The Green Bay Packers lost an opportunity to take the NFC's No. 2 seed when they fell to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. As SB Nation's Acme Packing Company pointed out after the loss, Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson's big day was a primary reason why the Packers were not able to emerge victorious:
Packers vs. Vikings 2012: Green Bay can’t stop Adrian Peterson
For the second time this season, Green Bay wasn’t able to provide much resistance to Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson.
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Adrian Peterson didn’t break the single-season rushing record, but put in a magnificent performance, comfortably breaking 2,000 yards rushing and coming within nine yards of Eric Dickerson’s record. He sealed the win for his team in the fourth quarter, pulling the Vikings from the edge of field goal range to within 29 yards.
Peterson ran for well over 800 yards in the month of December. He finished with 199 yards on the ground against the Packers on Sunday, including the aforementioned 29-yarder to put his team in close field goal range. Peterson also ran for 210 yards when these two teams met in Green Bay earlier in the month.
The Packers’ loss means they receive the No. 3 playoff seed, while the Vikings are the six-seed, setting up a rematch in Green Bay next Saturday night. That game is slated to begin at 8 p.m. ET with television coverage from NBC.
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