Adrian Peterson Injury: Loss of RB Will Give Vikings Important Glimpse of Future

The Minnesota Vikings would be winless this season without Adrian Peterson.

The superstar running back is not only the Vikings' best player, but he is the best running back in all of football.

Without him the Vikings would be worse than they already are, and that is saying something.

Peterson went down with an apparent ankle injury. It didn't look good when it happened and it doesn't bode well for the Vikings.

But should the superstar running back miss extended time, there is one thing the Vikings can positively take away from the situation.

Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder is the future of this franchise and they'll good a glimpse at what he can do now.

Peterson was carted to the locker room and the Vikings promptly fell behind the Raiders 10-7 after leading 7-0.

Minnesota is about to get a very good look at what they have in No. 7, Christian Ponder.

The Vikings' second-leading rusher isn't even a running back, it is wide receiver Percy Harvin.

Toby Gerhart, a former standout at Stanford, is going to see an increased workload now.

And so will Ponder.

The best thing about Adrian Peterson is that defenses have to go out of their way to account for him. He can chip away at defenses all day long, but has the ability to break an 80-yarder at any given time as well. There are other great running backs in this league, but only Christian Ponder has Adrian Peterson.

Harvin will see an increase in his touches as well, but the burden on this injury will fall on Ponder.

And that isn't a bad thing.

He's a smart, athletic and accurate quarterback with a lot to like. The Vikings didn't draft him No. 12 overall to not feel confident in his ability win to football games.

It is a lot easier with Adrian Peterson, but Ponder will prove in time that he can (or cannot) win.

The Vikings certainly aren't happy and didn't plan for anything like this, but it won't be a bad thing to see what Ponder can do on his own.