Jackson, Peterson honors continue

Tarvaris Jackson was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, but he and running back Adrian Peterson have also been nominated for other awards after the Vikings’ big win Sunday in Arizona.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The award is decided on by the NFL, but fans have a chance to help Jackson and running back Adrian Peterson become winners of other awards this week.

Jackson is among three quarterbacks nominated for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week, and Peterson has been nominated for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week. Both awards are voted on by fans at NFL.com/FedEx. Voting is already open and runs through 10 a.m. Central on Friday. The winners are announced Friday evening.

Jackson completed 11 of 17 passes for four touchdowns and a 135.5 passer rating in the Vikings’ 35-14 win over the Cardinals.

He is up against Patriots QB Matt Cassel, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-26 win over Oakland, and Texans QB Matt Schaub, who completed 23 of 39 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown in Houston’s 13-12 win over Tennessee.

Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries against Arizona. His competitors for the ground award are the Patriots’ Sammy Morris, who rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries, and the Falcons’ Michael Turner, who rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 32 attempts in a 13-10 win over Tampa Bay.

Jackson’s four touchdown passes were a career best and he completed them to four different receivers – Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Chester Taylor and Bobby Wade. Wade’s 59-yard touchdown was the longest of his career.

Since entering the game at Detroit, Jackson has a passer rating of 141.7 while completing 19 of 27 passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He is the first Vikings quarterback to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors since Daunte Culpepper vs. Green Bay in 2005.

“Certainly in the last game and a half he’s looked extremely decisive,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “I just don’t see a lot of hesitancy back there. Really you want to be able to formulate the decisions you’re making as you drop away from center and let the football go. I see him being able to do that. He’s directing the run offense from side to side, where we want to go. I just think I see a brighter-eyed, more well-rounded guy for whatever reason – whether it’s the time, whether it’s sitting back and watching, whether it’s a set of events that he didn’t care for. But, obviously, when you get a second chance you want to make the most of it and he’s done a great job with that."

NOTES

The Vikings have avoided a television blackout for each of their final two regular-season games. As of Tuesday evening, they had fewer than 1,000 tickets remaining for each of their final home games – against Atlanta on Sunday and against the New York Giants on Dec. 28. Both of those games have playoff implications for the Vikings and each of their opponents. The Vikings have sold out every home game since the 1998 season, although they needed corporate and partnership assistance for several games last year and earlier this season.

Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause will sound the Vikings Gjallahorn before the Falcons game, which has been switched to a 3:15 p.m. Central start Sunday.