Peterson a runaway steal for Vikings

Before Sunday, you had to reserve judgment on Adrian Peterson.

He had put up impressive numbers through his first month as the Minnesota Vikings running back, be he’d done so against teams not exactly known for their defenses: Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City and Green Bay.

Sunday, he went up against the mighty Chicago Bears and served notice that he is for real.

Peterson set a Vikings franchise-record with 224 yards rushing, the most the Bears have ever given up to a single running back and the fifth-most by a rookie in NFL history.

He had touchdown runs of 67, 73 and 35 yards among his 20 carries as he broke Chuck Foreman’s 31-year-old team record of 200 yards and also added a 53-yard kickoff return with 1 minute 53 seconds to play that set up a game-winning field goal in a 34-31 Vikings victory.

Peterson now has the NFL rushing lead with 607 yards and has seized control of the rookie-of-the-year race.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Peterson said. “Guys come up to me and they say, ‘When you got the ball it’s kind of like holding your breath.’ ”

Vikings fans were holding their breath when they selected Peterson with the seventh overall pick in April’s draft. He left Oklahoma after his junior year with an impressive resume that included becoming the first freshman in history to finish runnerup in the Heisman Trophy voting, but also had the baggage of an injury-prone past.

He played in only 22 of his 31 college games because of injuries: A dislocated shoulder his freshman year, a high ankle sprain as a sophomore and a broken collarbone as a junior.

But he has made the team look good so far, averaging 6.3 yards a carry while adding 10 receptions for 175 yards and averaging 31 yards on eight kickoff returns.

“That was nuts,” said Bears defensive end Alex Brown. “He cut back and he was gone. The kid’s fast. Once he broke in the open field, it was over.”

His blend of power and speed, along with his upright running style and 6-foot-1 height, have drawn comparisons to Eric Dickerson.

Still, the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns -- all teams that could have used a running back -- passed on him at the draft. Tampa Bay, Arizona and Washington went next but each had an establish back.

The Vikings did too, having signed Chester Taylor as a free agent just a year earlier, but Vikings vice president of personnel Rick Spielman thought Peterson was too good to pass up and made him the first running back selected.

“You have to give him a lot of credit,” Bears Coach Lovie Smith said. “He’s a special running back, and we weren’t able to stop him.”

Must not-see TV

Santana Moss was mired in one of the worst games of his career, so he did what any proud athlete might do: He benched himself.

Moss finished without a catch, uncharacteristically dropped several passes and his fumble on a reverse ended up in the hands of Green Bay Packers defensive back Charles Woodson, who returned it 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in a 17-14 Packers victory over Moss’ Washington Redskins.

“I just didn’t feel right. I took myself out,” said Moss, who left shortly after the third-quarter fumble.

Moss then issued a warning to a certain electronic device in his house.

“I can go home and sit there and probably break my TV based on what I’m going to see tonight,” Moss said.

Thinning hogs

The Redskins nearly ran out of offensive linemen against the Packers. Washington has eight linemen listed on its depth chart and three of them were injured during the game.

The line has already been thinned by a season-ending ankle injury to Jon Jansen and a triceps injury to Randy Thomas that will keep him out until at least November.

“I’ve never seen an offensive line get hurt like this,” said tackle Todd Wade. “It’s definitely a concern.”

The skycam is falling

An overhead NBC television camera mounted on wires collapsed onto the turf during a timeout in Sunday night’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, causing a 10-minute delay.

Game officials cleared both teams from the middle of the field while the network got the camera back up to normal height. As the camera moved up and down the field for testing, Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren looked up at its every move with his mouth agape. When the camera moved to the sideline, Seattle’s players all cleared out from beneath it.

After the delay, the game resumed with the camera parked above the Seahawks’ bench area -- with players and coaches making sure they did not stand under it.

Record-setters

Tom Brady had five touchdown passes to become the first player in NFL history with at least three in each of the first six games of the season. . . . Tony Gonzalez had two touchdown receptions to bring his career total to 64 and break the record for tight ends set by Shannon Sharpe from 1990-2003.

Monday preview

The New York Giants (3-2) take a three-game win streak to Atlanta, where they will face the Falcons (1-4), who are struggling on offense in the post-Michael Vick era.

After giving up 80 points in their first two games, the Giants have limited opponents to 44 in their last three. The Falcons are averaging 13.8 points a game, which is 29th in the NFL.

Injury report

Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young strained his quadriceps in a loss to Tampa Bay and didn’t return. The team said he was day-to-day. . . . Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner sprained his left elbow against Carolina and didn’t return. . . . New England Patriots running back Sammy Morris left in the third quarter against Dallas after taking a helmet to his chest. . . . San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick sprained his right foot in the first quarter against Oakland and didn’t return. . . . Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson injured his ankle against Dallas and didn’t return. . . . Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks hurt his knee against Washington and didn’t return.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The top rushing performances in NFL history by a rookie:

*--* YDS. PLAYER ATT. TEAMS TD DATE 251 Mike Anderson 37 Denver vs. New Orleans 4 Dec. 3, 2000 246 Corey Dillon 39 Cincinnati vs. Tennessee 4 Dec. 4, 1997 237 Jim Brown 31 Cleveland vs. L.A. Rams 4 Nov. 24, 1957 228 Clinton 24 Denver vs. Arizona 2 Dec. 29, Portis 2002 224 Adrian 20 Minnesota vs. Chicago 3 Oct. 14, Peterson 2007 223 Tom Wilson 23 L.A. Rams vs. Green Bay 0 Dec. 16, 1956 221 Bo Jackson 18 L.A. Raiders vs. Seattle 2 Nov. 30, 1987 212 Jerome Bettis 28 L.A. Rams vs. New Orleans 1 Dec. 12, 1993 208 Terry Miller 21 Buffalo vs. N.Y. Giants 2 Nov. 26, 1978 207 Curt Warner 32 Seattle vs. Kansas City 3 Nov. 27, (OT) 1983 206 Tony Dorsett 23 Dallas vs. Philadelphia 2 Dec. 4, 1977 206 Greg Bell 27 Buffalo vs. Dallas 1 Nov. 18, 1984 *--*

Source: Associated Press