When your running back finishes the first half of your game in Seattle against a very tough Seahawks defense with 144 yards and two touchdowns, it's usually smart just to assume that said running back should get the ball every time the quarterback takes a snap and you may just want to go ahead and try your hand at playing him on special teams and on defense too. That's how the first half worked for the Vikings in Seattle. Peterson had 144 yards and two touchdowns at halftime and it looked like he was on pace for a possible record setting day.
Vikings mysteriously decide not to use Adrian Peterson in the second half
The Vikings have shied away from using the NFL’s leading rusher in the second half and go to the air instead, a decision which could come back to haunt them in the end.
However, in the second half, the Vikings have inexplicably decided against using Peterson like one would think they should. With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Peterson has only racked up 38 second-half yards, a far cry short of 144. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the 11 men on the field for the Seahawks have likely been told that Peterson is priority one and he must be stopped and it also may have to do with the fact that he has only carried the ball five times so far in the second half.
Seattle currently leads the Vikings by a score of 27-20 and while the Vikings are still in the game, you have to wonder why they wouldn’t feed the rock to the “hot hand” and ride the Peterson train to victory. It has worked so far. Maybe they’re worried about how his knee will hold up if every single Seahawks defender is focused on stopping him and they want to limit his carries or maybe they have the Seahawks defense cheating up so far in the box to stop Peterson that they think they can burn them deep with the pass. Either way, if they want to win this game, it would likely be best to give the ball to the guy who has kept the game close in the first place.
So for those of you with Adrian Peterson on your fantasy team, hope that the powers that be come to their senses.
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