Good to know that, given the last three games, Adrian Peterson is still capable of making even the most jaded football observer gasp with astonishment.
Which is exactly what he did with an 11-yard touchdown that put the Vikings up, momentarily. Surely you’ve seen it, but let’s watch it again. Over and over again.
But the jaded football observer could see one thing with that play that might make him or her a little queasy. Not to take anything away from Adrian Peterson’s astounding play, where he ended up carrying about five guys into the end zone.
Including, you might note, Vikings tight end Chase Ford, who was just signed to the full 53-man roster the day before the game (after being waived, and assigned to the practice squad, a cycle he has endured all season).
But, hey, man, he pretty much carries AP into the end zone!
The Daily Norseman is hip to it, calling Peterson and Ford “teammates of the week.”
Kissing Suzy Kolber also notes the little pick me up, saying “a good deal of the credit that this ended as a TD goes to Vikings tight end Chase Ford, who catches Peterson being forced to the ground by two Cowboys defenders and helps push him into the end zone.”
By wait, isn’t that illegal? It is, according to the NFL rule book. It used to be called aiding a runner or some such thing, and the explanation from the rulebook is here, and we quote: “No player on offense may assist a runner except by blocking for him.”
There’s a lengthier explanation (this being the NFL rulebook), but looks like Ford got away with one.
Seems like this has been happening a lot this season, which has some people wondering if refs even bother to call it anymore.
But let’s not diminish the greatness of Adrian Peterson. As Yahoo! Sports puts it, Peterson scored “one of the most beastly touchdowns of the season.”
