Vikings
edge Packers to setup playoff rematch
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)
— Back and forth they went, Adrian Peterson and Aaron Rodgers going
at each other with so much on the line. The emotional pendulum swung
wildly in one of the most memorable games of this long and bitter
rivalry.
It was a game so
good that it deserves a rematch. And that's just what it will get.
Peterson rushed
for 199 yards to become the seventh player to surpass 2,000 in a
season and scored two touchdowns to help the Minnesota Vikings to a
37-34 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday that sets up a
playoff rematch next weekend.
"It won't
take a whole lot to get our players fired up to go play in Lambeau,"
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "They'll be fired up to go and
play."
Christian Ponder
threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the best game of his young
career and Blair Walsh kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired for
the Vikings (10-6), who won the last four games of the regular season
to squeak in as the final NFC wild card. Peterson finished with 2,097
yards in his remarkable comeback season, just nine yards shy of
breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season record set back in 1984.
"If it
happened, it would have come to me, but I didn't want to focus on it
at all," said Peterson, who had a career-high 34 carries in a
game the Vikings needed to win to qualify for the playoffs. "I
wasn't focused on it. I went out and played my game and accomplished
what we wanted to. We're in now. We're in the playoffs. We get to
fight another week."
That fight will
take place at Lambeau Field on Saturday night because the Packers
(11-5) once again couldn't find a way to stop Peterson. He needed 102
yards to join the 2,000-yard club and 208 to surpass Dickerson coming
into the game. After rushing for 210 yards at Lambeau on Dec. 2,
Peterson plowed through the Packers again on the one-year anniversary
of surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee.
"You can't
help but watch him play and just be really impressed," said
Rodgers, whose Packers missed a chance to lock down the No. 2 seed and
a first-round bye. "I think he probably might have won the MVP
today, and hopefully we can win the playoff game next week."
Rodgers
completed 28 of 40 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns,
overcoming a slow start to bring the Packers roaring back into the
game.
The Vikings
jumped out to a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, with Peterson
scoring from seven yards out and Walsh kicking a 54-yard field goal
and a 37-yarder to get the Metrodome crowd rocking. Peterson went over
2,000 yards with a 20-yard burst in the third quarter, getting
serenaded with chants of "MVP!" along the way.
But Rodgers
isn't ready to give up his crown just yet. He hit Greg Jennings and
James Jones for touchdown passes in the third quarter and the shaky
Mason Crosby's second field goal of the game tied it at 27 late in the
third quarter to set up the wild finish.
Ponder squeezed
a 3-yard TD just past Packers safety M.D. Jennings' diving reach to
Michael Jenkins in the fourth before Rodgers hooked up with Jordy
Nelson for a 2-yard score with 2:54 to play. Peterson took over from
there, ripping off a 26-yard run to put Walsh in position for the game
winner.
"He's a
special player and we've had a special year so far," Vikings
center John Sullivan said. "But it's not over. We have a few more
games to win."
Not if the
Packers can help it. They may have lost on Sunday. But they're still
the NFC North champions. And this time they'll have the Vikings on
their turf.
"I think
it'll be a great contest," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
"It's an opponent we're very familiar with, and they're familiar
with us. Everybody has confidence going into the playoffs. Most
importantly, we'll be at home. We're excited to play these guys
again."
NOTES: Vikings
CB Antoine Winfield did not play in the second half after aggravating
the right hand he broke last week. He said he plans on playing in the
playoff game, but will have to be evaluated throughout the week. ...
Packers DE Jerel Worthy was carted off the field in the fourth quarter
with a knee injury and WR Jarrett Boykin also left the game with an
undisclosed injury. ... The game grew tense in the third quarter when
McCarthy was penalized for throwing a challenge flag after the replay
process began. However, they were only penalized for unsportsmanlike
conduct, not prevented from benefiting from the overturned call.
Referee Mike Carey said the review was called before the challenge
flag was thrown, meaning they could still review the play.
"Emotional decision by me," McCarthy said. "I shouldn't
have done it." ... Jennings had eight catches for 120 yards and
DuJuan Harris rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries for Green Bay.