Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Adrian Peterson Runs All Over Chicago Bears in 21-14 Minnesota Vikings Win

Adrian Peterson continues to amaze week in and week out.

When the Minnesota Vikings have the ball, teams could put 11 guys in the box and he's still run wild.

Everyone knows he's getting the ball, and he's still able to accumulate big, timely plays for his team.

It started on the first play from scrimmage. Peterson went right up the middle, through the secondary and was taken down 51 yards later.

"The guy's unbelievable," Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder said of his star running back. "I don't know if he's human or not."

Peterson topped 100 yards before the first quarter was over and is about 400 yards away from a 2,000 yard rushing season.

"I think about it," Peterson said of 2,000 yards. "I don't try to think about it too much. I feel like it will happen. It's obvious we're going to continue to run the ball and the chips will fall where they may."

It's amazing that Peterson has been able to put up these numbers as he isn't even a year removed from torn left ACL. He and Peyton Manning — who is returning from a serious neck injury — are both in line for Comeback Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.

Back to Sunday, Peterson finished with 154 yards on the ground and two scores, leading the Vikings to a 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears. The win improves the Vikings to 7-6, giving them hope at a playoff birth. Chicago, meanwhile is moving in the opposite direction. They have lost four of their last five and fell to 8-5 with the loss, and are now a loss to Green Bay next week away from no longer being in the playoff picture.

To make matters worse for Chicago, Jay Cutler left the game with a neck injury after being bent in every which direction on a hit from Jared Allen and Everson Griffen late in the fourth quarter. His return timetable is in question, but we'll figure out more as the week progresses.

While in the game, Cutler threw two touchdowns — one to the Vikings. He nearly threw two touchdowns to the Vikings, but Josh Robinson stepped out of bounds at the five-yard line. Harrison Smith was able to find the end zone after intercepting Cutler.

Alshon Jeffery made an impact in his return, catching three balls for 57 yards and a touchdown, and
Brandon Marshall continued to be Brandon Marshall reeling in 10 balls for 160 yards and a score. His touchdown came by way of Jason Campbell who relived Cutler late in the game.

Marshall set a Chicago record and now has 101 receptions this year.

The team has allowed more than 130 rushing yards per game in its last six contests, something they must fix to avoid another late-season collapse.

Dan Benton

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