The Vikings had a difficult time running the ball in last Sunday's 28-19 win over Detroit, but their commitment to the run eventually found some holes.
Star running back Adrian Peterson had just 19 yards on 10 carries midway through the third quarter. It was the second consecutive week the opposing defense had successfully shut down the Vikings' best weapon, though it was reported that Peterson was ill before Sunday's game.
Peterson looked more than fine when he finally found a hole big enough to run for the fifth-longest rush of his career. He broke away for a 75-yard gain with 8:14 left in the third quarter to help set up another Vikings' field goal and 25-17 lead. He finished with 98 yards on 19 carries. Here's how his big play developed:
Frame 1: The Vikings lined up in an I-formation with fullback Zach Line as the extra blocker leading the way for Peterson against the Lions' 4-3 defense.
"Zach, he takes pride. He doesn't get too many snaps, so he's taking pride when he's in there in doing his job and it showed on those plays. We'll build off that," Peterson said. "Coaches, they'll watch the film and they'll see, 'OK, where did these big runs come out of? What personnel did we have in?' And they'll make sure they implement that for the next game."
Frame 2: The Vikings offensive line and wide receiver Mike Wallace did a good job opening the hole and Peterson beats two Lions defenders with two cuts to his right.
"We knew that they weren't going to let Adrian run the way he did the first time we played them," quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said. "But Adrian still did a great job of just coming out of this game with some big plays for us on the offensive side of the ball. It helped out in the passing game."
Frame 3: Once Peterson beats the second Lions defender, he has a lot of open field to work with. Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah saved the touchdown by knocking Peterson out of bounds at the three-yard line.
