MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have envisioned a new way of using Adrian Peterson, one that would convert some of the running back's carries into catches and hopefully maximize his return while minimizing the wear on Peterson's 30-year-old legs.
In time, it's certainly possible we'll see that approach. But in a game the Vikings badly needed Sunday, against a team missing possibly its best linebacker, they showed they're not above tradition.
Peterson's first home game in nearly two years -- a 26-16 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium -- bore a striking resemblance to many of the games he'd played in the Metrodome. He lugged the ball 29 times, the most he'd carried the ball in a non-overtime game since his stirring 199-yard performance in the Vikings' 2012 Week 17 win over the Green Bay Packers.
"We had some more runs that we started the game with," coach Mike Zimmer said. "As you get going into the game, you get lathered up, you get going a little bit. I thought we blocked the front good, and he made some good cuts."
Eighteen of Peterson's carries came in the tried-and-true fashion Peterson said he prefers: with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater under center. Peterson gained 108 of his 134 yards on those carries, compared to nine carries for 24 yards in the shotgun and two carries for 2 yards in the pistol. The Vikings gave Peterson the ball in the shotgun on four of his 10 carries in Monday's 20-3 loss to San Francisco, but they said they'd have plenty of plays in Peterson's typical wheelhouse, too. Those plays helped the Vikings get a much-needed win Sunday.
"We start off out of the I[-formation] and made some big plays," Peterson said. "We came back out of the gun and completed some passes, you got the defense on their heels and they don't know what to expect. So I think that helps us out a lot, and of course, applying what we learned from last week, how we can improve as an offense."
In no way was Peterson's first 100-yard game in 21 months a flawless outing. He fumbled twice, losing one on the Lions' 11, and would've lost another on the Lions' goal line had the play not been nullified by a Detroit offside penalty. On a couple of runs, he appeared to lack the breakaway speed he has displayed most of his career. And the play we'll likely be seeing on highlight reels the rest of the day -- Peterson's 49-yard scamper on a shovel pass from Bridgewater just before the QB hit the ground -- came when Peterson appeared to miss a block on a blitz. "You see me at the end of the play, just beating my head, because I'm thinking about the block I missed," Peterson said. "That's how important it is to me."
But however much Peterson is still fighting rust or the advance of time, he showed he's capable of carrying the Vikings' offense when he's asked to do so. The Vikings leaned on him Sunday, and they're 1-1 as a result.
"I don't know if that was actually the game plan, but it was working," Peterson said. "And if it's working, don't stop."
