A.D. Named Pro Bowl MVP

The awards have been piling up for Adrian Peterson, but Sunday he added yet another piece of hardware (and a Cadillac) to his trophy case, as he rushed for 129 yards -- the second most in Pro Bowl history -- and two touchdowns to walk away with the MVP trophy.

In a season full of accomplishments and accolades, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson capped off his rookie season with a monster day at the Pro Bowl, rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns to lead the NFC to a 42-30, making Peterson the game’s MVP.

Peterson’s 129 yards were second all-time in the history of the Pro Bowl, trailing only Marshall Faulk, who rushed for 180 yards in 1995. A.D. also becomes just the second rookie to win MVP honor, joining Faulk from 1995. He also becomes the fourth Viking to win the Pro Bowl MVP, joining Fran Tarkenton, Ahmad Rashad and Randy Moss of the Vikings who won the MVP.

Following the game, Peterson said he’s sharing his MVP trophy with Sean Taylor, who was shot and killed late in the season.

It was clear from the outset that Peterson was going to get to run the ball for the NFC all day. His 16 carries were one more than all of the other running backs combined. For the NFC, Marion Barber had just six carries for 37 yards and Brian Westbrook carried just once for four yards. Early on, however, it looked like A.D. was a long shot at best to win the MVP honors. T.J. Houshmandzadeh had two early touchdowns and Terrell Owens had eight catches for 101 yards and two TDs. But the voters went with Peterson, who for much of the game was averaging close to 10 yards a carry.

For a dream season for Peterson that included Rookie of the Year and being the first back to go over 1,000 yards rushing for the season, the MVP of the Pro Bowl seemed like a fitting finish and put the rest of the league on notice – whether you’re an all-star or not, beware of No. 28. The best is yet to come.