Vikings vs. Rams: Adrian Peterson carries Minnesota to another win

The St. Louis Rams (6-7-1) saw their slim postseason chances slip away on Sunday on the back of Adrian Peterson as the Minnesota Vikings (8-6) prevailed, 36-22.

The Rams had actually played the Vikings close through the first 18 minutes of the game, with St. Louis tying the game up 7-7 off a Sam Bradford 4-yard touchdown pass. The game would instantly be turned around, however, just a few plays later as Peterson raced 82 yards for a score. The Vikings would never look back, scoring 26 unanswered points and blowing the game wide open.

Like, really wanted to be sure.

See, I told you so.

Jackson, who had seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons coming into the 2012 season, has been the one bright spot that many Rams fans could cheer about despite the fact that they haven’t had a winning season since 2003. Jackson, known for his tough running style and for being a leader on and off the field, has had a great career even though he has only been in the playoffs once (the Rams made the playoffs as an 8-8 team in Jackson’s rookie season).

There have been 26 NFL running backs to hit the 10,000 rushing yards benchmark and of those 26, 13 are in the NFL Hall of Fame, which doesn’t include players like Ledainian Tomlinson, who will likely be in the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible. Of course, Jackson has quite a few years left to play if he plans on becoming the all-time NFL rushing leader as he would have to rack up over 18,355 yards to unseat Emmitt Smith.

The 82-yard run is Peterson’s longest of the season and AP’s 11th touchdown. Coming into this game Peterson had 1,600 yards rushing and with the way he has been playing lately, a 2,000 yard season is a strong possibility.

Fantasy Impact: Peterson has been on an absolute tear lately. He has gone over 100 yards in seven straight games entering Sunday’s contest against the Rams. With 90 yards midway through the second quarter, it looks as if he’ll easily surpass that mark again on Sunday.

The Vikings are 7-6 and the Rams are 6-6 and neither team can suffer a loss in this game as they continue to fight for their playoff lives.

Despite tearing both his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve of last season, Peterson is currently on pace for arguably the most impressive statistical season of his career. With 1,600 rushing yards through 13 games, the Pro Bowl back needs to average 133.3 yards on the ground per game over his final three contests in order to become just the seventh player of all-time in the 2,000-yard club.

Looking to slow Peterson down in Week 15 is a St. Louis defense that ranks 13th in the NFL in opposing rush yards allowed. The Rams have not allowed an opposing tailback to rush for more than 60 yards over their current three-game winning streak however, but still have yet to face off against a workhorse like Peterson. Nonetheless, after a two-win season for the franchise in 2011, the Rams are still firmly in playoff contention at 6-6-1 under first-year coach Jeff Fisher.

St. Louis, holding the momentum and playing at home, are 1.5-point favorites in what is expected to be a tight game, with the line set at 38 1/2.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX.