Sprint Game Ball Of The Week - Detroit Edition

This post is sponsored by Sprint.

I said last week that I was going to do a poll for who was going to receive this week's Sprint Game Ball of the Week, and that really was my intention. You know, until one guy basically stepped up and said, "You know what, Chris? Don't bother. I've got this."

Yes, once again, the Minnesota Vikings saw fit to put a game on the broad, capable shoulders of Adrian Peterson, and he responded with his best yardage game since his 192-yard performance against Green Bay in 2008 his 180-yard performance in the 2009 season opener against Cleveland (thanks for the correction, Ace991). With Minnesota's passing "attack" struggling for the third consecutive game, AP had decided that he had endured quite enough nonsense and proceeded to beat the Lions into submission almost single-handedly. He had an alright first half of play, carrying the rock 13 times for 53 yards and a six-yard score, and catching three passes on top of that. Then, in the second half, Peterson notched the longest run of his career, the fifth-longest run in Vikings history, and the longest run by a Viking at home since the team moved into the Metrodome in 1982. The 80-yard blast gave the Vikings their final margin of victory at 24-10, and put Peterson back on the map as the home run threat that few backs in the NFL can compare to.

Peterson has been one of the shining lights on offense this season for the Vikings. His 392 rushing yards through the first three games of the season currently has him ranked second in the NFL in that category, behind only Arian Foster of the Houston Texans. He's also averaging 5.6 yards per carry thus far, the same as he averaged in his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2007. Also. . .and this is the most important. . .after averaging one fumble every 51 touches during the 2009 regular season, Peterson has handled the ball 83 times in 2010 and has yet to display even a hint of putting the ball on the turf.

So, for the second consecutive week, the deserving recipient of the Sprint Game Ball of the Week is running back Adrian Peterson. Because, really, who else were we going to give it to?