Peterson, eager to return, will run underwater today

Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson will take the next step today in his recovery from a right knee injury. Speaking after the Vikings' 29-22 victory over Oakland, Peterson said he will begin running on an underwater treadmill this morning. He could resume running on land as early as Wednesday.

"I'm going to get in the pool and try to get my leg strength back underneath me," Peterson said. "We'll see how it feels each day and go from there."

The team has not ruled out Peterson from playing in this Sunday's game at the New York Giants. But a more realistic target date is the Dec. 2 game against Detroit. Barring a setback, Peterson should get back on the field no later than the nationally televised Dec. 17 game against Chicago.

Peterson suffered a tear of the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee Nov. 11 at Green Bay, a relatively minor injury that does not require surgery. He has been working daily with Vikings athletic trainer Eric Sugarman, and Sugarman told FoxSports.com that the rehabilitation has been pain-free.

Said Sugarman: "Every single thing we've asked him to do -- and, trust me, I've pushed and pushed -- he's had no pain. I've given him things to see where he is that I thought he'd certainly struggle with, and he hasn't struggled with anything."

Taylor's big day

Chester Taylor rushed 22 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns for his second-most-prolific day as a Viking. Last year at Seattle, he broke a 95-yard touchdown run while carrying 26 times for 169 yards.

"Chester's been overshadowed the entire year, with Adrian, but I'll take Chester Taylor on my team anytime," center Matt Birk said. "He runs hard, he fights for every last yard he can get, and he came in today and did a heck of a job."

Taylor has 468 rushing yards this season; Peterson has 1,081.

No homecoming talk

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin wasn't in the mood to reminisce about the days when his father, Monte, was a Vikings assistant and little Lane was one of the team's ball boys.

"This isn't about me coming back here," said Kiffin, who had about 20 friends and family in the stands, including his mother, Robin. "Unfortunately, we lost the game today. Had a game at halftime that was tied, but we missed too many opportunities."

Kiffin attended Bloomington Jefferson, and Birk went to Cretin-Derham Hall. They both played football, of course, and they competed against each other in basketball.

Did Birk dunk on Kiffin? "Write that," Birk said. "Write that I dunked on him. I don't think there's any film of that game, so you can take my word for it."

Culpepper hugs Childress

At least six former Vikings teammates hugged Oakland quarterback Daunte Culpepper at midfield before Vikings coach Brad Childress made his way over for quick hug and a brief exchange. Childress and Culpepper clashed immediately after Childress was hired before the 2006 season. It was one of the reasons that led the Vikings to trade Culpepper to Miami for a second-round draft pick.

"He just said good luck, and I told him good luck," Culpepper said. "And that was pretty much it."

As for returning to the Dome, Culpepper said: "This stadium is very electric. ... Every game, these fans sell this place out. You know it's going to be crazy. It's a great atmosphere to play in. I love it."

Winfield departs early

Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who returned after losing two games to a hamstring injury, spent the second half watching from the sideline after rookie Marcus McCauley replaced him.

"[Winfield] strained that hamstring a little bit," Childress said. "He probably could have kept going, but we just didn't feel like that was smart."

This is the first time Winfield has been bothered a hamstring injury in his nine-year NFL career.

"It's very frustrating," he said. "I don't want to get out there and really tear it up. But a corner, having to react and run and hit, there is no telling what can happen. It's a good thing I don't think I had a setback and I'll be out there next week."

Sapp savages teammates

Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp ripped his team for continuing its season-long trend of being unable to stop the run. He ripped it for making too many penalties (11), for making too many mental mistakes and, well, just about everything else you would expect from a frustrated future Hall of Famer stuck on a 2-8 team that has lost six in a row.

"We're just an undisciplined unit; the whole team, from top to bottom," Sapp said. "We just do undisciplined stuff all the time, all game long. It's nothing new. Until we fix that and get out of our own damn way, we're never going to win around here."

Without mentioning him by name, Sapp savaged receiver Tim Dwight for his false-start penalty after the Raiders hurried to spike the ball at the Vikings 36-yard line with 12 seconds left. At that point in the game, NFL rules dictate not only a 5-yard penalty but a 10-second runoff on the clock. That gave the Raiders time for only one more play, an incompletion into the end zone.

"To jump offsides on a spike play ... where in the hell are you going?" Sapp said. "I mean, that makes no sense. Just when you think you have seen it all in 13 years."

Too many turnovers

The Vikings, who entered Sunday tied for ninth in the league in turnover differential (plus-5), matched their season high with five turnovers, including four lost fumbles. One was late in the game after an interception by linebacker Chad Greenway, but the rest came on offense, and Oakland turned those three takeaways into Sebastian Janikowski field goals.

"All that does is gives the other team life," Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said, "where I thought in the first half we had a chance to put them away. ... When you turn the ball over it keeps them with some life. So we have to do a better job of protecting the ball."

Oops

Greenway's fumble came after he recorded his first career interception with just under two minutes left in the game. Oakland had a first down at its own 17 and was trailing by seven when Culpepper's pass was deflected by running back Justin Fargas and into Greenway's hands.

Greenway should have gone down with the ball but instead took off, and Raiders tackle Barry Sims forced the fumble. Oakland lineman Paul McQuistan recovered to give the Raiders the ball back.

"My first reaction was to get up and run the ball," Greenway said. "... Obviously, next time in a two-minute situation, I will just keep my butt on the ground."

Etc.

• The Vikings continue to struggle in third-down situations. After going 0-for-8 last week at Green Bay, they were 1-for-7 Sunday. That one conversion came when Tarvaris Jackson scrambled for 12 yards on third-and-10 from his 20-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Vikings entered the day converting 30.5 percent of their third downs, ranking ahead of only San Francisco (27.6).

• The Vikings-Detroit game Dec. 2 at the Dome is one of the games the NFL and NBC are considering moving to a 7:15 p.m. start. A decision could come early this week.

• Visanthe Shiancoe's 94 receiving yards was a season high for the Vikings. They haven't had a 100-yard receiving performance since the second game of 2006, when Troy Williamson had 102 yards on six catches vs. Carolina. Shiancoe had his 94 yards on only two receptions, and both came in the first quarter.

• Like Greenway, Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha made a bad decision to run after making an interception; it likely cost the Raiders two points. Asomugha intercepted a first-quarter pass by Jackson in the end zone, but rather than go down for a touchback, Asomugha ran it out, making it only as far as the 3-yard line. Three plays later, Culpepper was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 9-0 Vikings lead.

KEVIN SEIFERT, MARK CRAIG, JUDD ZULGAD AND JIM SOUHAN