PHILADELPHIA - Eagles strong safety Quintin Mikell recalled a play during last season's game at Minnesota on which he was the only defender standing between Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and a 42-yard touchdown.
Peterson, 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds, charged straight at him. Mikell, 5-10 and 206 pounds, lowered his shoulder and made the tackle that limited Peterson to a 17-yard gain and preserved the Eagles' 23-16 victory.
Yeah, I remember it,
Mikell said with a smile. I just hope I'm not in that situation again.
That is the task that awaits the Eagles' defense Sunday. If the Eagles are to beat the Vikings in their wild-card round playoff game, they must find a way to control Peterson, who led the NFL in rushing during the regular season with 1,760 yards.
The Vikings' defense faces a similar challenge. Their primary objective will be to corral Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who is considered among the most versatile backs in the league because of his talent as both a runner and receiver.
Westbrook is a guy we're obviously going to key on,
Vikings safety Darren Sharper told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We know we have to slow him down because he's an explosive back. It's going to be tough.
Peterson, 23, and Westbrook, 29, get the job done with drastically different playing styles.
Peterson has the unique blend of size and speed that few running backs possess. The second-year veteran is equally capable of running over would-be tacklers or sprinting away from them. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson compared him with Chicago Bears legend Gale Sayers.
He's incredible,
Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley said. He runs hard, and when he's coming out of his cuts he's probably the fastest back in the league. And he never quits. You can stop him three times in a row and then he'll take that next one 60 yards to the house.
He wasn't able to get loose against the Eagles last season. That 17-yard gain was Peterson's longest in a 70-yard, 20-carry outing.
Peterson has not had many bad games this season. He surpassed the 100-yard mark in 10 of the Vikings' 16 regular-season games and had three games in which he rushed for 160 yards or more while averaging 4.8 yards per carry and scoring 10 touchdowns. If he has a weakness, it is that he has had trouble holding onto the ball. His nine fumbles this season led the NFL.
I would say I'm definitely a better player than I was when we played the Eagles last season,
Peterson said in a phone interview. They do have a real nice defense, I must say, but we also did a lot of things last year against them to kind of hurt ourselves.
'The total package'
Westbrook, 5-10 and 203 pounds, is not as big as Peterson but is just as fast, is very elusive and is also relentless. He missed two games with injuries and was hampered in several others with ankle, knee and rib trouble, but still rushed for a team-high 936 yards and nine touchdowns on 233 carries (4.0 yards per carry). He was also the Eagles' second-leading receiver with 54 catches for 402 yards and five more TDs. His 54 receptions ranked fourth among NFL running backs.
Against the Vikings last season, Westbrook was held to 46 yards on 21 carries, but caught four passes for 46 yards and scored both of the Eagles' touchdowns.
He's the total package,
Peterson said of Westbrook. He was a guy that I loved watching even before I came into the league. He does it all. If I were calling the plays for the Eagles, I'd give him the ball 35 times a game.
If that happens, the Eagles will probably win. They are 5-1 this season when Westbrook touches the ball at least 20 times and 4-0 when he gets 20 carries or more.
But it probably won't.
Westbrook has only had more than 30 touches once this season, when he had 33 carries for 131 yards and caught six passes for 72 yards in a 20-14 win at the New York Giants on Dec. 7. Most of the time, coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg prefer to spread the ball around. The fact that Sunday's game will be played indoors increases the likelihood that the Eagles will throw more than run.
And the Vikings feature the league's top-rated run defense. They have allowed 76.9 rushing yards per game.
I think we still need to give those guys a challenge and establish the run,
Westbrook said. They've been very stout against the run, but we have played against very good teams before and had success. Our goal is to go out and push them around.
Extra points: Cornerback Asante Samuel (strained hip) was among the Eagles who did not practice Friday. He is listed as questionable on the injury report, but is expected to play. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri (sprained foot), guard Shawn Andrews (back surgery) and tackle Jon Runyan (knee inflammation) also did not practice Friday. Abiamiri and Andrews have been declared out for the game. Runyan is listed as questionable but will play. Linebacker Stewart Bradley (broken rib), tight end L.J. Smith (sprained shoulder) and Westbrook (knee inflammation) practiced on a limited basis. Smith and Westbrook are questionable but are expected to play. Bradley is probable.
