Pack benefits from depth charge

GREEN BAY, WIS. - So much for the notion that the injury-riddled Packers are too banged up to win the NFC North.

The winning points in Sunday night's 28-24 victory over the Vikings at Lambeau Field came as the result of difference-making plays by a career backup linebacker, Desmond Bishop, and a rookie seventh-round draft pick, defensive lineman C.J. Wilson.

"A lot of great careers in the NFL are started because of injuries to other players," said Bishop, whose 32-yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Packers a 28-17 lead with 7 minutes, 45 seconds left in the third quarter. "It's the NFL. We wouldn't be here if we weren't quality players who can step up and get the job done."

No team in the league had more injuries through the first six weeks of the season than the Packers.

But look who's atop the division at 4-3 and tied with the free-falling Chicago Bears and 1 1/2 games ahead of the 2-4 Vikings.

In keeping with their seasonlong injury theme, the Packers lost defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins to a pulled muscle during pregame warmups.

Then defensive lineman Ryan Pickett, who was playing on a tender ankle, went down early in the game and didn't return.

By the end of the game, the Packers had only three healthy defensive linemen. But one of the key plays near the end of the game was a 6-yard sack by little-used second-year backup Jarius Wynn with the Vikings driving and only 1:19 left.

"Coach came to me and said, 'C.J., you younger guys are going to have to play, and play a lot,'" said Wilson, who applied the pressure that forced Brett Favre to throw the ball that Bishop intercepted. "We did our jobs. After I hit Favre, I didn't know Desmond made the interception. Then I heard the crowd roar, and I figured something good must have happened."

Favre threw interceptions on consecutive passes and three in a span of seven attempts in the second half. Inside linebacker A.J. Hawk returned the first one 21 yards to set up a touchdown. Safety Nick Collins had the third interception.

Before that first interception, Favre had completed 49 of 72 passes (68.1 percent) for 609 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions in 10-plus quarters against his former team.

Bishop, a fourth-year player making his fourth career start, is the guy who replaced team leader Nick Barnett, who suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 4. In his three starts this season, Bishop had 13 tackles in the first game, 10 tackles and an interception in the second, and eight tackles and the pick in Sunday night's game. Sounds like a capable starter to me.

"We got playmakers from the top of this roster to the bottom," said Green Bay linebacker Brad Jones, whose pressure and knockdown of Favre forced the throw that Hawk intercepted. "There's never been a lull in our thinking that we could win the division after all the injuries we've had."

Bishop's interception was the first of his career, and it came against Favre in what most likely was his final game at Lambeau Field.

"It was typical Favre; trying to squeeze something into a little window, but I got to it first," Bishop said. "I was covering [Randy] Moss [in a zone coverage] and I thought, 'Uh-oh.' Favre pumped and tried to look me off, but I knew he was coming back to Moss."

The victory was important not only because it came without several injured starters but also because the Packers finally won a confidence-boosting close game.

Each of their three losses were by three points, including overtime defeats the past two weeks.

Before Sunday night, Rodgers was 1-11 in his career in games decided by fewer than five points. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy was 4-13 in games decided by fewer than five points, including 3-2 with Favre at quarterback.

Rodgers' career record improved to 21-19 and 1-2 against Favre.

"It's huge; it's a great night," said Rodgers, who wasn't sacked after being sacked 14 times in two losses to the Vikings a year ago. "It's a long season, and there's still nine games left. But we definitely needed a win tonight."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com