Adrian Peterson Rushed For 296 Yards on November 4th, 2007

Published on September 26th, 2021 8:33 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Heading into the first weekend of November, 2007, the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game was held by Jamal Lewis, who rushed for 295 yards on September 14th, 2003.

When Adrian Peterson laced up his cleats on November 4th, 2007, little did he know that he would exit the day with a NFL record.

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The Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers weren't very good when they met on November 4th, 2007.

The Vikings entered the game with a record of 2-5, while the San Diego Chargers were 4-3.

The game would feature two of the very best running backs in the game - LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

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Things got off to a slow start for Peterson in the game, as he rushed for just 2 yards on the Vikings' first drive of the game.

Tomlinson would start to flex on the Chargers' next drive, eventually running in a 1 yard TD to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

Adrian Peterson and the Vikings would respond on the next drive, as AP would rush for 23 yards on the drive and punch in a 1-yard touchdown.

By the time that the first quarter ended, Peterson had 26 yards of rushing and a touchdown.

After a few unsuccessful drives, Peterson still had just 27 yards of rushing with about six minutes left in the second quarter. It's unbelievable to think that he would end this game with the NFL single-game rushing record.

In the final two Vikings' drives before the end of the second half, Peterson would rush for 33 yards and finish the half with 60 yards of rushing.

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Peterson would go completely bananas in the second half of the game.

On the first drive of the second half, Peterson unleashed a 64 yard touchdown run to put the Vikings up in the game.

On the next Vikings' drive, AP would rush for just three yards.

34 yards of rushing yards for AP would be added on the Vikings final drive before the end of the third quarter. Peterson would finish the third quarter with about 170 yards of rushing - still well off the record.

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In their first drive of the fourth quarter, the Vikings would charge down the field, led by Peterson, who had 55 yards of rushing during the drive. Unfortunately for the Vikings, Peterson would fumble, giving possession back to the Chargers.

The next time that AP touched the ball, he would scamper 46 yards for a touchdown - the record was close, and there was still 8 minutes left in the game.

The next drive saw Peterson gain just 6 yards before Chester Taylor was brought into the game. The minutes were ticking away, and Peterson needed 38 yards to break the record.

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With just two minutes left in the game and the Vikings comfortably in the lead, the Vikings were deadset on getting Peterson the record.

The first play saw Peterson rush for 35 yards, putting him within three yards of the record.

In the second to last play of the game, Peterson rushed for three yards. He had the record.

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The Vikings would end up winning the game by a score of 35-17.

Peterson's record is still alive as of the time that this article was written, nearly 15 years later.