Why they won: Green Bay Packers overpowers Minnesota

Nov 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back

(28) fumbles after a hit from Green Bay Packers safety

(42) at TCF Bank Stadium. The Packers defeated the Vikings 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Peterson halted

The Packers have actually been somewhat good at stopping the run this season, to the surprise of those of us paying attention.

They’ve faced a litany of talented backs pretty much every week, and for the most part they’ve handled the task of shutting those guys down with aplomb.

The run defense kind of let up in this losing streak; they allowed a moribund Denver ground team to garner three TDs, and let up a good effort to Cam Newton on his handful of QB runs. They recovered to allow under 50 yards to Detroit last week, but that team isn’t what I would call scary at running the ball.

With Adrian Peterson coming to town — while accounting for his production this year so far and against Green Bay in general — you would have be remiss to believe he wouldn’t stand to have a productive outing.

That was not the case, however.

Peterson got only 45 yards on the afternoon, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry in the process. He did record a touchdown, but little else as the game slowly churned in Green Bay’s favor and the Packers were able to extend the lead high enough to essentially force Minnesota to throw the ball.

The biggest worry I had coming in was the likelihood of Peterson busting off at least one massive play that could either turn the game in Minnesota’s favor or keep it there; in six of his nine prior weeks this season, Peterson busted off at least one rush of 20+ yards. That was held in check as well, with his long run going only for 11 yards.

If we haven’t already, we may need to wake up and recognize that Dom Capers may have finally figured out a way to get this team’s run defense fixed. It has been mostly consistent all season long against all kinds of competition — a list that now includes the current best runner in the league, who happens to hold the best yards-per-game average for a career against one team versus these same Packers.

Or at the least, we should take notice that there are plenty of other issues worth more of our concern.

Next: Eddie Returns To Form