down. On the next play, Longwell missed a 28-yard field goal.

After a scoreless third quarter, Green Bay drove 78 yards in 9 plays to score on Davenport's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting their deficit to 24–17. But the Vikings responded by driving 66 yards and scoring with a 34-yard touchdown completion for Culpepper to Moss. Then after forcing a punt, Minnesota put the game away with an 8-minute drive that ran the clock down to 23 seconds.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Vikings and Packers.

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