(My Sportsbook) - Up until Sunday evening, the Green Bay Packers had very little clue who their NFC Wild Card opponent would be. The only thing they knew for sure was that it would be in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field.

As the chips fell into place, it ended up being a quite familiar foe for the Packers as Minnesota backed its way into the playoffs thanks to a New Orleans win over Carolina. The Vikings showed little spirit en route to 21-18 defeat to heavy underdog Washington at FedEx Field, falling to the sixth seed.

Meanwhile, the Packers, who were playing for nothing after locking up the third seed, ran roughshod over the Chicago Bears, 31-14, at Soldier Field. In limited time, Brett Favre completed 9-of-13 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

"He [coach Mike Sherman] said, 'Hey don't get hurt,'" said Favre, who started his 205th straight regular-season game. "I was thinking to myself, 'After 200- something games, why does he have to say that to me now?' I almost felt like he was jinxing me."

Craig Nall was no slouch in Favre's wake, completing 7-of-13 passes for 131 yards and a score. Eight different Green Bay receivers combined for 16 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Javon Walker caught three balls for 82 yards and a score, Bubba Franks added four receptions for 59 yards and a score, and William Henderson had two catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

"It gives juice to players and teams when you can score and leave here with a positive feeling," Sherman said.

The Packers didn't do too much on the ground in the contest, running 30 times for 60 yards (2.0 ypc). Tony Fisher carried the ball 19 times for 42 yards, while Ahman Green posted 13 yards on four attempts.

Green Bay will likely rev up the running machine against the porous Vikings defense this week. The Packers know Minnesota quite well after posting a pair of 34-31 wins over it during the regular season.

"Playing a team three times. We're very familiar with them and vice versa, but it really doesn't matter," Favre said.

The Packers need to regain their homefield advantage this week, as they went just 4-4 at Lambeau this season. Since the start of last season, including playoff games, the Packers are just 10-7 at Lambeau. Green Bay has won two of its last three home tilts against Minnesota with the games being decided by an average of four points.

"It's playoffs. A new season," said Reggie McKenzie, director of pro personnel to the Green Bay News-Chronicle. "I'm pretty sure our guys will be excited...I'm excited. We have a home playoff game. That's what you want. It's going to be a good one."

INJURY REPORT: Running back Walter Williams (high ankle sprain) is out for the year. Running back Nicholas Luchey (shoulder), wide receiver Robert Ferguson (head, neck) and guard Kevin Barry (strained quad) are week-to-week.

UP NEXT: Green Bay hosts the NFC Wild Card game against the arch-rival Vikings.