2011 NFL Picks Week 6: Coming off their first victory of the 2011 season, Adrian Peterson and the (1-4) Minnesota Vikings [+2½] will travel to Soldier Field looking for win No.2 against the NFL Odds favorite (2-3) Chicago Bears [-2½]. This NFC North Divisional matchup is scheduled to get underway at 8:20 PM ET (7:20 PM CT/5:20 PM PT), Sunday Night on NBC Sports.
Finally getting the monkey of his back, Donovan McNabb was finally able to get his first win in a Vikings uniform with a 34-10 rout of the Cardinals. One can easily make the point that Peterson had the biggest impact against Arizona. In front of his home-crowd, AP’s 122 yards and three touchdowns helped his team jump out to an early first quarter lead they never relinquished.
Giving up leads is something that has been an issue for this team in its first four weeks, which is evident by its record. Determined to not let it happen again, No.25 got in his team’s ear, and apparently they listened. Get $50 in Free NFL Picks here!
"He said, 'Coach I got it. Let me talk to them. I'll handle it,'" Leslie Frazier said of his conversation with AP. "I was like, 'Whoa, this is our star player stepping up in a leadership role and saying, 'I'll handle it. Let me handle it.'"
After giving up just a field goal in the first half, Minnesota’s defense buckled down, surrendering just a touchdown for the remainder of the game. Peterson’s early burst gave the Vikes all it needed to use as motivation. AP also moved into second place in the NFL’s rushing leader standings (498 yards), trailing the Raiders’ Darren McFadden (519) by a mere 21 yards.
"I just came out with the mindset of, by any means, get it done," Peterson said. "Do your part. And that's the message I told the guys up front. 'Do your part, get it done. Do it for 60 minutes until the whistle blows.'"
