296

He was anointed. It was done jokingly, but he was anointed. Who the hell calls a rookie "Purple Jesus"? (Kissing Suzy Kolber, actually, but that's not the point here). That's not the question here though. The question is, what kind of football player lives up to that nickname? What kind of player turns in a game that makes everyone stop calling him "Purple Jesus" ironically and starts doing it seriously? And then what kind of player turns in a game that makes "Purple Jesus" seem like it's inadequate?

Adrian Peterson, that's who. 296 yards in one game. 30 carries, each of which gained an average of 9.87 yards. 253 yards in the second half. The only player to crack the 200 yard mark twice in a season. He broke tackles in every way possible, going through, around and over defenders. He slipped through holes that were closed. He found another gear when he saw open field ahead of him. In short, he rushed for TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX YARDS.

I'm not John Updike. I'm not going to be able capture Adrian Peterson's performance with words the way Updike captured Ted Williams. Instead, I'll let his performance speak for itself. 296 yards on 30 carries. An NFL single game record. As a rookie.