MINNEAPOLIS —Jarius Wright doesn't blame Lions defenders for following Adrian Peterson so closely.
Peterson already had 10 carries for 65 yards in the first quarter and also totes the nickname "All Day." Peterson had gains of 9 and 6 on the first two plays of a possession that began at the 50 to move to the 35.
Wright had heard the play call of a reverse before and been in position to take a pitch and run the opposite direction only to see Peterson keep the ball in practice plenty of times.
But with the smell of the red zone beginning to overcome the waft of hot dogs, burgers and brats, Peterson ran to the right and made the pitch as Wright doubled back and accelerated to the left side of the field.
The result: a career-long 29-yard gain by Wright to the Detroit 6, with some major down-field blocking by Charles Johnson. It set up a 1-yard TD by Teddy Bridgewater for a 14-point lead in the **Vikings 26-16 win** over the Lions Sunday at the University of Minnesota.
"I thought it was perfect timing when I heard the play call," Peterson said. "Jarius kind of gave me the look, because in practice I've kind of kept it a couple of times. But I made sure I would toss it to him. I was kind of winded, too, but I knew it was going to be a big play. I was hoping he took it to the end zone, but we still got a big play."
After running two times for 11 yards in his first two seasons, Wright had five rushes for 71 yards in 2014, his first with Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner.
"We ran some plays like this last year with Jerick (McKinnon) and Matt Asiata and still got a lot of pull," Wright said. "The play was open last year, so doing it this year, with Adrian being back, you know they're going to go to Adrian.
"It opens the whole left side of the field because when Adrian gets the ball, you have to respect him no matter where you are, no matter who you are," Wright added. "It could be a run to the right side and you could be the left corner but you have to run all the way over there just because Adrian can break it at any second, so that's one guy you always want to keep your eye on."
It appeared that Peterson was going to cap the drive with a touchdown, but after review, officials marked him down at the 1.
His presence, however, helped Bridgewater's success on fourth-and-goal. The Lions again committed to stopping Peterson, but Bridgewater faked it to the back, bootlegged to the left of the field and had wide open space occupied only by left guard Brandon Fusco who was ready for a defender that never showed up.
