(My Sportsbook) - The Minnesota Vikings, who will visit the New England Patriots on Sunday, defeated the Green Bay Packers last week, 31-21. QB Daunte Culpepper, who had been benched in the team's prior game, completed 13-of-26 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns and he also rushed for 48 yards.

Everything wasn't positive, however, as the starting signal-caller did throw two interceptions and lost a fumble on the Packers' one-yard line.

"Well, he was the winning quarterback," head coach Mike Tice said of Culpepper. "He made a lot of plays. He made some nice throws and he made some good plays with his feet. We had some errors, but in a big game like this, those things are going to happen. I was disappointed the outcome of the drive at the one-yard line. I thought that we should have come away with at least three points, even if we kneeled on the ball three times."

The Vikings showed signs of life a week ago, gaining 425 yards of total offense against the Packers. The catalyst was Culpepper, who played like a man possessed just one week after taking a seat in favor of his backup Todd Bouman.

"Either you buck up or you don't buck up, and I know what type of person I am and the type of character I have," Culpepper said. "I know I'm not backing down from a challenge.

"It was an extremely hard week. But you know how I get out of that? By putting my head to the grindstone and work, and just believe in myself. I know I'm going to play like myself every week now. Whatever happens just happens."

His teammates were also impressed with Culpepper's ability to put the benching behind him.

"It shows the kind of competitor that Culpepper is and it was amazing, because when Todd was doing well, he didn't pout, he didn't act like a little boy," RB Moe Williams said. "He supported Todd. You look at the bench, you see Todd high-fiving him and running up and down the sidelines. Coach put this team together and made us close, and that's the kind of team we are, we support each other. We've had a disappointing year in regards to turnovers and such, but you know we're still together."

While Culpepper was solid, he had a lot of help from the team's running game. RB Michael Bennett rushed for 130 yards, including a 62-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Williams also contributed, rushing for 29 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Tice knows that in order for the passing game to be effective, they need a balanced offensive attack. So far, the Vikings offense has done better on the ground, leading the NFL in rushing yards per game (159.5).

"It's all about our offensive line," Bennett said. "They came out, they did a tremendous job. They were blocking down field, the wide receivers, the tight ends and our offensive was able to get into a great rhythm. We were running the ball here and there and throwing the ball deep to Randy Moss."

Moss also contributed to the win, catching six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Packers. Moss' success greatly depends upon the ability of the quarterback to get him the ball, and despite Tice's plan to get Moss the ball at least eight times per game, this season has been a forgettable one for the Vikings' All-Pro receiver.

The Vikings have struggled all year in the passing game, averaging just 223.8 yards per game. Moss has only caught 62 passes for 764 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers are very good, they are much less that what Moss was expecting this season.

COMING UP: The Vikings will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13.