Peterson unleashes fury on Falcons
Vikings bounce back from loss to Packers, reclaim division lead
ATLANTA — Adrian Peterson was still miffed about his performance the previous week.
He took it out on the Atlanta Falcons.
Bouncing back from a tough loss to the Green Bay Packers, Peterson ran for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings beat the slumping Falcons 20-10 on Sunday.
The Vikings (8-3) jumped ahead on Peterson’s one-yard run in the first quarter and clinched it when he got loose on a 35-yard scamper down the sideline with 4:15 left in the game.
“We took it personal, the loss last week,” Peterson said.
In the 30-13 loss to the Packers, he was held to 45 yards — his lowest output since Week 1. He also had a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter that thwarted any hopes of a comeback.
“It was an opportunity for us to get into the end zone, and I ruined it,” Peterson recalled. “Coming in here, just being conscious of holding the ball tight and taking advantage of any opportunities they present me with.”
Against the Falcons (6-5), who came in with the league’s topranked defense against the run, Peterson ripped off his sixth 100-yard game of the season. He also moved into 18th on the NFL career rushing list with 11,354 yards, passing O.J. Simpson (11,236), Corey Dillon (11,241) and John Riggins (11,352).
“I just come in and try to focus on doing my job and helping my team win,” Peterson said. “I’ll be able to look at those things after the fact.”
For Matt Ryan, it was another disappointing day. The Falcons quarterback threw two more interceptions — he has five in the last two games — and heard perhaps the loudest boos of his career from the home crowd after a pick in the end zone.
The Falcons have lost five of their last six games, including four in a row, and are in danger of becoming one of the few teams in history to start 5-0 and miss the playoffs.
“It starts with me,” Ryan said. “I’ve got to know when to throw the ball away, cut my losses and take the field goal.”
Teddy Bridgewater was 20-for28 for 174 yards, though the Vikings quarterback threw an interception in the end zone to take potential points off the board. It didn’t hurt. The Vikings’ defense kept the Falcons out of the end zone until Ryan’s one-yard touchdown pass to Nick Williams with 1:28 left.
The Vikings clamped down on Falcons star Julio Jones, holding him to 56 yards on five catches.
The Vikings reclaimed a onegame lead over the Packers in the NFC North, taking advantage of the Packers’ loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving night.
Ryan squandered one scoring chance in the second quarter when a deep throw down the middle was picked off by Captain Munnerlyn. The second interception was really costly, coming after Tevin Coleman’s one-yard scoring run, which would’ve given the Falcons a 10-7 lead in the third quarter, was wiped out by a clipping penalty on tight end Tony Moeaki.
With the Falcons facing thirdand-goal from the 14-yard line, Ryan scrambled to his left and tried to force a pass to Jacob Tamme in the end zone. Terence Newman grabbed it instead, giving the Vikings a huge stop.
“You want to make plays. You want to be aggressive,” Ryan said. “But there’s a time and place for that. That was not the place.”