Linebacker Takeo Spikes stood in an emptying Chargers locker room Sunday, reflecting on the team's 24-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Then the topic of running back Adrian Peterson came up, and his expression soured.
"It's personal," Spikes said. "Absolutely. It's personal."
At the close of a Friday interview on the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show, Peterson took host Dan Patrick's bait and made a pair of bold guarantees.
He started by saying he would rush for 200 yards on Sunday.
"Lock me in,” Peterson said. “And a W."
Via Twitter, fans told Spikes about the interview.
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Chargers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky also heard about it. He played the audio to the defense during a Saturday meeting.
"It was a direct slap in the face," Spikes said. "You don't come into our house and say that, 'Yeah, I'm going to get over 200 and guarantee a W.' No. That's disrespect to us. We put in a lot of time in this game.
"I respect him as a player. Every guy in this locker room respects him as a player. I find it hard to believe that you're going to say all of that, but your success is predicated on the guys up front. With us knowing that, I know my guys up front. Those dogs hunt. And I knew it was going to be a tough game. When it came down, we felt like we were going to win this game. We knew that."
The Chargers rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit.
In the first half, Peterson rushed nine times for 74 yards with a long of 46. He was limited in the second half and finished with 16 carries for 98 yards.
In Peterson's previous meeting with the Chargers in 2007, he set an NFL record with 296 rushing yards.
"I was very surprised," Spikes said of the guarantees. "My people on Twitter, they sent it over, and I'm like, 'Nah. I'm not going to feed into it because I know you want to get me fired up.' I love when you talk dirty to me in a football game. I love that. I get off on that."
