Nearly 31 years after Chuck Foreman set the Vikings' single-game rushing record, the former Pro Bowl back watched on television Sunday as rookie Adrian Peterson broke the mark at Chicago. "I'm elated that this kid was the one to do it," Foreman said.

Foreman established the record on Oct. 24, 1976, when he ran for 200 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns in a 31-12 victory at Philadelphia. Peterson topped that by rushing for 224 yards on 20 attempts with three touchdowns in a 34-31 victory at Soldier Field.

" 'Wow,' that's all I can say," said Foreman, who watched from his Eden Prairie home. "I don't want to throw a whammy on him or anything, but he's an amazing talent. ... This guy might run for 2,000 yards. All he needs to do is stay healthy and he could be one of the greatest ever."

Foreman said he didn't give much thought to his record being broken until it was mentioned during the Fox telecast. He received about 20 messages from former teammates, media members and friends looking for his reaction. But Foreman expressed no regret about seeing the mark fall in part because Peterson "seems like a genuine and nice young man."

The two chatted briefly for the first time before the Vikings' loss to Green Bay on Sept. 30, the day Foreman was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor. Foreman played for the Vikings from 1973 to '79 and is second in team history to Robert Smith with 5,879 rushing yards.

Foreman planned to try to get in touch with Peterson on Tuesday to invite him out to dinner. "That's the least I can do," Foreman said. "I think Minnesota has something really special. He's setting a standard that's going to be hard to match by anybody."

More accolades

As he departed a team meeting Monday, linebacker E.J. Henderson carried with him a six-pack of Purple Crush soda.

It's one of the highest honors a Vikings player can receive.

Coach Brad Childress hands them out to reward plays such as the one Henderson made Sunday. On the final play of the first half, Henderson drilled Bears fullback Jason McKie.

McKie lay dazed on the field until midway through halftime. He walked to the locker room and recovered in time to play in the second half, but the crushing hit -- hence, Purple Crush -- nevertheless energized the Vikings locker room.

Henderson said it was his first such reward since it was instituted last season.

Etc.

• Peterson, who had 361 combined yards against the Bears, was named NFC offensive player of the week Tuesday. Randy Moss was the last Vikings rookie to earn the honor after he caught three TD passes in a 46-36 victory over Dallas on Nov. 26, 1998.

• The NFL trade deadline passed Tuesday with running back Mewelde Moore still on the Vikings roster. He was the subject of rumors for weeks, but his primary suitor -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- instead acquired ex-Viking Michael Bennett from Kansas City.

• After a week of discussion about their red-zone performance, the Vikings scored all 34 points Sunday without getting inside the Chicago 20-yard line. Their touchdown percentage in the red zone remains the same: Three in six chances.

• Among the aftershocks of the Vikings' 311-yard rushing performance Sunday: They jumped eight spots and now have the NFL's top rushing offense, based on gross yardage. The last time the Vikings led the league in rushing was in 2002.

• Center Matt Birk was asked if he had words for Peterson's performance against the Bears. "Not really," Birk said. "I wasn't an English major. It was something else." Birk was an economics major at Harvard.