Looking at statistics alone, you’d have to go with the Chargers game. Nearly all the yards came in 1 half and it was an NFL record for crying out loud.
If you look at it from the game/season perspective, I’d have to side with the Bears game. The AD TDs were necessary for the Vikes to win that game. His last one should have iced the game like you mentioned, but thanks to ex-Viking-now-Lion-weed-smoking Dwight Smith, the game was tied. Then, Purple Jesus himself stepped in and returned the kick off 53 yards to set up the game winning field goal. (Great FG by Longwell, by the way) If we hadn’t had that great field position, I doubt we would have gotten a chance to win in regulation.
In comparison of the 2 games in within the season, the importance of winning this game was slightly higher, in my opinion. The Vikes desperately needed this win to come off that 3 game skid. Plus, nobody thought that the Vikings were going to beat the Chargers. Once we all saw that game on the schedule we all wrote it off as one of the losses for the season (can’t win ‘em all, right New England??)
So, if I had to choose, I’d probably say the Bears game.

Do you know how many games have been played in the history of the NFL?

A shit ton.
Thats right, a shit ton. Thats alot of games. And only one time has a player rushed for 296 yards, so i think the answer should obviously be the san diego game…
Or should it? I don’t know. In fact, in my mind I think the chicago game was actually more impressive. Why, how could this be? The kickoff return. Fourth quearter and the vikes were way up and should have had that game easily locked up. Should have. Thats what winning football teams do. Thats what winning players do… But no… not the vikings… We somehow lost the lead, we lost our energy, lost our flow, our offense couldn’t move the ball, our defense was playing retarded, we were about to get the ball back with hardly anytime at all before facing the inevitable overtime collapse. What do we do?
With our hope painfully swirling down the drain, with all momentum lost, we decide to put the rookie back to return the kickoff in a tied game. A rookie who has five games total nfl experience. And how many career kickoff returns in those five games? Two or something? Does he crack under the pressure of the momentum swing, in a hostile stadium, against the bears highly regarded special teams? No. Instead this rookie shows that he is a winner. That he has the speed, the desire, the skills, and the intangibles to be the best. He takes that kickoff and runs right up the gut with an illusive speed leaving his persuers….in….the…dust. Beautiful. For the win. Your welcome guys. Next year I’m runnin’ for 2000 yards. Yes, this is how good this guy is. I am actually arguing whether or not his NFL record setting performance was his best game of the year. If 253 yards in a half was part of his best game of the year. HUH?!? Yes, this is how good this guys is…

And hes a viking! Yay!

Oh, it was definitely the Chargers game. He broke the record in that game. Think of all the big name RBs that have ever played the games, everyone that’s held that record, and he shattered it. As it was said, if not for that horse collar tackle, he would have easily broken 300 yards and had 4 TDs that game. Not only that, but I was checking the Charger’s rush defense ranking. They went from 7th to 22nd after that single game. Pretty impressive for one man to do.

I will have to say the Chargers game also and not just because of the record but because as someone mentioned we were not supposed to win that game. The Chargers were a way better team than chicago and AD made them look silly in the 2nd half! It was great!

Sort of off topic but my favorite play (moment) of AD in ‘07 was against Detroit when he made Kenoy Kennedy look like a 98 year old man trying to catch a scared cat.

As remarkable and outstanding as the Chargers game was, part of the reason why AD was getting so many touches was because the Vikes were in the lead and they were running down the clock. Not trying to take anything away from AD’s amazing performance, but when there’s a minute left and they notice that he’s 6 yards shy of the record, of course they’re going to put him in instead of kneeling down the clock (like they easily could have).

Where the Chicago game outshines the San Diego game is that the Vikes ultimately NEEDED every one of those yards/points that AD earned. What was especially critical was the kickoff return where he torched everyone. When Dwight Smith blew the coverage and Hester tied the game with a minute left, I know I wasn’t the only one panicking. The Vikes offense had completely stalled. It was clearly a passing situation, and T-Jack was a staggering 9 for 23 at that point. AD’s kickoff return saved the game, one that was won almost entirely because of his 3 TD’s.

I don’t think it’s been said yet, but before this game, Chicago hadn’t given up a running play of more than 35 yards since the start of the 2005 season.

Also, I agree with Rooster. The play he made on Kennedy was all kinds of fantastic.

Like Randy Moss’s Monday Night performance against Green Bay in 1998, that Sunday afternoon in Chicago vaulted the Purple Jesus into prominence. Frankly, the rest of the team, except for the offensive line, really stunk it up. The Bears did everything they possibly could have to get back into that game, and Peterson kept knocking them down again.

That second half against the Chargers was otherworldly, but I think the team owes less of that win to the Purple Jesus as it did in Chicago.

45 yards and no touchdowns… for the whole team.

Good to see you have been studying film to prepare yourself for the upcoming season. I am sure you will see plenty of 45 yard and no touchdown games this year with Mr Rogers at the helm. Nice try trolling though, I will give you a gold star.