Jaguars Vs. Vikings: Adrian Peterson As Good As New

With just one win from its four teams, the AFC South did not look like one of the stronger divisions in the NFL. For several of those teams, those losses came with injuries to key players.

For full coverage from across the league of all this week’s injuries, head to SB Nation’s NFL hub.

The Packers entered the game without starting running back James Starks, but won’t have to add much to the injury report this week as defensive end C.J. Wilson was the only player with a reported injury on Sunday as his groin caused him to miss some action.

Minnesota didn’t report any injuries following its overtime victory.

Every team in the NFL worries about staying healthy, but rebuilding teams like the Jaguars have a much smaller margin for error and can ill afford significant losses along their line.

For more on the Jaguars, head over to Big Cat Country, and for all things Vikings, check out Daily Norseman. Also head over to SB Nation’s NFL hub for even more coverage from around the league.

Walsh also hit a 55-yarder as time expired to send the game to overtime.

Gabbert was given what felt like a hopeless situation: A five-point deficit with 1:18 of clock and 76 yards to go for an offense that had only scored one touchdown.

No matter which team you root for, watching one of the NFL’s best runners back on the field in the season opener after a tough ACL injury is a beautiful thing. And here is Adrian Peterson scoring his first touchdown of the year.

I was able to get an exclusive interview with Jacob Tettleman of Palm Beach, FL, who owns Peterson in a Yahoo! league. He said, “Oh, cool, why doesn’t AP have three touchdowns? The Jaguars suck.”

Peterson returned to practice in August after sustaining an ACL/MCL injury last season. It was unknown at the time whether he’d be ready to return for the start of the season.

Peterson has been working hard over the last week to convince the Vikings he’s ready to play. He was listed as a game-time decision most of the week, despite Peterson saying that he’s ‘ready to roll’ on Thursday and that sitting out the game would be a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ on Friday.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Mall of America Field in Minneapolis, Minn., and the contest will air on CBS. Currently, oddsmakers have the Vikings favored by 4.5.

For more on the Jaguars, head over to Big Cat Country, and for all things Vikings, check out Daily Norseman.

The 14-member panel at ESPN.com shows a slight eight-to-six edge in favor of the Vikings, while six of the nine expert sources at CBSSports.com have sided with Jacksonville. At Yahoo!, Mike Silver thinks the Jags will win but Jason Cole and Les Carpenter have selected the Vikings to prevail. In other words, this game can probably be considered a toss-up.

The Vikings went just 3-13 a year ago, but are currently 4-point favorites against the Jaguars according to OddsShark.com. Neither team was very good against the spread last season, but Minnesota was just 2-5-1 against the spread at home. Jacksonville finished the season 7-9 against the spread including 3-5 on the road.

Both teams struggled offensively a year ago and are relying on second-year quarterbacks. The over/under is currently set at 38, which is the lowest total of any Week 1 game. Sunday’s game will be just the fifth matchup between the two franchises with Minnesota winning three of the first four.