Peterson runs for 212 as Vikings top Rams 36-22

Vikings vs. Rams
Christian Ponder #7 of the Minnesota Vikings scores a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Dec. 16, 2012, in St. Louis.
Getty Images/Dilip Vishwanat

By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Adrian Peterson ran for a season-best 212 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown that fueled the Minnesota Vikings' big second quarter in a 36-22 victory that spoiled the St. Louis Rams' home finale Sunday.

Peterson has 1,812 yards rushing, leaving him 294 shy of breaking the NFL's single-season record of 2,105 by Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. Peterson, less than a year removed from a serious knee injury, has two games left -- at Houston and home against Green Bay -- to top Dickerson.

The Vikings (8-6) scored 10 of their 23 points in the second quarter off turnovers by Sam Bradford, including a 29-yard interception return by defensive end Everson Griffen.

They were up by 26 before Bradford, whose botched center snap also cost the Rams (6-7-1) a field goal in the second quarter, threw touchdown passes to Danny Amendola and Lance Kendricks in the fourth quarter.

• Online: http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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