Go Figure: Adrian Peterson's comeback story continues to get better

As the Vikings prepare for Sunday's Week 10 game with Detroit at Mall of America Field, here's a look at a handful of eye-opening figures and facts.

7

Consecutive games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage for Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson had a season-best 193 yards Sunday in Seattle (182 rushing, 11 receiving). For the season, he now has 1,107 yards from scrimmage.

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1,701

Rushing yardage Peterson is on pace for this season. With 957 rushing yards through nine weeks, Peterson leads the NFL and is just 14 yards away from surpassing his 2011 season total. Peterson's career-high for rushing yardage in a season is 1,760 set in 2008. As for that 1,700-yard total he's on pace for? Only six running backs in NFL history have ever topped that mark more than once (Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, O.J. Simpson, Emmitt Smith and Larry Johnson).

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Touches Peterson had in Sunday's second half, netting 46 yards. But before you get all worked up that he didn't get the ball enough after halftime, realize the Vikings didn't have the ball enough. The offense ran only 19 plays in the second half and featured Peterson on 37 percent of them. In the first half, Peterson was featured on 14 of 34 plays (41 percent).

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30

Points given up by the Vikings in Sunday's loss. That marked the third time in the past four games that the defense had surrendered four touchdowns. Yes, the inept passing attack deserves a lot of blame for the recent struggles. But the defense has struggled to do its part as well. Since the start of the 2000 season, the Vikings are now 5-51 during the regular season when allowing 30 points or more.

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Rushing yards allowed by the Vikings defense in their past four games. On Sunday, Seattle broke loose for 195 rushing yards. That was the most allowed by the Vikings all season.

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3

Rushing touchdowns on Sunday for Detroit running back Mikel Leshoure. Leshoure rushed for 70 yards and had scoring runs of 7, 1 and 8 yards in the first half as the Lions beat Jacksonville 31-14. No Lions running back ever – not even Barry Sanders – had ever rushed for three touchdowns in the first half. For what it's worth, the Vikings held Leshoure to 26 yards on 13 carries in the teams' first meeting in Week 4. Since then, Leshoure has averaged 4.7 yards per rush in his past four games.

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Games with less than 120 yards passing for second-year quarterback Christian Ponder who had just 63 yards on 11-for-22 passing against the Seahawks. Ponder may dispute that his confidence is dropping. But his quarterback rating certainly is. It's down to 82.0, which ranks 23^rd in the NFL between Dallas' Tony Romo (82.2) and Tennessee's Matt Hasselbeck (81.3). The last three weeks? Ponder had posted ratings of 35.5 against Arizona, 74.8 against Tampa Bay and 37.3 Sunday in Seattle.

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27

Catches this season for Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, second best on the team but 73^rd in the NFL. Rudolph's has just two grabs for 17 yards in the past three games. With leading receive Percy Harvin (62 catches, 677 yards, three TDs) iffy for Sunday with a sprained ankle, the Vikings will need to find new answers in the passing game in what seems like it's become a dire situation.

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Passing yards per game for the Lions through nine weeks, tops in the NFL. The Vikings rank 30^th in that category with 188.6 passing yards per game.

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5

Field goals of 50 yards or more made by rookie kicker Blair Walsh this season. Walsh is 5-for-5 from 50 yards or further, with a pair of 55-yarders. No other NFL kicker has made more than three field goals of 50-plus this season. Walsh is 19-for-20 overall on field goal attempts. Only New York's Lawrence Tynes (26 field goals) and Atlanta's Matt Bryant (20) have made more field goals. Walsh has also produced touchbacks on 35 of his 47 kickoffs. That 74.5 percent touchback rate trails only Tampa Bay's Michael Koenen (.771).