Photo Credit: Carlos Gonzalez /TNS
The Vikings and their fans were looking forward to the return of Adrian Peterson, especially since he was poised to have a breakout year. We all know what happened during Peterson’s 2014 season that kept him off the field, but Monday was supposed to be his big return. This was finally going to show everyone how much better and more mature the 30-year old has gotten in his time away from the NFL.
The 49ers had a different idea about that though and the final score ended up being 20-3 with the 49ers walking out with the win. The big news of the game was how good Carlos Hyde was scoring two touchdowns and not the triumphant return of Peterson. In the game, Peterson got a total of ten rushing attempts for 31 yards and 0 touchdowns which is not the AP that everyone expected to see and trusted to seal the win for the Vikings.
Where does the blame lie though? Some of the blame lies on the 49ers because their defense and offense were on fire. It could have been that they had home field advantage, but the 49ers made sure that the Vikings knew who they were. The two touchdowns by Carlos Hyde really didn’t make matters any better, especially for Peterson. One of the most elite running backs getting taken to school by a guy who is in his second year in the NFL.
Some of the blame has to lie on the Vikings offensive line, though. With AP gone all of last season, the line became more attuned to QB Teddy Bridgewater instead of Peterson. The line actually had a pretty sloppy night especially when Bridgewater ran into his own guy trying to get away from a defender. It could have just been an off night for the O-line and with the 49ers defense constantly pushing, the pressure may have been too much for them. With the 49ers offensive line making such big plays, the Vikings O-line in comparison was a complete mess, but there’s one last place that some will forget to lay the blame on.
Adrian Peterson has to take some of the responsibility for his lackluster comeback. Any type of break from football can really take a toll on a guy, just ask Tim Tebow. Peterson seemed to lay a lot of blame on the offensive line without actually owning up to his weaknesses. AP is a great football player, but players have off days and if he expected to have a stellar comeback in his first game, those were his own unrealistic expectations. As “embarrassed” as Peterson was about the whole game, it can only get better if he works with the offensive line instead of trying to blame them. While the offensive line didn’t have a great game, his absence from football surely didn’t help either.
No matter how it’s described, the Vikings embarrassed themselves and Peterson’s comeback was all but forgotten. Everyone knew that Peterson was coming back and that he would be starting, but certainly no one thought it would end up like that. Hopefully, the Vikings will be able to form a more confident and secure offensive line relationship before the line and AP hit the field on Sunday.
