MINNEAPOLIS -- On Sunday at Ford Field, the Minnesota Vikings will face the Detroit Lions for the second time in five weeks. It seems as though emotions from the last meeting between the teams are still smoldering.
Speaking to Detroit reporters on a conference call Wednesday, running back Adrian Peterson was asked about Lions wide receiver Golden Tate's comments after the first game, when Tate accused the Vikings of taking cheap shots. Peterson's advice in response was simple.
"Suck it up," Peterson said. "I don't know. I really didn't see any cheap shots or anything like that that were taken. I was celebrating the victory. When you lose, you always try to point out little things like that, so it is what it is."
The Vikings hit Matthew Stafford eight times during the first meeting, punishing the quarterback throughout the game. Linebacker Anthony Barr drew a personal foul for hitting Stafford on his way out of bounds, but coach Mike Zimmer said after the game an official had told him Barr shouldn't have been called for a penalty since Stafford was slowing up on his way out of bounds.
In response to a question about Tate's comments on Wednesday, Zimmer revisited for the Detroit media what he's said to Vikings beat writers since the game: His team plays on the right side of the line between aggressive and dirty.
"Honestly, (the comments) came back to us, but we were on to San Diego or whoever, so I don’t really worry about that," Zimmer said. "I think we’re a very clean football team, we play by the rules. We try to do things exactly by the rules, so I don’t worry about it.”