Protecting Rivers paramount, say beat up offensive linemen

Adrian Peterson (Running Back): Peterson finally blew the doors off the fantasy football world, entering the end zone for the first time this season. Minnesota’s feisty defense crossed the goal line, too.

This approach was clear from the start, as Zimmer sent Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr on multiple A-Gap blitzes throughout the game to harass Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Fallout from a child-abuse case against him previous year kept him out of all but one game.

Minnesota’s defense got into the act early in the fourth quarter when linebacker Chad Greenway intercepted a tipped Philip Rivers pass and took it back 91 yards down the sideline, pushing the Vikings’ lead to 31-7.

Allen scored his second touchdown late in the game on a 19-yard reception from backup quarterback Kellen Clemens.

Center Chris Watt (groin), left guard Orlando Franklin (right ankle) and left tackle King Dunlap (concussion) all left the game with injuries, leaving the Chargers with only five available, let alone healthy, linemen.

“We prepare for that”, he said. Third-round pick Craig Mager aggravated a hamstring injury in the first quarter.

The best part about it, Griffen said, is the way the defensive line is functioning as a team.

Mike McCoy is meticulous in his approach as an National Football League head coach, paying attention to every detail leading up to game days.

I’ll gladly take San Diego by a touchdown on its home field.

Peterson texted back about an hour or so later, a little more than two hours before kickoff, and told his coach he’d be there.

“I know he was excited to go against his old team“, said Vikings guard Mike Harris, who played for Turner during his final season in San Diego. “We have a number of guys who are dinged right now, so it’ll be day-to-day”. Greenway’s father, Alan, died of cancer last December.

The Chargers probably would’ve loved if Peterson didn’t play on Sunday, which is amusing, because that actually nearly happened.

While the San Diego defense obviously had trouble stopping Adrian Peterson who rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, they did not get any help from their counterparts on the San Diego offense. Rhodes, whose neck snapped backward, was motionless on the turf for a few moments. The team selected Melvin Gordon in the first round for a reason.

Rivers went after Waynes right away, but the Michigan State product performed relatively well.

A successful run is defined as one that gains four yards or more, and 48.2 percent of opponents’ rushes have gained at least four yards. Rivers has thrown an interception in nine consecutive games, the longest streak in the NFL.

Norv Turner said he doesn’t call them revenge games.

The Vikings, with the win, improve to 2-1 and will visit the 3-0 Denver Broncos next week. “There was some plays that we could have done a lot better at, I thought, in the first half than what we did, but I think them continually working as a group, I think T.J”.

The losses are abundant and significant for the Bolts that their game next week against Cleveland becomes a much bigger deal than it did at the beginning of the season. Three weeks into the season, though, the Vikings and the Green Bay Packers are the only two teams in the NFC North that have the look of a playoff contender.