Peterson sets Vikings record

Rookie running back Adrian Peterson set the record for the best rushing performance by a Viking in yesterday's squeaker over the Chicago Bears:

After the greatest single-game rushing performance by a Viking, Adrian Peterson recounted Sunday how the offense set a goal of rushing for 225 yards as a team. "We executed that goal," he said.

The rookie was being very humble. Peterson came within a yard of matching that figure by himself, rushing for 224 yards on 20 carries and scoring on runs of 67, 73 and 35 yards in the Vikings' 34-31 victory over the Bears.

His rushing total broke Chuck Foreman's record of 200 yards on Oct. 24, 1976, at Philadelphia. It also is the most rushing yards given up in Bears history.

Another game I didn't get to see, although I was alternating between elation and depression as the scoreboard updates showed first a strong second half by the Vikes, and then an equally strong recovery by the Bears. When I saw the Bears tie it up at 31 inside the last two minutes, I figured that the Vikes would self-destruct and give the game away in overtime. It was a huge relief when the next update showed the game had ended in regulation with a Vikings field goal.