OWINGS MILLS - The Minnesota Vikings actually had a passing game to go along with Adrian Peterson the last time the Ravens played them.
Back in 2009, the Vikings had Brett Favre at quarterback, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian at wide receiver and a tight end in Visanthe Shiancoe who caught 11 touchdowns that year.
Peterson was still the focal point of the offense and ran for 143 yards during that game against Baltimore, but the passing game Minnesota had at that point made the Vikings a whole lot less dependent on Peterson than they are now.
With as bad as the Vikings' quarterbacks have been this year, Minnesota's offense is completely built around Peterson.
The Ravens are well aware of that heading into today's game against the Vikings, but stopping Peterson still won't be easy, as other teams have learned throughout the course of the season.
"He's one of the best in the game for a reason, and our defense is going to have a tough task in trying to shut him down," wide receiver Torrey Smith said.
Baltimore will likely stack the box in an effort to stop Peterson, putting eight or even nine defensive players near the line of scrimmage.
But other teams have consistently done that with Peterson during his career and still haven't been able to contain him.
The Ravens are allowing the third-fewest yards per carry in the AFC (3.7) and held Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell to just 30 yards on 15 carries last week aside from one big run, but Peterson is the biggest challenge Baltimore's run defense has had.
He came within nine yards of breaking the NFL single-season rushing record last year and has 120 more rushing yards than any other running back in the NFL through 13 weeks this season.
He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, leads the league with 10 rushing touchdowns and is tied for second in the NFL with eight runs of 20 yards or longer.
"He has got everything," defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. "He has got all the tools. Usually, you talk about guys being jump-cutters or this guy is a spinner or this guy can lower his pads and run downhill and run over you. Yeah, [he can do it all]. ...
"All 11 guys have to have their eyes on him when he has the ball, and we have to do a great job of surrounding him. The biggest thing is tackling him. He'll break tackles. That's why he has so many [big] runs."
And how much the Ravens can limit those big runs could go a long way in determining whether they win Sunday and further improve their playoff positioning.
The Vikings do have some talent at wide receiver, and Matt Cassel did throw for 243 yards last week, but the primary objective and biggest challenge for Baltimore's defense Sunday will be containing Peterson.
"They want to run the ball," coach John Harbaugh said. "We've got to stop the run."
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