MVN - Most Valuable Network

An Unforgettable Game: Adrian Dominates, Breaks Record

There are some games that just stand out in a fan’s memory. The games where someone on your favorite team displays a freakish amount of athletic excellence. The games where, at times, you don’t quite believe what you’re seeing. The games where it’s best to simply watch in awe.

Well, this was one of those games.

If you didn’t see the game, then I don’t have much to offer you. Adrian Peterson’s performance was beyond belief…any description I could give his record-breaking outing wouldn’t do it justice.

With 296 rushing yards, Adrian has smashed his way into the record books, as the all-time record holder for rushing yards in a single game. And as if that wasn’t incredible enough, he did it against the 7th-ranked run defense in the NFL.

He didn’t do it on his own. The offensive line dominated…you’ll see no criticism of McKinnie or Cook in this space, today. The line played a near-perfect game (outside of a few penalties and lapses in pass protection).

I’ll admit it…I got a little greedy towards the end of the game. I wanted AD to hit the 300-yard mark…but then again, that’s just another milestone that Adrian will almost certainly reach in his career.

I’m kinda at a loss for words. I’m just glad I was able to see this game…true, it would have been awesome to see it in-person, but anyone who was able to watch it should consider themselves very lucky. These displays of sheer dominance don’t happen too often.

What else can be said? Adrian’s a rookie. He just ran for 296 yards. I don’t know how anyone could possibly doubt that he’ll be one of the all-time greats.

For the Vikings, this game should be their blueprint for the rest of the season. Run Adrian often, while mixing in Chester Taylor for a change of pace. Pass just enough to loosen the pressure on Adrian.

The defense was also spectacular. They constantly frustrated a great running back in Tomlinson, and they ruthlessly pressured Rivers (Frazier’s blitzes were quite effective, and the defensive ends had their best game of the year). And we held the dangerous Antonio Gates to 10 yards. All things considered, it was an excellent performance from the Vikes D.

E.J. Henderson was an absolute monster, and I’ve gotta give a tip o’ the hat to Cedric Griffin. Griffin’s been criticized pretty often this year (and rightfully so), but he made a lot of plays today. He was rarely caught out of position, and he got a hand on several passes.

Back to the offensive side of the ball. How about Sidney Rice? I’d been disappointed with his lack of involvement in the offense (more a product of poor quarterback performance and bad playcalling than anything), but he showed some flashes of excellence today. His touchdown reception definitely stands out among the game’s non-Adrian highlights…Sidney’s clearly extremely athletic, and he’ll be a major weapon in this offense.

The story of the game, though, was the freak that is Adrian Peterson. And I really, really hope that this can be the turning-point of the season…this was a great win, and it’s up to Childress to build off of it.

So, Chargers fans…how’s the Norv Turner era going?

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 4:39 pm and is filed under San Diego Chargers, Cedric Griffin, Norv Turner, Landanian Tomlinson, Phillip Rivers, EJ Henderson, Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Bryant McKinnie, Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.