Green Bay — The numbers were definitely not on the Green Bay Packers' side most of Sunday night, but in a game that often comes down to heart, resolve and sheer will, the only ones that mattered where those that signified a victory.

Down to just three healthy defensive linemen, unable to hold running back Adrian Peterson under 100 yards and within 20 yards of being victim to another Brett Favre comeback, the Packers defense dug in its heels and prevented the Minnesota Vikings from stealing a critical NFC North game at Lambeau Field.

There were all kinds of reasons the Packers should have lost, but they didn't.

"I'm thinking we've got to find a way to stop one of the greatest ever," linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "That's what he does. He comes back on a big stage like that. He throws touchdowns."

Not this time.

The Packers won, 28-24, because their defense would not give in to Favre during a fourth quarter in which the Vikings had the ball for 8 minutes, 39 seconds, including the last 6:07. They picked him off three times during the game, but at the end, they knew Favre was capable of making all of that irrelevant.

They were down to three defensive linemen because about 90 minutes before the game, after the Packers had turned in their 45-man active list, end Cullen Jenkins pulled a calf muscle warming up on his own. Then, on the defense's second series, end Ryan Pickett aggravated an ankle injury that was almost bad enough to hold him out anyway.

The loss of those two, plus the probably season-ending shoulder injury to rookie end Mike Neal, left the Packers with three linemen: starting nose tackle B.J. Raji, second-year end Jarius Wynn and rookie end C.J. Wilson.

That was who the Packers played with for as long as they could.

"We ran out of guys there at the end," defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. "We had to use (254-pound rookie linebacker) Frank Zombo at end. We started out with four guys, and we were down to three in a hurry."

Besides the three interceptions, two of the biggest plays of the game came on the Vikings' final drive, which began at the Minnesota 17 and ended at the Packers' 20. The first came on first and 10 from the Packers 35 when, with the Vikings in no-huddle mode, Wynn fought his way through a double-team and sacked Favre for a 6-yard loss.

"I just kept fighting," said Wynn, who was cut in training camp and then re-signed when Justin Harrell was lost for the season. "I got doubled by the tackle and the guard, but I just kept pushing upfield. I knew I had to step it up and it was my time to shine."

After Favre got the Vikings to the 15 with a 26-yard pass to running back Adrian Peterson, tight end Vinsanthe Shiancoe committed a false start penalty and linebacker Clay Matthews beat right tackle Phil Loadholt around the corner, causing Loadholt to grab Matthews' facemask and drag him down for a 15-yard personal foul penalty.

The sack was the first the Packers had gotten on Favre in three meetings, and Matthews' pressure was as good as another one.

"I would have got to him," Matthews said confidently. "Either way, we got some good pressure on him and that was evident in his throws and why we got some turnovers."

The final minute was as tense as any game played here since the Favre-quarterbacked loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game three years ago. The Packers were ripe for being beaten, given they were without four defensive starters and two key backups.

Capers went to his "psycho" defense - which features one defensive lineman and five linebackers - several times on the final drive because he needed to give Raji and Wilson a rest. Then the final three plays, he went with Matthews, Raji and Zombo across the front and eight defenders dropping into coverage.

"We had a good game plan, and we executed it," said safety Nick Collins, who made a clutch interception earlier to stymie a drive deep into Packers territory. "We just had to mix it up. It was our duty to keep everyone in front of us."

Despite Peterson producing 172 total yards, including 131 rushing on 28 carries, the Packers held the Vikings scoreless in the fourth quarter. Collins' interception thwarted one possession, and then the final one ended with two misconnections between Favre and Moss.

The Vikings thought they had gone ahead with 48 seconds left when Favre hit receiver Percy Harvin in the back of the end zone, but the replay official reversed the call on the field when it became apparent Harvin got only one foot down in bounds.

On the final three plays, Capers used Bishop out wide to bump Moss at the line of scrimmage and knock him off course. He was the most dangerous player on the field because of his height and jumping ability.

"I was just forcing him one way," Bishop said. "I wanted to make it hard for him to have a two-way go."

On second down, Favre dumped the ball down to Peterson for a 15-yard gain.

Then on third down, Favre rolled to the right and threw all the way to the other side to Moss, but the ball was overthrown.

"They probably saw what happened to us last week against Miami," Capers said of a throwback touchdown the defense allowed.

On fourth down, Favre slipped, got up and threw to Moss again, but it was way over his head and sailed out of the back of the end zone, ending the Vikings' comeback hopes. It was a big day for the defense and for players like Wilson and Wynn.

"I grew up a lot today," Wilson said. "It feels like I went from about 2 years old to 10 just like that."