Vikings running back Adrian Peterson carries the ball against the Packers, gaining 199 yards in a victory. (Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports) MINNEAPOLIS – A year ago, Adrian Peterson woke up from surgery determined to become a better running back than he was before he tore two ligaments in his knee. BOX SCORE: Vikings 37, Packers 34 On Sunday, 365 days since that surgery, Peterson became the seventh player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard barrier. With 199 yards Sunday in the Vikings' 37-34 win against the Packers at Mall of America Field, Peterson finished the season with 2,097 yards – eight shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105. Peterson's final run went for 26 yards, not enough for the record, but enough to get the Vikings to within easy field goal range for Blair Walsh, the rookie kicker who earlier this week was selected to the Pro Bowl. Walsh made the 29 yard field goal to send the Vikings to the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season. "Ultimately we got the 'W' and that was my main focus coming into the game," Peterson said. Minnesota and Green Bay will play again next week at Lambeau Field in the wild card round of the NFC playoffs. None of Sunday's other afternoon games mattered as much as this one, and none was as entertaining. As backup quarterbacks closed out blowout wins in San Francisco and Denver, the stars on the Vikings and Packers played like them in a game with the highest of stakes. With Chicago's victory earlier in the day against Detroit, Minnesota had to beat the Packers to make the playoffs. With San Francisco easily beating the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay had to win here to hold on to the No. 2 seed and the first-round playoff bye that comes with it. Christian Ponder played his best game as a professional, with three touchdown passes and a gutsy 25-yard completion to Michael Jenkins on third-and-11 to keep Minnesota's game-winning drive alive. Ponder looked like a different player than the quarterback who threw two costly interceptions four weeks ago in a loss to Green Bay. Ponder made only one bad decision when he lofted the equivalent of a pop fly to center field while under pressure in the second quarter. But even that turned out alright as Minnesota receiver Jarius Wright wound up with the ball, and Green Bay didn't have any timeouts remaining to challenge the catch. Ponder's three touchdown passes went to Wright, Peterson and Jenkins, with the last one giving Minnesota a 34-27 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. As Peterson made his case to be the league's MVP, Aaron Rodgers gave a reminder of why he's still the current owner of that title. He threw four touchdowns, including three in second half, to lead Green Bay back from deficits of 13-0 in the first half and 34-27 in the fourth quarter. Rodgers threw four touchdowns, passed for 365 yards and had no interceptions. Story Highlights
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2012/12/30/minnesota-vikings-adrian-peterson-green-bay-packers/1799483/