The St. Louis Rams knew what was coming. The Minnesota Vikings didn't even try to disguise it.
Running back Adrian Peterson kept his 8-6 Vikings in the NFC wild-card conversation Sunday with an otherworldly afternoon that brought him ever closer to the NFL single-season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
Peterson blasted through the Rams for 212 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,812 yards on the season and leaving the All-Pro 293 shy of Dickerson's mark of 2,105. A tall order for mortals with just two games remaining, but it's entirely possible for Peterson.
"Yeah, it's been in my sights," Peterson said of Dickerson's record, via The Associated Press. "I'm not focusing on it. It's in the back of my head that, hey I definitely want to accomplish that. I look at today's game, and I could have had 300 (yards)."
Peterson hasn't been held to under 100 yards since Week 6. He has topped 150 yards in six of his eight games since, and he has rushed for more yardage than Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder has thrown for during that span.
Let's not ignore the Vikings' defense, which pressured Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and drew killer holding penalties throughout Minnesota's 36-22 win. The Vikings continue to confuse opponents with multiple fronts, but this is Peterson's team. Always has been. The Vikings will go where he takes them -- and Peterson has taken them farther than anyone expected in 2012.
The history books could be next.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
