Adrian Peterson, Antoine Winfield Do Vikings Proud at Pro Bowl

Adrian Peterson and Antoine Winfield represented the Vikings at the Pro Bowl, and both ended up being big factors in the “game,” a turnover-laden 55-41 win by the NFC.

Adrian got the ball early and often for the NFC, finishing with 80 yards and a TD on 14 carries. Peterson’s TD was his fourth career Pro Bowl score, a new record. Most importantly, he didn’t get hurt.

Peterson’s teammate Antoine Winfield, meanwhile, notched two tackles and picked off one pass for the NFC defense. Winfield’s INT was one of five for the NFC, who turned over the AFC a total of six times. Winfield was supposed to be joined on the defense by fellow Viking E.J. Henderson, but E.J. pulled out of the game at the last minute for personal reasons.

The game got goofy early thanks to the AFC’s looseness with the ball. At one point in the second quarter the NFC led 42-0, but some sort of deal must’ve been struck during halftime because in the second half the NFC allowed the AFC to score a bunch of points and make it respectable.

Of course when it comes to the Pro Bowl the scores and stats aren’t the important numbers – only the TV ratings matter. In that regard the game was a wild success. It pulled in 13.4 million viewers according to Nielsen, making it the highest-rated Pro Bowl since 1997.

People love their football.  And let’s face it – what else is on Sunday night? It’s either football or porn, and they don’t keep ratings for porn. So, in the ratings at least, football wins.

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