Peterson should have been penalized

Adrian Peterson should have been penalized 15 yards for removing his helmet on the field after scoring the winning touchdown against the Packers on Sunday.

NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira told NFL Sirius Radio on Wednesday that the Vikings running back violated the rule that prohibits players from removing their helmets except during a timeout or when they are in the bench area. Removing the helmet in any other situation is considered unsportsmanlike conduct.

Peterson removed his helmet while on his knees in the end zone after scoring on a 29-yard run with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 28-27 victory.

"I can't figure out why anything wasn't done about that, but I will say this: It frustrates me that we didn't do anything about that," Pereira said. "When you score like that, when you remove your helmet, you should be flagged."

Vikings coach Brad Childress said he talked to Pereira about the situation.

"I thought [Peterson] was off the field, saying a prayer," Childress said. "His helmet got knocked sideways a little bit. I didn't think he was demonstrative with that, and I thought he was out of bounds as well. I didn't think it was him celebrating. ... I didn't think he was trying to be ostentatious or anything like that. I understand what the spirit of the rule is. Obviously it was called to his attention."

Peterson said in a conference call with Tampa Bay media that he was "just caught up in the moment."

"It was more emotional because I had just fumbled to put us in a bad situation that could've cost us the game, and then in the last drive when we needed it, turned it around and got into the end zone," he said. "I was sitting on the sidelines and just really having faith, telling myself and telling the guys, 'Hey, we're going to win, we're going to pull it out.' Needing a career drive, having the faith it was really going to happen. I was just caught up in the moment. I wasn't trying to celebrate."

Had there been penalty, the Vikings would have kicked off from their 15-yard line. The Vikings kicked off from their 30, and Will Blackmon returned it 31 yards to the Packers' 41. From there, they drove 24 yards to the Vikings' 35 before Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Cornerback Charles Gordon traveled to Charlotte, N.C., to see a foot specialist and was considering having surgery as early as Wednesday evening. Gordon suffered a broken left ankle returning a punt on Sunday and could be back to full speed in five months, according to Childress.

The Vikings have not made a roster move and did not put a claim on cornerback Justin Miller, who was released by the Jets and claimed by the Raiders. Rookie corner Marcus Walker could be promoted from the practice squad.

"There are a whole bunch of guys who are in the mix, and typically you don't make those moves until the end of the week if you're going to do a practice squad guy," Childress said.

The Vikings put in a claim for wide receiver Adam Jennings but lost out to the Lions because they have a worse record. Jennings, released by the Falcons, also is a punt returner, which appears to be a bigger priority for the Vikings right now.

"I'm not married to taking a cornerback," Childress said. "There's a couple of two or three different positions that we're looking at to see if we can find the right person. I think we have enough [cornerbacks] -- for now."

Defensive end Jared Allen had limited participation in practice after playing with a third-degree sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder on Sunday. Allen said his shoulder was sore and stiff but the swelling has stayed down.

Childress joked that Allen's shoulder felt "good enough to sit in a deer stand and [shoot] at a deer" during his day off Tuesday.

• Safety Madieu Williams "dinged" his shoulder during the special-teams portion of practice and sat out the rest of the session, according to Childress.