Vikings' Peterson ready to take on Chicago Bears

After missing all but the season-opening game in 2014, it took Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson only two games to get back to his Hall of Fame form this season.

In his first game in 53 weeks, Peterson rushed for just 31 yards on 10 carries. In the five games since, he has rushed for 499 yards, with at least one run longer than 20 yards in each game, including a 75-yard scamper last week.

Sunday he will lead the 4-2 Vikings into Soldier Field against the 2-4 Chicago Bears.

“He's been pretty impressive since that (first game),” Bears coach John Fox said. “You contain him for 30 of his runs and his last five are the ones that get you.

“He'll get an explosive run in there somewhere. That's his capabilities.”

Peterson's yearlong layoff came as the result of his indictment on a charge of reckless or negligent injury to a child, when he disciplined his 4-year-old son with a switch.

Peterson spent most of last season on the commissioner's exempt list, but the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder is back with a vengeance.

His 530 rushing yards are fourth best in the NFL, and his career total of 10,720 rushing yards is second to Frank Gore's 11,519 among active players.

And, because the Vikings appear to have found their quarterback of the future in 2014 first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater (87.7 passer rating), Peterson might be even more dangerous — even at 30 years old.

“I feel like the sky's the limit,” he said Wednesday. “Each week we're getting better, just kind of jelling and molding a real good team. I feel like we have all he pieces offensively.”

Peterson remains the piece de resistance of the Minnesota attack.

Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio doesn't have to go all Knute Rockne on his guys to get them to take the Peterson threat seriously.

“All you've really got to do is show them the tape,” Fangio said. “We all know how fast he is and strong and explosive and a threat to hit a home run all the time. “So it's going to take 11 guys playing good run defense to get this guy stopped.

“You can be going along fine with him, and then all of a sudden, he breaks a 40- or 50-yarder or more. So you've got to be on point with him all the time.”

Although Bridgewater has big-time deep threat Mike Wallace on one side of the field, his go-to guy has become rookie Stefon Diggs, a fifth-round pick out of Maryland.

Diggs was inactive for the first three games and didn't start until Week 6.

But the 6-1, 191-pound 21-year-old has been targeted by Bridgewater at least nine times in every game he has played, and he has 19 catches for 324 yards.

According to STATS, the only player since 1960 with better production in his first three games is Anquan Boldin, who caught 23 passes for 378 yards in 2003.

“Before, A.P. (Peterson) was pretty much all you had to focus on,” said Bears safety Antrel Rolle, who hopes to return from an ankle injury this week. “He still pretty much runs the show over there, but they have a lot of weapons.

“They have a lot of wide receivers making plays for them, and Bridgewater looks extremely comfortable back there in the pocket. He can make every throw there is, and he has great escape ability.”

But containing Peterson remains Job One for a Bears defense that was gashed for 155 yards on the ground in Week 6 by the previously toothless Detroit Lions running game.

Two of Peterson's five 200-yard rushing games have come against the Bears, including a 211-yard outburst the last time he faced them on Dec. 1, 2013.

As a rookie in 2007, Peterson ran roughshod over the Bears for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns at Soldier Field.

“He's an all-around beast,” Rolle said. “He has explosive power as well as explosive speed. He's been one of the best running backs ever since he stepped into this league.”

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