GREEN BAY, Wis. - Randy Moss and the Minnesota Vikings finally figured out how to finish.

They did it against their bitter border rival in an outdoor playoff game, no less, following an uproarious week that revolved around their moody star receiver's latest misdeed.

Moss caught two touchdown passes, staying on the field for every second, to help the sixth-seeded Vikings speed past the stunned Green Bay Packers on Sunday, 31-17.

"We never bought into the negativity," said Daunte Culpepper, who threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns and watched Minnesota's frequently dismal defense intercept Brett Favre four times.

The Vikings, joining this year's St. Louis Rams as the only 8-8 teams to win a postseason game, will travel to Philadelphia next weekend. The Rams play at Atlanta in the other NFC semifinal.

For the second straight season, Minnesota started strong and faded down the stretch - losing seven of the last 10 games. After missing the playoffs with a last-second loss at Arizona in 2003, the Vikings qualified this time only because the conference was so weak.

"They let us in," linebacker Chris Claiborne said, "and now they've got to kick us out."

Green Bay swept the season series with a pair of 34-31 victories on game-ending field goals from Ryan Longwell, including the NFC North-clinching win at the Metrodome on Dec. 24.

A Minnesota loss at Washington in the regular-season finale - remembered best for Moss' frustrated walk off the field as his teammates prepared to try a desperation onside kick - set up this rematch between teams supposedly headed in different directions.

On top of their second-half slump, the worst record over the final 10 regular-season games by any team in the 72-year history of the NFL playoffs, the Vikings came in with just two victories in their previous 22 outdoor games.

The Packers, meanwhile, won nine of their last 11 and appeared poised to make a serious run in a diluted NFC.

"I sure wish we could've went on and seen what we could've done," said Favre, who didn't rule out retirement after completing 22 of 33 passes for 216 yards.

"It would be easy to walk off the field after that game, and say, 'I've had enough,'" Favre said. "But I'm going to try to be as fair to myself and my team as possible. I've had a lot of great games. This obviously was not one of them."

Minnesota scored on its first three possessions, jumping to a 17-0 lead. Green Bay, which played without Pro Bowl receiver Javon Walker in the second half because of a bruised left shin, cut the deficit to seven on Favre's 4-yard touchdown toss to Bubba Franks.

Morten Andersen slipped and had his 29-yard field goal attempt get blocked, giving the Packers momentum midway through the second quarter with a chance to tie the game.

Free safety Brian Russell stepped in front of Walker on first down, picking off Favre's pass and returning it 14 yards to the Green Bay 28. Two plays later, Nate Burleson burned rookie Ahmad Carroll for a 19-yard touchdown catch that made it 24-10.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Packers pulled to 24-17 on Najeh Davenport's 1-yard plunge with 13:37 left. But penalty-prone Carroll committed two infractions, setting up Culpepper's 34-yard touchdown pass to Moss that gave the Vikings a 14-point cushion with 10:18 remaining.

Cornerback Al Harris jumped the slant-and-go route, and Moss - running on a sprained right ankle - hauled in the ball for an easy score.

"I expect a big game from Randy every single time we go out," Burleson said. "It's hard for him, because everybody gives him a lot of flak about certain things that he does, but really when it comes down to it that's a guy that I know I would rather have than any other receiver in this league."

Moss bought himself another week of scrutiny by pretending to pull down his pants and moon the crowd following a touchdown.

"Just having a little fun with the boys," he said. "I hope I don't get in trouble by it, but if I do I'll take the heat."

The Packers, who began 1-4, lost five of their nine games at Lambeau Field - where they've lost only twice in the playoffs.

"I was as disappointed as I've ever been after a loss," coach Mike Sherman said. "We are better than what we showed."

INDIANAPOLIS - When Peyton Manning surveys a football field he sees unlimited possibilities.Regardless of which target he chooses, the Indianapolis quarterback has an excellent chance of doing something productive, even special.The NFL Offensive Player of the Year was unstoppable again Sunday, throwing for 457 yards, second most in postseason history, in leading the Colts past the Denver Broncos 49-24.Manning displayed how he broke Dan Marino's 20-year-old NFL mark by throwing for 49 touchdowns this season. By hitting 27 of 33 passes and four touchdowns, his QB rating for the game, 145.7, dwarfed his record 121.1 rating for 2004."It was outstanding execution throughout the entire game," Manning said. "Tony talks about staying calm in pressure situations and it doesn't get more intense than the playoffs."Coach Tony Dungy believes last year's playoff experience, when the Colts went to the AFC championship game in Foxboro - they play there next Sunday against the defending champion Patriots - helped against overmatched Denver (10-7)."I don't know that we are better equipped, but we're a little more mature and confident," Dungy said.They certainly should be confident with Manning."He was sharp," Dungy added. "He plays well in big games and I'm glad he's on our side."With the Broncos taking away favorite option Marvin Harrison early, Manning turned to Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark in building an insurmountable first-half lead.Wayne finished with 221 yards, third most in playoff history, on 10 catches, with two touchdowns. Clark, who sustained a concussion in last week's loss at Denver, had 112 yards and a score. By halftime, Manning had a record 360 yards passing."We wanted to start out fast. That's what we did," said Wayne, who admitted the Colts were upset by Broncos remarks last week questioning Indy's toughness. "We wanted to keep making plays and let the team know I'd be here all day."We jumped on them so fast they didn't have any time to say anything."The Colts (13-4) routed the Broncos in the same game last January, when Manning was 22-for-26 for 377 yards and five touchdowns and Indianapolis led 31-3 at halftime. The Broncos were even worse in the first half Sunday, trailing 35-3.

SAN DIEGO - The same New York Jets who backed into the playoffs were the latest team to usher Marty Schottenheimer into the offseason.Doug Brien kicked a 28-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in overtime to get linebacker Eric Barton off the hook for a huge penalty and give the Jets a 20-17 upset over the Chargers in a wild-card game Saturday night.The winning drive started on the New York 30 after Chargers rookie Nate Kaeding was wide right on a 40-yard field goal try with 4:19 left in overtime. It included an 18-yard pass from Pennington to Santana Moss that was upheld on review.The Jets celebrated wildly while Schottenheimer walked across the field with a far-off look on his face."That has to be one of the most dramatic games I've been a part of," said New York's Curtis Martin, the NFL's regular-season rushing champion who was held to just 66 yards on 18 carries.And just like that, Schottenheimer still can't win in the playoffs. Named the Coach of the Year earlier in the day, he suffered his fifth straight playoff loss dating to 1993 with the Kansas City Chiefs and fell to 5-12 in his career, which also included a stop in Cleveland.Schottenheimer's teams have gone one-and-out eight times."I've been through this before; that's been well-documented," Schottenheimer said. "My disappointment, quite frankly, is with the players in that locker room and the community."Chad Pennington, bothered by a sore throwing shoulder for five games, threw two touchdown passes for the Jets, who led 17-7 late in the third quarter and should have won in regulation.But the Chargers forced overtime when All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Pro Bowler Drew Brees to tie it at 17 with 11 seconds left in regulation.It came one play after Jets linebacker Eric Barton was whistled for a personal foul for hitting Brees on the helmet with his right forearm after Brees threw a desperation pass on fourth-and-goal that was batted down in the end zone.

SEATTLE - Matt Hasselbeck waited all season to redeem himself for what happened in last season's playoffs at Green Bay.One year later, the outcome was painfully similar.Marc Bulger threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, the last a 17-yarder to Cam Cleeland with 2:11 to play Saturday, leading the Rams to a 27-20 win over Seattle and making St. Louis the first team without a winning record to advance in the playoffs."We know we're a good team," Bulger said. "We have talent, but we've made a lot of mistakes this year. Seattle played us good but fortunately we've been making plays the last three weeks when we've had to and that wasn't the case all year."Hasselbeck led a final charge but came up short again. Last year, his throw for Alex Bannister was picked off by Green Bay's Al Harris and returned 52 yards for an overtime TD.This time, Seattle faced fourth-and-4 at the Rams' 5 with 27 seconds remaining. Hasselbeck stepped into the pocket, briefly considered running and then sidearmed a pass that zipped through Bobby Engram's hands in the end zone."The ball was coming in hot. It was a little tight in there. I think I surprised him a little bit," Hasselbeck said."I've got to find a way to make that play," Engram said.Hasselbeck dropped to his knees and pounded a fist on the turf. He stood and slapped both hands on his helmet. Then he let out a scream of frustration, appearing ready to break into tears as he headed to the sideline."I wish I had it back," he said. "That's one play that could have done it for us. I'm sure there are a handful of others earlier in the game that could have done it for us. I'm not going to dwell on that too much."