Yes, I know it sounds a little crazy to say a guy who had 94 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards and two touchdowns on Monday night is struggling. But with one game left in the regular season, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson just isn't very good right now.Peterson's fumble set up the Bears' winning touchdown on Monday night, and Peterson's fumbling is becoming a huge problem: He's fumbled seven times, losing six of them this season.
Moreover, even when Peterson isn't fumbling, he isn't running very well. Peterson has averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry in every single one of the Vikings' last six games. Remember the Adrian Peterson who used to show off his blazing speed and break all those long runs? What happened to that guy? His longest run in the last six weeks went a whopping 16 yards.
As I wrote in today's Wall Street Journal, momentum matters in the NFL playoffs. And the Vikings' momentum is going decidedly in the wrong direction. Until Peterson starts playing like the star he's supposed to be, the Vikings are going to have a hard time reversing that momentum.




