Instead, it entered historic territory when the Vikings regained possession at their 10-yard line with 1:58 remaining. The game was well in hand -- Peterson already had crossed the 200-yard barrier, after all -- and Lewis' NFL record still stood 37 yards away.

Peterson, however, dashed for 35 yards on the Vikings' first play -- nearly scampering past Chargers cornerback Marlon McCree for what would have been a 90-yard score. Instead, he took one play off and then re-entered to break the record with a 3-yard run.

"Anything is possible, you know," Peterson said afterwards.

Sure. Just keeping churning out those 200-yard games.

Kevin Seifert • kseifert@startribune.com