1. If you had one game ball to give out for Sunday’s win over the Packers, who gets it and why?
Not a large surprise here: Adrian Peterson gets my game ball. He’s the first player in the NFL this year to 1,000 rushing yards (1,015) and he got there with another phenomenal performance — 30 rushes for 192 yards, plus 33 yards receiving. He single-handedly guided the Vikings down the field on the game-winning TD drive. After he scored, he stood up and his face told it all. He wasn’t going to be stopped from scoring. He willed himself into the end zone on that drive. I felt like I was watching Tiger Woods grind over a 6-footer to win a major championship. After he fumbled on the fourth-and-1, he knew he had to redeem himself, or the 2008 season would start becoming a playoff-missing afterthought. He answered the bell, and he carried us into a first-place tie with Chicago. Now, we must keep pace.
— Joe Dolence
Obviously the game ball needs to go to Adrian Peterson. He single-handedly helped get Gus Frerotte out of a predicament with all of his turnovers. If AP had not run the ball as well as he did, we would have lost the game for sure. He had a lot of first-down runs that should have been through the air. But, with Gus playing as he was, we were lucky to have Adrian Peterson cut holes through the Packers defense. If I were to hand out a second game ball, I would give it to our other RB, Chester Taylor. He played a key part in the offense, not only on the ground, but through the air as well. Between those two running backs, they had 99 percent of our offense, and therefore earn my game ball for the day.
— Brandon Weick
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The Vikings defense set the tone early. The attack on Rodgers was relentless and demonstrated just how disruptive an aggressive pass rush can be. Many purple defenders contributed heavily, yet my game ball goes to a guy who didn’t have the most outrageous stat line, rather the guy who can be identified as a true gamer.
Jared Allen fought through his injury to lead this defensive effort with high emotion, incredible disruption and complete dominance. The Vikings have gained a share of first place in the NFC North despite the play of Gus Frerotte and our special teams. This simply illustrates what great coaches have known forever, and our coach may have finally stumbled upon. A strong running game and solid defense wins football games.
— Tom O’Leary
There is no question in my mind that Adrian Peterson should get the game ball. He had 30 carries, one for 29 yards. Peterson is a hard worker and has a great desire to play football. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to play defense, too. He is like the energized bunny — he just keeps going and going and going. Thanks to him, we are still in the running this season. No. 28, you are the Man!! I wonder if Gus Frerotte was thinking about the ball game he missed that his son played in. Something was sure wrong. If Jared Allen is really hurt, let’s hope he doesn’t heal until after the season is over. He certainly is a threat the way he is. Our team is finally getting interesting.
— Audrey Christison
