With Peterson slowed, Taylor takes up the slack

The 49ers defense threw all it had at Adrian Peterson, knocking him from the top spot among the NFL's rushing leaders.

By Judd Zulgad, Star Tribune

Last update: December 9, 2007 - 10:22 PM

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco could not find a way to beat the Vikings on Sunday, but the 49ers did something few opponents have been able to do -- stop rookie running sensation Adrian Peterson.

That is no error in the summary in today's paper. Peterson gained 3 yards on 14 carries, an average of 0.2 yards, with a long run of 4 yards in the Vikings' 27-7 victory over the 49ers at Monster Park.

That is only 293 fewer yards than Peterson had in setting the NFL's single-game rushing record against San Diego last month and 117 fewer yards than he had averaged on the ground in his first 10 games.

Even quarterback Tarvaris Jackson scrambled for more yards (13) on five fewer rushing attempts.

"You have to give credit to their defense," said Peterson, who had a 21-yard run in the fourth quarter erased because of a holding call on center Matt Birk. "Those guys played well on the other side of the ball. But things didn't go well for me today. They were able to slow me down but we had Chester, and he did a great job."

Veteran Chester Taylor picked up 101 yards on eight attempts, including an 84-yard touchdown dash down the left side in the second quarter that gave the Vikings a 27-0 lead. That was the third-longest scoring run in team history, trailing Taylor's 95-yarder against Seattle last season and Michael Bennett's 85-yarder against Tampa Bay in November 2002.

"It was a call to the weak side," Taylor said of his touchdown. "[Fullback] Tony Richardson did a great job of leading through and taking out the linebacker and all I had to do was get to the secondary. [Receivers] Robert Ferguson and Sidney Rice did a great job of coming with me and blocking the [defensive backs] out there."

Sunday's game marked Peterson's second since returning from the slightly torn ligament in his right knee that caused him to miss two games.

The Vikings got a brief scare on the play before Taylor's touchdown run. On first-and-10 from the Vikings 19-yard line, Peterson lost 3 yards on a carry and then took himself out of the game. He briefly had his knee examined on the sideline. "Actually, I got hit on the opposite knee, but it was nothing serious," he said.

Sunday's low output bumped Peterson out of the top spot among the NFL's rushing leaders. Pittsburgh's Willie Parker, who rushed for 124 yards against New England, leads the league with 1,217 yards. Peterson is second at 1,200 and San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson is third at 1,195.

The Vikings entered Sunday ranked No. 1 in the NFL in rushing and San Francisco's defense was 26th in stopping the run. Nonetheless, Peterson and Taylor both figured it would be a tough day.

"Watching film on them we knew that they brought the corners a lot and that's what they did," Peterson said.

Peterson also saw plenty of 49ers rookie linebacker Patrick Willis, who led the NFL in tackles entering the game. Both are likely in line for rookie of the year honors. Sunday, Willis looked like a rookie-of-the-year candidate with a team-leading eight tackles.

But certainly Peterson has to be expect days like this after having six games with more than 100 yards, right? "Every now and then," he said. "I just have to keep my head up and just look forward to next weekend. Come out and do something different."