Vikings, Peterson come up with a rarity

Adrian Peterson became only the third running back since 2000 to rush for 200 yards in a loss.

Buffalo Bills fans know how Vikings fans feel, but they have been on the other end of rushing greatness (or futility defending it).

A stat was flashed through media circles Sunday about NFL teams’ win-loss record since 2000 when a running back rushes for 200 yards.

If you have a hard time turning down trivia, the story of the third loss is interesting to say the least.

Adrian Peterson joined some pretty exclusive company Sunday … on more than one front. He became the third running back among the 60 who have rushed for 200 yards in a game to be on the losing end.

Peterson rushed for 210 yards and the Vikings lost 23-14.

“Just an incredible effort by Adrian but for our team not to win, Adrian will be the first to tell you, it’s something that we went into that game hoping that what we’d be able to do is come away with a win and at the same time being able to see him have a great day,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “”We didn’t get that done.”

When most heard the statistic of teams being 57-2 with a 200-yard rusher, they likely thought about the rarity of the Vikings’ loss. But some asked, “Who were the other two?”

The other two were Ricky Williams and Thomas Jones. What forever links them is that they accomplished their feats against the same team – the Buffalo Bills – and lost.

On Dec. 1, 2002, Williams ran for 228 yards against the Bills while a member of the Miami Dolphins but lost 38-21 to Buffalo. On Oct. 18, 2009, Thomas Jones, a member of the New York Jets, rushed for 210 yards against Buffalo – only to lose 16-13 in overtime.

Now you know.

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John Holler has been writing about the Vikings for more than a decade for Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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