MINNEAPOLIS -- Bullies of the NFC North in recent seasons, the Green Bay Packers rode into Minnesota with a three-game losing streak and an edge of desperation.

The defending division champs got healthy in a dominating 30-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday.

With the win, Green Bay moved back into a first-place tie with Minnesota atop the North with matching 7-3 records.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Vikings and was their first defeat at home this season.

"We beat an excellent football team," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "A big team win for us. Everybody contributed and we got back to playing the style of football that we like to play."

The heat had been turned up on several under-performing Packers players in recent weeks, but nearly all of them answered the bell on Sunday, perhaps none more than the maligned Green Bay defense, which limited Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to just 45 yards and sacked quarterback Teddy Bridgewater six times.

"Sometimes I think we start to play better when we get questioned by (the media)," said Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. "We responded really well today. It was important for us to get this win."

The effort on defense bought Rodgers enough time to get things going in the second half. His stat line wasn't stellar, finishing with 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he led Green Bay on scoring drives in the game's critical moments.

Running back Eddie Lacy, who was inactive last week with a groin injury, looked like his old self, gaining 100 yards on 22 carries.

Wide receiver James Jones, held without a catch last week in a loss to the Detroit Lions, caught five balls for 106 yards and a pretty, toe-dragging touchdown along the left sideline, which essentially put the game on ice.

Kicker Mason Crosby, who missed a 52-yard field goal last week on the final play that would have won the game, drilled five field goals, all from beyond 40 yards.

"We have to take our hats off to Green Bay. They did a great job of containing us as a group," Peterson said. "Opportunities were kind of slim."

Crosby made field goals on each of Green Bay's first two drives, sandwiched around a 47-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater to tight end Kyle Rudolph, as the teams finished the first quarter tied at 6-6.

Crosby's third field goal of the day gave Green Bay a 9-6 lead early in the second quarter before one of the game's defining drives; a nine-play, 80-yard jaunt, capped by a 10-yard touchdown from Rodgers to wide receiver Randall Cobb with six seconds remaining before halftime, giving Green Bay a 10-point lead at the break.

Minnesota, which entered the day as the least penalized team in the NFL, committed three penalties on the drive including a 50-yard pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-15 on the third play of the drive. The Vikings were flagged eight times Sunday for a season-high 110 yards while Green Bay committed four penalties for 19 yards.

"We can't win playing the way we did," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "Too many mistakes. We can't have (penalties), we can't have pass interferences and expect to beat a good football team.

The Packers went ahead by 13 on their first drive of the second half on Crosby's fourth field goal but the Vikings climbed back into the game when Peterson rumbled into the end zone from 6 yards out to make it 19-13.

But Rodgers led the Packers on another touchdown march, traveling 80 yards in seven plays capped by Jones' 27-yard scoring catch on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jones had three catches for 68 yards on the drive.

"They score to cut it to six and we had a good response there," Rodgers said. "That's how you beat a team. We scored on seven possessions tonight and that's important for us."

Minnesota had four more possessions in the fourth quarter but couldn't get any closer. Peterson fumbled inside the Packers' 20-yard line and the Vikings turned the ball over on downs twice. Crosby also made a 52-yarder to provide the final margin late in the game.

NOTES: Packers WR Ty Montgomery did not play because of an ankle injury. Montgomery was listed as doubtful. ... Packers DB Micah Hyde left the game in the first quarter with a hip injury and did not return. ... Packers C Corey Linsley left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. ... Vikings DB Harrison Smith left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury. He returned later in the game. ... Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater injured his left shoulder in the second quarter, leaving for one drive. He returned to the game in the second half. ... Green Bay returns home for a game on Thanksgiving night against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. ... Minnesota hits the road in Week 12 for a game against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.