GLENDALE, ARIZ. - Brad Childress surveyed his surroundings during pregame warmups Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium and saw an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful afternoon.

As his players reconvened in the locker room, the Vikings coach asked his team where it plays its best. The unanimous answer: at home. Childress, having seen countless fans wearing Vikings gear, quickly shot back: "You see all those purple jerseys in the stands? It's going to be a home environment. We are going to make it a home environment right here."

The Vikings did exactly that. With Tarvaris Jackson starting at quarterback for injured Gus Frerotte, the Vikings scored 28 first-half points and cruised to a 35-14 victory over the Cardinals before an announced crowd of 64,457.

The victory increased the Vikings' winning streak to four games, three on the road, and kept them a game ahead of Chicago for the lead in the NFC North. It also set up a chance for the Vikings to clinch the division next Sunday when they return to their real home, the Metrodome, to play the Atlanta Falcons.

"We're peaking. We're playing our best football," Vikings veteran safety Darren Sharper said. "I don't know how good we are. It's yet to be seen.

"We run the ball extremely well, we stop the run extremely well. We have playmakers and now special teams is coming around, flying around making plays. Those are all the makings for not only a playoff team but a championship team. But we have to keep working and keep trying to get better."

The Vikings are going to find it difficult to improve much on their performance in the first 30 minutes Sunday. They had a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and the Cardinals' normally high-flying offense had run nine plays. Bernard Berrian got things going by returning a punt 82 yards for a touchdown after the Cardinals' first possession. He would add a 41-yard scoring catch shortly thereafter.

Jackson threw three of his career-high four touchdown passes in the opening half, and the Vikings were a red-hot 8-for-9 on third-down conversions. They converted a season-best 67 percent (10 of 15) on third-down chances for the game.

"That's lovely. Being up 28-0 coming in at halftime is a great feeling," Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield said.

Added Sharper: "That first half was probably the best performance we've had not only this season but probably since Coach [Childress] has been here. Everything."

Winfield and Sharper were part of an impressive effort by the defense that was drawn up by coordinator Leslie Frazier and geared at stopping the second-ranked passing offense in the NFL. The Vikings, who came into the game ranked 20th in pass defense, spent much of the day using a combination of nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive backs) looks against quarterback Kurt Warner and his three standout receivers, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. Those three caught 15 passes but did not get in the end zone.

Warner was sacked four times, hurried much of the day, and the Cardinals, who already have clinched the NFC West, scored only one offensive touchdown. The Vikings got two of their first-quarter touchdowns after turnovers.

"The [defensive staff did] a great job of game planning, and we just wanted to continue to mix our looks," Childress said. "Les did a great job with that, and they mixed up odd and even fronts and fire-zone blitzes and man blitzes. They were able to get some guys home."

Warner finished with 270 yards passing, but the Cardinals attempted 50 passes and ran the ball only seven times. The Vikings, meanwhile, had 44 rushing attempts and only 17 passes. Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries, breaking Robert Smith's single-season team record (set in 2000) for rushing yardage. Peterson has 1,581 yards on the season.

Jackson threw for 163 yards but posted an impressive 135.5 passer rating and did not throw an interception. Benched after the Vikings started 0-2, Jackson was impressive when he entered last week's game in Detroit after Frerotte got hurt and rallied the Vikings to a 20-16 victory.

"I sort of felt like I don't have anything to lose," Jackson said. "I got benched Week 2, I wasn't playing my game. You see where it got me. I just went out there and had fun. Just go out there and let it all hang. You know what you're doing. You study enough all week. You got looks in practice. Now just play."

A sign of Jackson's maturation as a quarterback Sunday came in the third quarter. The Cardinals' Roderick Hood returned a blocked field-goal attempt by the Vikings' Ryan Longwell 68 yards for a touchdown to pull Arizona to within 14. The Vikings began their next drive at their own 20-yard line, and Jackson guided the team 80 yards for a touchdown that ended with a 59-yard pass to receiver Bobby Wade.

"We have a long way to go," Childress said. "I wasn't happy with the field-goal block for a touchdown. ... But the great thing about this group is they come back every single week and take to heart everything you say. It's a fun group to coach. It's a good team that has fun that knows how to work. They enjoy each other and they're a good football team. I've told them that since training camp."

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com