GREEN BAY, Wis. — The sky felt like it was falling for the Vikings on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

At least for a few moments.

After building a 28-point lead with a dominant display in the early stages of the game, the Vikings started to hemorrhage points after halftime, and suddenly found themselves in a dogfight with about 10 minutes to play.

What followed was the latest growth moment for veteran quarterback Sam Darnold.

After completing a pair of passes to take the edge off, Darnold found star receiver Justin Jefferson over the middle for a gain of 27 yards. Though the drive stalled out before reaching the end zone, rookie kicker Will Reichard nailed a field goal that proved to be the difference as the Vikings held on for a 31-29 victory over the rival Green Bay Packers.

It was an impressive response by the Vikings when adversity hit. A lesser team might have crumbled under the circumstances.

The victory moves the Vikings to 4-0 as they continue to establish themselves among the best teams in the NFL. As crazy as that might sound, the Vikings have wins over the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and Packers to prove it.

It couldn’t have been a much better start to the game for the Vikings as Darnold connected with receiver Jordan Addison for a touchdown on the opening drive to make it 7-0. After a missed field goal from the Packers on the next drive, Darnold marched down the field, then found tight end Josh Oliver for a touchdown to help the Vikings stretch the lead to 14-0.

The defense stepped up from there with linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill intercepting a pass for the second straight week while filling in for injured linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. That helped the Vikings take complete control as Addison took a jet sweep for a touchdown make it to 21-0.

After another interception by the defense — this time by veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin — Darnold went for the jugular with a back shoulder fade to Jefferson to make it 28-0 in favor of the Vikings.

It felt like the Vikings would waltz to a victory until the Packers slowly started to chip away.

It started when receiver Jalen Nailor muffed a punt for the Vikings right before halftime. After recovering the ball near the goal line, quarterback Jordan Love found receiver Jayden Reed for a touchdown as the Packers cut the deficit to 28-7.

The game turned into more of a slugfest after halftime with neither team capable sustaining drives.

The breakthrough for the Packers in the final frame as Love orchestrated an impressive drive that culminated with Love hooking up with receiver Dontayvion Wicks to cut the deficit to 28-14.

On the ensuing drive for the Vikings, Darnold got strip sacked while dropping back to pass, and the Packers recovered to put themselves back in business. A couple of plays later, Love found tight end Tucker Kraft for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-22.

That set the stage for Darnold to march down the field when the Vikings needed it most.

The drive ended with Reichard nailing a 33-yard field and help the Vikings make it 31-22.

Though the Packers got a garbage time touchdown in the final minute to make it 31-29, the Vikings recovered the onside kick and kneeled out the clock.

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