The Minnesota Vikings are heading into a very important game against the Carolina Panthers coming off of their bye week and after playing and winning in London, the team will be looking to win again at home at 1 pm in a game that will be broadcast on FOX and Adrian Peterson is expected to play despite having a family tragedy with his son being beaten to death in South Dakota.
Peterson was thought to possibly miss the game when he left the team on Thursday to take care of a family issue, but he was back with the team on Friday and sources said that he will start the game despite his son dying from being abused by the boyfriend of the child's mother and while it is a trivial matter, that is a big deal for the Vikings, as they are just 1-3 and Peterson is one of the leading rushers in the NFL. Peterson has over 400 yards rushing this season and is leading with five touchdowns and he will be key for the team Sunday. Peterson is coming off his best game of the season with 140 yards and two touchdowns in London against the Steelers and now he will play a tough front in the Panthers.
Check here for the Vikings and Panthers live coverage for the NFL game on Sunday for Week 6 or for more on the schedule from SWR.
Peterson has rushed for 421 yards this season to rank third in the NFL and has has scored three touchdowns over the past two weeks and he is leading the league in rushing yards per game this season after rushing for more than 88 yards in every game this season. Peterson went for 100 yards or more in half of his games this season and he has been consistent while getting in the end zone, scoring in three of four games this season and he likely will get plenty of touches on Sunday. The team is ranked in the top 10 in rushing defense this season in yards allowed per game and the Vikings come in with a top 10 rushing offense in yards per game.
The team opened the season with three straight losses before winning against the Steelers in the England game and now the team will play a tough stretch with the Panthers at home before travelling to play against the New York Giants on Monday night football on the east coast. The team then comes back home to play the Green Bay Packers and then the team will travel to play the Dallas Cowboys to start a stretch of three games in four weeks, playing home next against the Washington Redskins and then travelling to play the Seattle Seahawks and then the Green Bay Packers in back to back weeks.
The division rival Chicago Bears will be next on the schedule at home and then the team will travel to play the Baltimore Ravens before coming back home against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team then will play the Cincinnati Bengals on the road before finishing the season at home against the Detroit Lions and if the team and Peterson can get back into the division race, that could be a huge matchup. The team plays against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at 1 pm on Fox and the game will be from Mall of America Field.