Adrian Peterson Boosts MVP Campaign During Another Impressive Vikings Win

Let’s play one of the most important NFL word-association games. When you see the letters “MVP” together while capitalized and maybe even bolded, which player comes to mind immediately?

For many of you the answer will be Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. That’s a fine choice, as he’s pumping out a heroic performance nearly every week and leading an undefeated team with modest offensive talent outside of tight end Greg Olsen.

But another name should be advancing to the top of your mind as his team ascends the standings.

This name is a familiar one in the MVP discussion because he’s won it before (2012). Even at his elderly age for a running back, the 30-year-old keeps on churning out yards while providing the offensive muscle for his NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings.

So I present Adrian Peterson for your MVP consideration. Again.

Peterson recorded his league-leading sixth 100-plus-yard rushing game this season Sunday during a 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted:

He posted 158 yards on 29 carries (5.4 yards per carry) with two touchdowns. Tack on Peterson’s receiving yardage, and he finished the game with 187 total yards.

He accounted for just over half of the Vikings’ offense (51.2 percent) in what was supposed to be a difficult matchup for him. The Falcons defense entered Week 12 ranked first against the run, which meant Peterson was tasked with navigating through a unit that was giving up only 87.4 rushing yards per game and 3.6 per carry.

None of that mattered much while he rumbled for gains of 10-plus yards on six carries, highlighted by a game-sealing 35-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It was the Vikings’ eighth win overall and sixth over their last seven games.

Peterson has sizzled during that stretch, averaging 113.1 rushing yards per week. He’s also scored a touchdown in four straight games, which is his longest streak since the last time those three letters were associated with Peterson’s name, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

Hidden in Peterson's surge is one week when the Vikings strayed from their core power-football approach.

That game was also Minnesota’s only loss since a Week 5 bye, and it came in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers. Peterson was given the ball only 13 times as a runner—a workload far below his season per-game average of 21.5 rush attempts.

“We took it personal—the loss last week,” Peterson told the Associated Press (via Fox Sports) when asked about a game "lowlighted" by his fourth-quarter fumble.

To an extent game dynamics dictated a deviation from the usual bruising Peterson brings. The Vikings trailed Green Bay by 10 points at halftime and then six points entering the third quarter.

Still, those deficits weren’t significant enough for Minnesota to nearly abandon its offensive foundation and give Peterson only seven carries over the final three quarters.

He was concerned and surely a little confused, too. So Peterson met privately with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer to discuss his lack of work before Sunday's critical conference game, according to a report from Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.

The two men evidently came to an obvious conclusion. When you employ a running back who is now in exclusive company with the 30 times he’s logged 125-plus rushing yards, giving him the ball a whole lot is wise. Randall Liu, NFL's director of NFC football communications, tweeted out the impressive list:

Peterson is still the only running back averaging over 100 rushing yards per game this season. He raised that average Sunday against not only the league’s best run defense, but also one that schemed specifically to stop him and failed repeatedly.

The Falcons used an eight-man box against Peterson 19 times, per ESPN Stats & Info (via Goessling), which was the NFL’s second-highest single-game use of that alignment since 2011.

Against Atlanta's gauntlet, he climbed to 18th on the all-time rushing list and pushed his rushing yards total to 1,164 after 11 games. That’s only 72 yards behind his production over the same period in 2012.

Peterson is charging hard in Newton’s rearview and doing it while leading an 8-3 team that’s now a game clear of the Packers in its division.

The Vikings have been quietly impressive. Meanwhile, Peterson is still loud—and still annually thrusting himself into MVP consideration.