Halftime Adjustments – Vikings Spank Browns 34-20; Adrian Peterson Goes Pop

There have been occasions in the past when fans have ripped Brad Childress for not seeming to make smart adjustments at halftime.

They will not be able to level that criticism against Chilly today, however, after the Vikings recovered from a sluggish first half to torch the Browns, ultimately beating them 34-20.

Of course, it’s impossible for any of us to say whether the awesome second half was the result of gameplan tweaking, or just better execution.  The Vikings did open the passing game up a little bit early in the third.  Brett Favre threw two jump balls up to Sidney Rice, one resulting in a near touchdown reception, and the next in a pass interference penalty that led to an Adrian Peterson touchdown.

So, maybe letting Brett throw a few up there did loosen up the Browns defense.

It’s not like Brett aired it out though.  He played that game manager role we’ve been hearing so much about, ending with 110 yards on 21 attempts, with one short TD pass to Percy Harvin.

Of course, you don’t have to air it out when Adrian Peterson is having one of those Adrian Peterson days.

AD, much like the entire Vikings’ offense, looked like he was running in mud in the first half.  At halftime, it was reported that Adrian had suffered some dehydration and needed an IV.  On his first TD carry of the second half, the IV hole got ripped open, and he came off the field bleeding like a vampire victim.

The blood loss would not affect him.  In fact, Adrian went off in the second half, pushing his game totals to 180 yards and 3 TDs.  The last TD run, and indeed his final run of the game, was an epic, defender-punishing masterpiece that will be on his highlight reel forever.

AD did his bit, Favre did his bit, and the defense did its bit.  It didn’t hurt that Cleveland looks completely inept on offense.  Brady Quinn may one day prove to be the answer for the Browns, but today, he left Eric Mangini and the fanbase with nothing but questions.