With one fluttering, floating, wish-I-had-it-back pass, the Green Bay Packers' Metrodome jinx finally ended.
Brett Favre threw it. Corey Fuller dropped it. And as the ball bounced in the end zone, it took with it the Minnesota Vikings' home mastery over their interstate rivals.Given the lucky break he waited six years for, Favre followed with a touchdown pass on the next play for a 10-3 halftime lead and the momentum the Packers needed for a convincing 27-11 win Monday night.
"That was a big break," coach Mike Holmgren said of Fuller's blown interception. "Once in a while you get one, and that's OK."
Holmgren smiled when he said it, his 0-for-Minnesota slump finally over and his fifth straight playoff berth guaranteed.
For that he could thank Favre, who avoided - with help - the mental lapses that doomed the Packers the last five years. He could thank Dorsey Levens, who carried 31 times for 108 yards and two TDs. And he could thank a rejuvenated defense that had six sacks, 21/2 by Reggie White, and a crucial interception by Doug Evans on the second play of the second half.
The Packers (10-3) did more than exorcise the memories of their past Metrodome failures Monday night. They all but eliminated Minnesota (8-5) from the NFC Central race, and can clinch the title by beating second-place Tampa Bay (9-4) on the road Sunday.
"To struggle up here like we have and to finally come up here and win one, and win in the fashion we did, it feels good," White said.
Minnesota, meanwhile, lost its third straight game, and in the space of nine days has gone from a first-place tie to one game out of fourth in the tough Central.
With a road game at San Francisco up next, followed by a home game against rejuvenated Detroit (7-6), the Vikings' once-solid playoff hopes seem shaky.