Vikings close season on high note vs. playoff-bound Packers

Justin Jefferson caught eight passes for 101 yards and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away for a 16-3 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

C.J. Ham rushed for a touchdown for Minnesota (9-8), which won its fifth in a row to finish the season. J.J. McCarthy completed 14 of 23 passes for 182 yards before giving way to Max Brosmer, who completed seven of eight passes for 57 yards. Jordan Mason rushed for a game-high 94 yards on 14 carries.

Chris Brooks had 13 carries for 61 yards to lead Green Bay (9-7-1), which rested many of its starters as it prepares for a wild-card playoff game next weekend. Clayton Tune made his second career start and completed six of 11 passes for 34 yards.

Minnesota outgained Green Bay 363-121 and averaged 5.7 yards per play, compared with 2.4 yards per play for the Packers.

Although the Vikings had been eliminated from the postseason for a few weeks, the game carried individual implications. The most significant milestone included Jefferson, who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season to start his career, joining Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players to achieve the feat.

The Vikings opened the scoring on their first drive. Will Reichard made a 43-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead with 10:27 remaining in the opening quarter.

Reichard made another field goal, this time from 25 yards, to increase the Vikings' lead to 6-0 with 3:02 to go in the first half.

Minnesota made it 13-0 with 23 seconds left before the break. Ham took a handoff and powered through the middle of the line of scrimmage for a 1-yard touchdown.

Teammates congratulated Ham, a longtime special-teams leader who might have played his final game with the Vikings. The 32-year-old tallied his eighth touchdown in 141 career games, all for Minnesota.

Reichard added a 37-yard field goal to make it 16-0 with 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Packers avoided a shutout as time expired on Brandon McManus' 24-yard field goal.

--Field Level Media