National Football League

Peterson faces boyhood favorites on Sunday

Published Jan. 14, 2010 11:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

As a kid growing up in Palestine, Texas, Adrian Peterson idolized the Dallas Cowboys.

A poster of Deion Sanders hung on the wall in his bedroom. He had trading cards of Emmitt Smith. He rejoiced while watching Michael Irvin restore the swagger and success to the team that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Come Sunday, that famed Cowboys star will look so much different to the Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back. It once represented a target to shoot for, the symbol of all his boyhood dreams.

Now that star is just the next barrier standing in his way in pursuit of his first career playoff victory and a berth in the NFC championship game.

The Vikings (12-4) host the Cowboys (12-5) on Sunday in an NFC divisional playoff game that, remarkable as it may sound, even has Peterson's family divided.

``I was a huge Cowboys fan growing up, the days of Michael Irvin, Prime Time, Emmitt,'' Peterson said Thursday. ``It's going to feel good to play those guys. I've got a lot of family that is kind of (undecided) which side they're pulling for.''

Most of Peterson's family still lives in Texas and their loyalties are being tested this week.

``Even family members,'' Peterson said with a sheepish grin. ``We have some die-hard Cowboys fans.''

He has one message for those relatives on the fence: Ask a Cowboys player for tickets.

``(I've said that) to a couple of them,'' Peterson said with a chuckle.

All joking aside, if the Vikings are going to prevail over the surging Cowboys, Peterson likely will play a pivotal role. He hasn't topped 100 yards rushing in a game in two months, though he has been more active in the passing game since Brett Favre took over the offense.

Peterson set a team record and led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns and finished fifth in the NFL with 1,383 yards. He averaged a career-low 4.4 yards per carry and lost six fumbles, but the Cowboys have made him a focus of their defensive game plan.

``You need to commit to the running game with that guy,'' Dallas coach Wade Phillips said. ``He's such a tremendous talent. He's done everything already and still doing more. I wish we wouldn't have let him get out of Texas, but we did.''

The Vikings are the richer for it. In Peterson, they have a player that the Eagles didn't last week, someone who might have helped neutralize the ferocious pass rush from outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer.

``If we could hand it to him every time and you're getting positive yards, that would be a great thing for our offense,'' offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. ``I think it's important to make sure that we do try to establish the run. You can't just sit there and drop back all day because of what they present with their front seven.''

With the offensive line struggling to open holes and Favre excelling in the passing game, Peterson has topped 100 yards rushing only three times this season. Two of those came against the lowly Browns and Lions.

He hasn't complained one bit. The Vikings reached the 12-win plateau for just the second time since 1975 and earned a much-needed bye last week.

``If it takes us running the ball 25 times to get a W, if it takes us throwing the ball 50 times to get a W, it's whatever it takes to win,'' Peterson said.

And if that W comes on Sunday against those Cowboys, well, it would just make it that much sweeter for Peterson and three other native Texans on Minnesota's roster - snapper Cullen Loeffler, defensive lineman Brian Robison and cornerback Cedric Griffin.

``It's a big game for anybody from Texas,'' said Loeffler, who grew up an Oilers fan in Ingram but still understands the significance. ``The Cowboys are SO big throughout the state and throughout America. It's a special game for all Texans.''

The NFL won't comment on reports that the officiating crew for the game will be headed by referee Walt Anderson, a native of Texas. Vikings coach Brad Childress couldn't resist a playful jab.

``I'd say it's more important anybody that's from Texas,'' Childress said with a mischievous grin. ``(Peterson), Cedric Griffin, Walt Anderson. It covers lots of people.''

Even after watching the Cowboys steamroll Philadelphia twice in a row to get to this point, Peterson said this is the matchup he was hoping for all along. And he doesn't plan to take it easy on the franchise he loved as a boy.

``I was rooting for them. I was a Cowboys fan,'' Peterson said. ``But when they come up here, it's strictly business.''