The Minnesota Vikings were thoroughly and soundly defeated by the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, dropping the Vikings to 8-4 and back in to a tie with the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead. Among those frustrated with the 38-7 loss was running back Adrian Peterson, who said after the game that the Vikings were "outcoached" in the blowout.
Adrian Peterson says Vikings were ‘outcoached’ in loss to Seahawks
Peterson has had no more than 16 rushing attempts in each of the Vikings’ four losses and no fewer than 19 attempts in each of the team’s eight wins.
“I feel like we were out of sync,” Peterson told reporters after the game. “You definitely have to give credit to Seattle for coming in and forcing us to do things differently. They were just a better team. They were more aggressive, more physical and they outcoached us as well.”
When Peterson was asked to elaborate on his thoughts on the coaching, he didn’t get into specifics but said they were outcoached “in so many ways,” though he directed blame at Vikings players too, who he said were “outplayed.”
Peterson's biggest qualm with the coaching was the lack of touches he received. While Teddy Bridgewater was asked to throw 28 times, Peterson finished with just eight carries for 18 yards one week after he shredded the Atlanta Falcons for 158 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
“As one of the leaders on the team and seeing how the running game has been all season, you definitely want to go out and establish the run and let things feed on that,” Peterson said. “I finished with eight carries, so it’s tough. I feel like we can go back and evaluate things again, and get back to what we do.”
The Vikings were forced into trying to catch up to the Seahawks after falling behind early, so offensive coordinator Norv Turner needed to dial up pass plays, but the first touchdown of the game for Seattle came with 3:36 left in the first quarter and the team didn’t extend the lead to 14-0 until just seconds before the two-minute warning in the first half.
Failing to establish Peterson and the Vikings running game as a threat has been a consistent failure for Turner during the 2015 season. In each of the Vikings’ eight wins, Peterson has had at least 19 rushing attempts and averaged 125.9 yards per game. In the four losses, Peterson has had no more than 16 attempts and has averaged just 43.8 rushing yards.
Despite the inconsistency with establishing Peterson in the game plan, he still leads the NFL in rushing attempts with 245 and yards with 1,182. His average of 98.5 rushing yards per game is a big reason why the Vikings are battling the Packers for the NFC North title and are likely a shoo-in to at least earn a spot in the postseason.
“We kind of got away from who we are a little bit once the score got to 14-0,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said after the game.
According to ESPN, Peterson met with Zimmer to express his concerns with the play calling after he received just 13 carries for 45 yards in a 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. His performance in the week that followed was one of his best of the season, finishing with two rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns against the Falcons.
Up next for the Vikings is a road game against the 10-2 Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. The Cardinals are No. 4 in the NFL against the run, but have faced the second-fewest rushing attack thanks to an offense that has consistently put teams behind early. The 4.0 yards per carry allowed by Arizona is No. 15 in the NFL.
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