No doubt about it, Adrian Peterson is back.
Scoring two touchdowns and rumbling for 84 yards in the Minnesota Vikings' 26-23 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Peterson capped a long fight back from the nasty knee injury that put his playing future in question.
It wasn't perfect, but we saw the Vikings' running back tangle with defenders, take hits below the waist and bounce back up. Peterson seemed to gain steam as the game progressed.
» The story of the day almost was Blaine Gabbert after he tossed a 39-yard, go-ahead touchdown strike to Cecil Shorts with less than a minute to go in regulation. It was Gabbert's finest moment in an otherwise hot/cold afternoon. The second-year Jaguars starter showed flashes of disaster -- and couldn't generate points in overtime -- but this wasn't the quaking rookie from a year ago. Gabbert still makes too many poor decisions, however.
»Maurice Jones-Drew's return got off to a slow start as the Jaguars leaned heavily on Rashad Jennings early. MJD also fielded his first punt since 2009 -- and fumbled it. He settled down from there, taking over for Jennings in the second half and finishing with 77 yards on 19 carries (putting one very meaningless holdout in the rear-view mirror).
»Jaguars left tackle Eugene Monroe battled with Jared Allen for most of the day, keeping the behemoth from wreaking total havoc. Across the field, Vikings rookie tackle Matt Kalil held his own, but doesn't look completely comfortable yet.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
