The Forgotten Man
-CAG AP
Going into this afternoon's game between the Colts and the Vikings, all the attention was on the Vikings' all-world running back, Adrian Peterson, and with good reason, too. In his first year, the Oklahoma standout rushed for over 1,000 yards, 12 TDs and set the NFL's single game rushing record.
However, it was another back that stole the show as the spotlight shone brightly on his counterpart. Colts' RB Joseph Addai spoke softly during the week leading up to the game, but he let his game do the talking rushing for 176 yards and 4TDs Sunday afternoon, including two long TD runs. "The line did a great job of clearing lanes for me and Peyton got us into the right plays at the right time," said the Pro Bowl running back of the Colts.
"Well, we went into the game expecting to pass with the run-stuffing line the Vikings have," Peyton Manning added (9/10 passing, 129 yards, TD). "They started playing more dime though so I checked off to Addai and he did the rest."
Little attention was given to Addai, but that will surely not happen again with his breakout performance.
Not to be outdone, the Colts' defense--once highly critcized as the team's greatest weakness--picked off 3 Viking QBs 7 times, with 6 different players getting INTs. Two of those picks--DB Dante Hughes and LB Tyjuan Hagler--were taken back for TDs. They also did an outstanding job clogging up the running lanes for Adrian Peterson, holding the Vikings' running attack to 30 yards and a single TD.
"We did some good things today, but we have to make sure we carry it through next week. We had a disappointing outing last week so it was nice to get this one, especially on the road," Colts' coach Tony Dungy commented.
Next up for the Colts are division rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars in Lucas Oil Stadium.