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Eight games into career, Peterson owns single-game rushing record
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, left, runs past San Diego Chargers safety Marlon McCree, right, during the third quarter for a 13-yard gain in NFL football game action, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, in Minneapolis. Peterson finished with 296 yards and two touchdowns as Minnesota beat San Diego, 35-17.
Minutes after Adrian Peterson lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the San Diego 20-yard line, the ball was back in his hands.
He rumbled around right end, paused to set up his blocks, and sprinted 46 yards up the sideline for Minnesota's game-clinching touchdown.
This rookie doesn't make many mistakes. He simply sets a lot of records.
Racing to the NFL's single-game rushing record of 296 yards at the midpoint of his first pro season, Peterson carried the Vikings to a 35-17 victory over the Chargers on Sunday.
He didn't realize the significance of his performance until his benign 3-yard carry took the clock under 60 seconds and sent him past Jamal Lewis' 295-yard performance against Cleveland in 2003 for the best game a running back has ever had in this league.
"Oh, no. I was out playing ball," Peterson said. "I wasn't thinking about the record at all."
There are more for him to ponder.
• On 30 carries, Peterson topped 200 yards rushing for the second time in one season, a feat no other rookie has accomplished.
• Peterson scored two of his three touchdowns and gained 253 yards in the second half, helping the Vikings rally from a 14-7 deficit. They trailed at the half after Antonio Cromartie plucked a missed field goal out of the air and returned it 109 yards for a touchdown, the longest play in NFL history.
• Peterson reached 1,036 yards rushing this season, a pace that would smash Eric Dickerson's rookie record of 1,808 yards set in 1983. Dickerson's all-time record of 2,105 yards in 1984 is also in reach.
"I set my bar high, because I know anything is possible when you continue to work hard," Peterson said.
Minnesota (3-5) pressured Philip Rivers into one of the worst games of his career and made sure LaDainian Tomlinson didn't come close to matching Peterson's performance.
Tomlinson rushed 16 times for 40 yards, and Rivers went 19-for-42 for 197 yards with one interception. He lost one of his three fumbles, two of which were dropped snaps.
"It's not defense or offense. It's all of us," Rivers said. "Obviously we were given plenty of opportunities, but we didn't do enough."
San Diego (4-4) lost a November game for the first time since 2003 and reverted to the shaky play on both sides of the ball that led to a 1-3 start. The defense that ranked seventh in the league against the run was thoroughly beaten.
"I have been in this league too long to use the word embarrassed," coach Norv Turner said.
Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson got hurt again, and backup Brooks Bollinger was much better in the second half. That included a 40-yard touchdown pass to Sidney Rice that put the Vikings in front 21-14.
But it's easy to look good handing off to Peterson.
"I felt like I was back at Wisconsin," said Bollinger, who handed off to Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne plenty of times as a freshman in 1999.
After Peterson's fumble, the Chargers recovered with 10 minutes left and trailed only 21-17. Minnesota's defense, which came into the game allowing the most yards passing in the league, forced another three-and-out and San Diego's eighth punt of the afternoon.
Mewelde Moore returned it 42 yards, and Peterson needed only one play to put the game away and again show off his unique blend of power, speed and instinct.
Rivers threw an interception, Chester Taylor followed with a short touchdown run, and the Vikings suddenly led by 18 -- reaching 35 points for the first time in 24 games under coach Brad Childress.
"That's the way I like to play football," Childress said. "I do have a healthy respect for being able to run it and take somebody's will from them."
The Vikings took possession at their 20 with 2:24 remaining in the first half with all three timeouts, but they mismanaged the clock again and let it move under 40 seconds when Jackson ran from the pocket. He was knocked out of the game with an apparent neck injury during the tackle.
Bollinger came in and moved them close enough for Ryan Longwell to try a 57-yard field goal. It was on line, but just short -- leaving Cromartie room to leap and catch the ball without stepping out.
Cromartie ran it back all the way, without being touched, and in the process gained 18 more yards than his team did on offense in the entire half. Childress was so mad he chucked his headset off, but that was a short rant.
Rivers, on the other hand, spent most of the game complaining to the officials. The Chargers continually cost themselves field position with ill-timed penalties and made plenty of mistakes on both sides of the ball.
"That's part of the game," Rivers said, downplaying his emotions. "I was frustrated the way we were playing. We just didn't make enough plays to win, and that's what every game is."
Game notes
Peterson's 315 total yards were more than nine of the 17 other teams who played in the same time slot Sunday: Kansas City (234), San Diego (229), Denver (303), San Francisco (251), Atlanta (286), Arizona (195), Cincinnati (299), Carolina (199) and Tennessee (236). ... Tomlinson, in just his seventh NFL season, passed Jim Brown for fourth place on the NFL's list for rushing touchdowns with 107. Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen and Walter Payton are the top three.
Source: AP