NFL Overlook of Week 10

There was a lot of exciting football in Week 10, but I believe this was the most interesting event that happened in the NFL this week.
MVP: Adrian Peterson - Vikings RB

I believed that halfway through the 2008 NFL season that Clinton Portis, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner were the leading candidates for the MVP award, but what about Adrian Peterson?

In my mind, today was Peterson's best game of his career. I know last year Peterson broke the all-time NFL record with 296 rushing yards in a game against a good San Diego football team, but today he was phenomenal because of the leadership he showed and how dominant he was when the Vikings needed him the most.

Last year, Peterson was a rookie and surprised NFL defenses because they had no idea he was going to be so good, so early in his career. This year the NFL knows what to expect from him along with the Vikings predictable offense, but today it didn't matter because he still ran over a good Packers defense for 192 rushing yards, 225 all-purpose yards and scored the game winning 29-yard touchdown. What made it better was because it was against the Vikings' biggest rival and more importantly, with the win today they are now tied for first (5-4) in the NFC North division with the Chicago Bears.

His performance was even more impressive because of the leadership he showed, especially in the 4th quarter. During the middle of the 4th quarter, the Vikings were 4th and 1 and trailing the Packers, 21-24. Vikings head coach, Brad Childress, was going to play it safe and punt the ball, but was persuaded by Peterson because he felt Peterson could get the first down. Childress went for it having Peterson run the ball but he fumbled it, giving Green Bay the ball with excellent field position. Luckily the Vikings defense only let the Packers get a field goal, leaving Minnesota with the ball down 21-27, with six minutes left in the game just needing a touchdown to win.

At that point in the game, Peterson went to another level because he took over the game like I have never seen before. The Vikings marched down the field with Peterson touching the ball 6 of the 7 plays and getting 64 of the 69 yards, finishing with a 29-yard rushing touchdown. He was running and catching the ball tearing the Packers' defense apart with the determination that he was not going to lose the game and made a performance to convince me that he is now my leading NFL MVP candidate.

Going into Week 11, Peterson is now leading the NFL in rushing yards (1015) over Portis (995), is fifth in rushing TD's (7) and over the last four games has been the best running back in the NFL averaging over 140 yards per game. It's not just stats that make him my favorite MVP candidate, the Vikings have also won three out of their last four games and has become the leader of the team in just his second year in the NFL. I'm not going to guarantee Peterson will be the MVP because their record is just (5-4), but if the Vikings win their division and make it to the playoffs it will largely be because of Peterson. Make sure to watch Peterson more as the season goes on because not only is he amazing to watch, he could be the 2008 NFL MVP.