The next day, his fired-up defense held Peterson to 70 yards on 20 carries in a 23-16 win.

Johnson didn't put together another tape as a prelude to yesterday's NFC wild-card battle between the Eagles and Vikings. He figured his players didn't need anything extra to get them motivated.

They knew if they neutralized the NFL rushing king, there was an awfully good chance they would beat the Vikings and move another step closer to Super Bowl XLIII.

For the second straight year, that's what they did. They held Peterson, who had rushed for 100-plus yards in eight of the Vikings' previous 11 games, to 83 yards on 20 carries, and the Eagles won, 26-14, setting up a Sunday meeting with the NFC East-champion Giants.

Forty of Peterson's 83 yards came on a second-quarter bolt for a touchdown against a blitz, briefly giving the Vikings a 7-6 lead. But he managed just 43 yards on his other 19 carries. Fourteen of Peterson's 20 rushing attempts gained 3 yards or less. That 40-yard scamper was his only gain of more than 6 yards.

"He's a special back,'' said middle linebacker Stewart Bradley. "The cut he had on that one run, we blitzed the 'B' gap. He burst through [the 'A' gap]. I went a little too fast in the 'A' gap. You give him an inch and he'll bust it. And that's what he did.

"At halftime, we made some adjustments. We had to slow down on the backside. Stay in our gaps. We were overpursuing a little bit. After we made the adjustments, we were OK.''

Peterson had 66 yards on 12 carries in the first half, including the 40-yarder. The Eagles held him to 17 yards on eight carries in the second half. Two of those carries went for 5 yards. The other six went for 3 yards or less.

"Our front seven, they came together and balled out in the second half,'' strong safety Quintin Mikell said. "It was fun to be out there."

Peterson seldom was tackled by one defender. The Eagles swarmed to the ball the entire game.

"Any time you have a back that talented who runs that hard, you've got to gang-tackle him,'' said linebacker Chris Gocong.

The Vikings finished with 148 yards on 34 carries, but had just 39 yards on 12 carries in the second half. Those 148 yards were the most against the Eagles since the Giants rushed for 219 yards in a 36-31 win in early November.

"Our objective was just to get them in third-down-and-long situations,'' Johnson said. "In the first half, we got them in some third-and-longs and didn't make the plays. In the second half, we got in some third-and-longs and made the plays. That was the difference.''

The Vikings converted six of 10 third-down opportunities in the first half. In the second half, they made just two of eight.

Thumbs downTo the Eagles, for two squandered third-quarter possessions. On the first, they drove from their own 5 to the Minnesota 35, which was close enough for a 53-yard David Akers field-goal attempt. Then, on the next play, McNabb was sacked for an 8-yard loss and the Eagles had to punt. On their next possession, a 30-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson gave them a first down at the Minnesota 40. After a 2-yard run by Brian Westbrook, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen got around left tackle Tra Thomas and knocked the ball out of McNabb's arm. The Vikings recovered.

Just wondering*Why Brad Childress chose to decline a holding penalty on center Jamaal Jackson on a third-and-9 incompletion at the Minnesota 26-yard line on the Eagles' second possession. It would have moved the Eagles back 10 yards and, at the very least, tested David Akers' range. Instead, Akers booted a 43-yarder to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

*Why Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb got greedy on third-and-1 near midfield with just over a minute left in the first half. McNabb threw deep for Kevin Curtis even though cornerback Cedric Griffin was right with him. Griffin intercepted the ball at the Minnesota 13. McNabb had plenty of room to easily run for a first down and keep the drive alive.

*Why Childress, after getting the ball back with 1:10 left in the second quarter, called a run play like a guy who was planning to run out the clock. After Chester Taylor was stopped for no gain on the play, Childress turned around and had Tarvaris Jackson throw the ball. It was incomplete, stopped the clock and allowed the Eagles to get the ball back.

By the numbers*The Eagles are 4-0 in wild-card games under Andy Reid.

*With yesterday's win, the Eagles are 17-4 against the NFC North under Reid, including 4-0 in the postseason.

*This will be the Eagles' seventh trip to the division playoff round in the last 9 years under Reid.

*David Akers' 51-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter, a team playoff record, was only his second field-goal attempt of more than 50 yards in a dome in his Eagles career. He missed a 59-yarder against the Vikings in the Metrodome last season.

*Adrian Peterson's 40-yard, second-quarter touchdown run was the eighth scoring run of 40 yards or more in his career.

*Asante Samuel's 44-yard interception return for a touchdown was the eighth pick for a TD in his career and an NFL-record fourth in the postseason.

*For only the second time this season, the Eagles gave up multiple rushing touchdowns in a game. The other was the first Giants game, a 36-31 loss.

*The Eagles have turned the ball over 19 times in the last nine games, including twice against the Vikings. They've had just three games without a giveaway this season.

*The Eagles had just two rushing first downs against the Vikings. They have only 13 in the last four games.

*For the fifth time in the last six games, Donovan McNabb had a 90-plus passer rating (92.8).

*Akers is 11-for-16 from 40-plus yards in his career kicking indoors.

*The Eagles have held their last seven opponents to 5.38 yards per pass attempt. Opponent completion percentage in those seven games: 49.1.

*It was the third time Sav Rocca has punted indoors since joining the Eagles. In those games, he has averaged 48.2 yards.

*Donovan McNabb was sacked three times. It was the first time he's been sacked more than twice in a game since Week 4, when the Bears got him three times.

*Asante Samuel's pick was only Tarvaris Jackson's second interception in five games since replacing Gus Frerotte as the starter.

Paul Domowitch's Eagles Report CardRUSHING OFFENSE

The Vikings' run defense was as good as advertised and held the Eagles to 2.9 yards per carry, Brian Westbrook to 1.9. But to Andy Reid's credit, he stuck with the run enough to at least keep the Vikings honest.

Grade: C-minus

PASSING OFFENSE

Donovan McNabb's protection was shaky much of the game and he turned the ball over twice. But he completed 12 of 15 attempts in the second half, including that beautifully executed screen to Brian Westbrook for a 71-yard TD.

Grade: B-plus

RUN DEFENSE

The Eagles gave up that 40-yard, second-quarter TD run to Adrian Peterson, but held him to 43 yards on his other 19 carries. Fourteen of Peterson's 20 carries went for 3 yards or less.

Grade: B-plus

PASS DEFENSE

For the third time in the last five games, the Eagles held the opposing quarterback to a completion rate of below 50 percent. Asante Samuel's 44-yard interception return for a TD gave the Eagles a 16-7 lead.

Grade: A

SPECIAL TEAMS

David Akers booted four field goals, including three from 40-plus yards. DeSean Jackson gashed the Vikings' porous punt-coverage unit. His 62-yard return in the first quarter set up Akers' first field goal. Sav Rocca had a 44.0 net average and put all four of his attempts inside the 20.

Grade: A-plus

OVERALL

For the fifth straight game, Jim Johnson's defense held the opposition to 14 points or less. Donovan McNabb turned the ball over twice, but turned in a poised performance. And Andy Reid stayed with the run enough to keep the Vikings honest.

Grade: B-plus