Adrian Peterson rushed for 212 yards and one touchdown to help earn the Minnesota Vikings a much needed 36-22 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Peterson, cut through St. Louis’ defense in the second quarter for an 82-yard touchdown score tying his season long he set just two weeks ago against the Green Bay Packers. This is his eighth consecutive 100+ yard game for the NFL’s leading rusher. With two games to go, Peterson needs 294 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 NFL single-season rushing record.

His success on the field not only has him in contention for comeback player of the year but also keeps him in the running for MVP.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder completed 17 of 24 passes for 131 yards. On his first offensive drive of the game on 3rd and 5, Ponder scrambled in for a 5-yard touchdown run giving the Vikings an early 7-0 lead. His favorite target was Jerome Simpson, who caught four catches for 27 yards.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford completed 35 of 55 passes for 377 yards three touchdowns and one interception. Bradford’s first touchdown came in the second quarter when he connected on a 4-yard pass to wideout Brian Quick.

Bradford threw his lone interception in the second quarter to defensive end Everson Griffen, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

Bradford and the Rams started to come back in the fourth quarter. First Bradford connected with wideout Danny Amendola on a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Rams defense was able to force the Vikings to punt  on the following drive. On the Rams ensuing offensive drive, Bradford lead his offense from their own 12-yard line. Bradford connected with tight-end Lance Kendricks for a score and converted a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 33-22.

The Vikings answered back with a 51-yard field goal from kicker Blair Walsh and preserved the lead, earning Minnesota their second consecutive win.

At 8-6, the Vikings are still in contention for a wildcard play-off position, but will need help. They will have a tough match-up on the road next week against the Houston Texans. As for the Rams, they will head to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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The Arizona Cardinals started the season 4-0, and have since been on a nine-game losing skid. The Cardinals finally snapped their losing streak after their 38-10 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with a Mikel Leshoure 1-yard touchdown run. Arizona answered back on the ensuing drive and running back Beanie Wells punched in a five yard touchdown to tie the game up.

Arizona’s defense played extraordinarily well and inevitably led the Cardinals to victory. The Cardinals forced four turnovers: three interceptions and one fumble. Arizona picked off Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford for the first time in the second quarter. Cornerback Patrick Peterson intercepted Stafford and returned it 31 yards.

The Cardinals capitalized on that interception and Wells punched in a 1-yard run. Seconds before the end of the first-half safety Rashard Johnson intercepted Stafford and returned it for a 53 yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 21-7 lead going into halftime.

Cornerback Greg Toler picked off Stafford in the fourth quarter and returned it 102 yards for a score and put the Cardinals comfortably ahead 31-10. Wells put the icing on the cake with a 31-yard run with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Wells finished the game with 67 yards along with three touchdowns.

Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley completed 14 of 21 passes for 104 yards and threw one interception. Lindley has played in five games and has yet to throw his first NFL touchdown.

As for Stafford, he completed 24 of 50 passes for 246 yards. This was Stafford’s third game this season without throwing a touchdown pass, two of those three games resulted in loses.

Star wideout Calvin Johnson may be the only reason why the Lions are still getting some attention despite a six-game losing streak. Johnson hauled in 10 receptions for 121 yards. This was his seventh consecutive game with 100+ receiving yards — he still needs 182 yards to break Jerry Rice’s NFL single season receiving yard record.

Johnson will look to get closer to Rice’s record next week as the Detroit Lions will welcome the Atlanta Falcons to Ford Field. As for the Cardinals, they will welcome the Chicago Bears.

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The Green Bay Packers clinched the NFC North division for a second consecutive season with their 21-13 victory over divisional rivals the Chicago Bears at Solider Field.

Aaron Rodgers helped the Packers continue their 12-game winning streak in the NFC North division by tossing three touchdown passes. Rodgers completed 22 of 36 passes for 291 along with his three touchdown passes.

James Jones was the recipient to all three touchdowns, catching a total of five catches for 60 yards. Also, wideout Randall Cobb caught a game high six reception for 115 yards.

The Packers featured a combination of running backs to help jumpstart the run game. Alex Green, Ryan Grant and DuJuan Harris combined for 94 of Green Bay’s 113 rushing yards. The run game has picked up in the recent weeks due to rotation they have implemented.

Green Bay was ecstatic with the return of linebacker Clay Matthews, who missed the team’s last four games with a hamstring injury. His presence on defense was known, finishing the game with six tackles and two sacks. Matthews has 11 sacks in the 10 games he has played this season. The defensive pressure stepped it up in his return, combining for four total sacks.

The gameplan for Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears was to run the ball, control the clock and keep Rodgers off the field. Their opening drive looked as if it would have been successful but they had trouble moving the ball.

Cutler finished the game after completing 12 of 21 passes for 135 yards one touchdown and one interception. Cutler connected with wide receiver Brandon Marshall on a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give the Bears their early (and only) lead of the game.

The Packers secondary contained Marshall, who leads the league with 107 receptions, to only six receptions for 35 yards along with his score.

As for Chicago’s run game, Matt Forte had 20 carries for 69 yards. Forte also contributed in the pass game catching five passes for 64 yards.

Chicago’s tenacious defense was without Brian Urlacher but was still able to force two turnovers against Green Bay. Grant busted through the defense for a positive gain and was hit by cornerback Charles Tillman, who forced a fumble recovered by linebacker Nick Roach.

With less than eight minutes left, on a punt, returner Cobb attempted to throw a backwards pass to Jeremy Ross which he also fumbled — the Bears regained possession. The Bears were only able to kick a field goal on the horrendous Packers mistake.

With the victory, the Packers are in contention to earn a first-round playoff bye. As for the Bears, they have fallen to 8-6, along with four other teams in the NFC and will have to battle to earn a wild card playoff position. The Packers will be play their final home game of the season next week against the Tennessee Titans. The Bears will head west to take on the Arizona Cardinals.

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The Atlanta Falcons demolished the New York Giants 34-0, to improve to 12-2 and 7-0 at the Georgia Dome.

Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns. His 82.1 completion percentage and 142.6 quarterback rating were both season highs for the five-year starter. This was also Ryan’s sixth game this season throwing at least three touchdown passes.

Wide receiver Julio Jones was tied for a game-high six receptions for 74 yards and hauled in two touchdown catches. Jones has surpassed his eight touchdown rookie season, catching nine with for over 1,000 yards and still two games to go.

Veteran tight-end Tony Gonzalez also caught six receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. Gonzalez leads the Falcons with 87 receptions.

As for the run game, Michael Turner carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards and punched in a one-yard run on the Falcons first offensive drive.

The Giants were out of sync from the start, opening their first drive with Eli Manning throwing an interception on 2 and 7 from their own 16 yard-line. Manning threw his second interception in the second quarter, resulting in a Falcons field goal.

Manning only completed 13 of 25 passes for 161 yards. His favorite target was wide receiver Domenik Hixon, who caught five passes for 80 yards.

The Giants were without running back Ahmad Bradshaw because of a foot-and-knee injury. Instead, rookie David Wilson got the nod for the start but was not nearly as explosive as last week. Wilson carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards.

With the loss, the Giants have fallen to 8-6 along with four other teams in the NFC. The Giants are currently third in the NFC East division at 8-6 behind the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, who are all 8-6. However, the Giants still control their own destiny and by winning out they will earn a wildcard playoff position. As for the Falcons, they will head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions and control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

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The Cleveland Browns kicked off an important season in their ongoing process of building a playoff caliber team by entertaining Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon. A ferocious defensive effort from the visiting Eagles saw them pick up a hard fought 17-16 victory, which will be all the more heartbreaking for Cleveland fans considering how close they came to upsetting the odds and recording the win themselves.

The Browns got off to a good start in the match as Phil Dawson connected with a 43-yard field goal, before Craig Robertson picked off Vick in the Eagles next drive. Despite having taken the advantage early on in the game, neither Brandon Weeden nor Trent Richardson were able to make a significant impact in the first half. Weeden threw two interceptions in the second quarter, while Richardson was only able to put up 25 yards from 11 carries in the first half, mainly due to the uncompromising defense of DeMeco Ryans.

The Cleveland defense was keeping the Browns in the game during the first half, with Vick under constant pressure and unable to connect regularly with the likes of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The Philadelphia offensive line did, however, manage to give their quarterback good protection late in the second quarter. Vick stayed in the pocket and found Maclin in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass which, along with an earlier field goal, gave the Eagles a 10-3 lead at the half.

Both quarterbacks struggled in the third quarter, with Vick throwing two further interceptions and Weeden adding another to his own tally. The Browns were able to add two further field goals in the late third and early fourth quarter, thanks to interceptions by the Cleveland secondary, narrowing the Philadelphia lead to just one point.

Things went from bad to worse for Vick then, however, as D’Qwell Jackson picked off his pass on the Eagles 27-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Browns a six point lead with just over 10 minutes left to play in the final quarter.

A long drive late in the quarter by the Eagles resulted in a first and goal on the three yard line at the two minute warning. After a run by Bryce Brown, which culminated in a one yard loss, Vick threw a touchdown pass to tight end Clay Harbor. The extra point was good and Philadelphia once more regained the lead, leaving Weeden a difficult task with just over a minute left to play.

Unfortunately for Weeden and the Browns, any attempt to rescue the game was cut short as the quarterback was intercepted by Kurt Coleman, and the Eagles were able to safely see out the game.

This will be a game for rookies Weeden (12/35, 118 yards, 0 TDs, 4 INT) and Richardson (19 carries, 39 yards) to forget, as their personal performances do not do justice to how close and competitive this game was. Although Richardson’s performance could be attributed to his recent lack of practice due to injury, all but the most optimistic of Cleveland fans will be casting wary glances in the direction of Weeden, the franchise’s 17^th starting quarterback since 1999.

The Eagles weren’t without their own problems, specifically the pressure exerted on Vick by the opposing defense, and the offensive line will have to work hard to rectify this issue. Vick himself wasn’t terrible (29/56, 317 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INT) but the four interceptions he threw are a worry for Head Coach Andy Reid.

Both teams face challenging matches next week, with the Browns visiting divisional rivals the Cincinnati Bengals, while Philadelphia hosts the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns and Eagles will have to take much better care of the ball in those games if they are to stand any chance of beating two teams who both made it to the playoffs last season.

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