Adrian Peterson, Man or machine? Bet the Browns have the answer.

CLEVELAND – Brad Childress nailed it.

The Minnesota Vikings head coach didn’t color Brett Favre’s regular-season debut in purple and white as brilliant. The assessment was more honest. Childress used the word “workmanlike” to describe a meager 110-yard passing performance before adding the following:

“Don’t make it sound like unspectacular is a bad thing.”

It isn’t, not when the Vikings field the NFL’s most spectacular running back.

Adrian-Peterson

Favre received all the pregame hype but Adrian Peterson was the story of Sunday’s 34-20 road victory over Cleveland. The NFL’s 2008 rushing leader picked up where he left off. He punished an overmatched Browns defense for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. That included a fourth-quarter run where Peterson broke three tackle attempts, tossed one cornerback to the ground and stiff-armed another en route to a backbreaking 64-yard touchdown.

“That was fun,” a beaming Peterson said during his postgame news conference. “I was just determined to get in the end zone and stick that dagger in there.”

The outing was so spectacular that a 19-year veteran like Favre is calling Peterson the best running back he has ever played with after just one game.

“To say he’s pretty awesome is an understatement,” Favre said.

Peterson had better be. Unless Favre’s play improves considerably, Minnesota will go only as far as Peterson’s legs and a stingy defense can carry it.

Some of Favre’s struggles Sunday can be attributed to rust and a lack of cohesion with his teammates after not signing until mid-August. One example: Minnesota was forced to settle for a short first-quarter field goal after Favre misread wide receiver Sidney Rice’s route and threw an incompletion.

On the bright side, Favre fulfilled his uncustomary role as “game manager.” Favre didn’t commit any turnovers. He also improved as the game unfolded. Favre is quickly developing chemistry with Percy Harvin. The rookie wideout already became part of a trademark Favre end-zone celebration, getting tackled by his quarterback after catching a six-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

But even as Favre becomes more comfortable with his receivers, he isn’t going to get any younger. At age 39, Favre looks even less mobile then when he’s throwing in slow motion during those Wrangler commercials. His inability to escape heat was exposed. A Browns defense not known for its pass rush posted four sacks and six pressures.

Favre also has yet to show he can successfully throw deep on a consistent basis. Excluding a beautiful 21-yard strike to Harvin down the seam, Favre’s other 13 completions came on short routes.

This puts even more pressure on Peterson to stay healthy and produce. Minnesota got a look at life without him in the first half. It wasn’t pretty.

A light-headed Peterson had nine carries for 25 yards and one touchdown as Cleveland took a 13-10 halftime lead. He was taken into the locker room for an IV because of dehydration and needed treatment for a cut on his arm. Peterson said he made himself puke and empty his stomach “because normally that makes me feel better.”

The overmatched Browns were soon feeling bad. Peterson capped Minnesota’s opening second-half drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Six of his next 11 carries gained at least six yards, including the 64-yarder that Peterson joked wasn’t among his best all-time runs because “I didn’t go untouched.”

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“We kind of took the will from them,” Childress said.

Offensively, the Browns simply couldn’t keep pace. Until the final minute, Cleveland’s only touchdown came on a 67-yard Josh Cribbs punt return. Brady Quinn completed 21 of 35 passes in his fourth NFL start, but he was sacked five times. Cleveland had no answer for defensive tackle Kevin Williams, whose statistics (two tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery) don’t adequately convey the impact he made.

While their schedule on paper is easy early in the season, the Vikings will eventually face much stiffer competition than a rebuilding club like Cleveland. Back-to-back games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh loom in October, not to mention division matchups against Green Bay and Chicago. Minnesota’s feel-good vibes Sunday will be long forgotten if Favre pulls a late-season fade like last season with the New York Jets.

Favre himself would admit he is no longer capable of carrying a team singlehandedly like during his Packers heyday. But at some point, Favre must be capable of picking up the slack if a defense nullifies Peterson or Minnesota is forced to play from behind.

“We’re kind of learning on the fly, which makes it difficult because we did sputter in the passing game,” Favre admitted. “It’s a work in progress. The great thing is we’re winning games.”

For now.

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