Adrian Peterson Gets Ripped For Ripping Ravens Fans
You can't blame Adrian Peterson for being frustrated.
He did get knocked out of Sunday's game with an ankle injury, and his team lost a heart-breaker. But then he decided to blow off a little steam via Twitter with some harsh words for Ravens fans, comparing them to children.
"Wow talking about bad officiating & the worst fan base I've ever experience! They threw snow balls the entire 4q like lil kids. Smh," Peterson wrote.
He followed that up with more criticism via reporters after the game.
"They've got the worst fans in the NFL," Peterson said, per ESPN. "[They were] throwing snowballs the entire fourth quarter, like kids."
Terrell Suggs begs to differ. "Ravens' fans? BEST. FANS," he tweeted.
"Yo, Adrian, that's what happens when it snows. People throw snowballs. Worst fan experience? You clearly haven't played in Philadelphia during the snow. Fans there nail Santa with snowballs," added an unnamed Baltimore Sun staff writer.
"We'd be worried more, by the way, that your team lost the game. But that's just us. For all the fans who may have thrown snowballs your way, we sincerely apologize. They should have been escorted from the stadium. We do hope you have a happy holiday and we hope your injury is minor. You really are a tremendous player."
Ravens fans weren't the only ones to endure Peterson's wrath. He also targeted the officials.
He specifically had gripes about Vikings running back Toby Gerhart's fumble in the first quarter. Replays showed Gerhart's knee may have been down when the ball came loose, and ESPN's Jamison Hensley speculated even the Ravens were surprised that the fumble wasn't overruled upon review because they had their defense on the field. But they got the turnover, and capitalized with a touchdown.
"I didn't see enough to overturn the ruling on the field as a fumble," referee Pete Morelli told a pool reporter.
Peterson also bemoaned the pass interference call on Dennis Pitta on the final drive of the game. It too led to a Ravens touchdown;* *this time the game winner.
While the league's top running back may have legitimate points on calls that could have gone either way, all teams deal with questionable calls, including the Ravens, who overcame a blown Mike Tomlin interference last week, but still won the game.
Spouting off about officiating is a no-no in the NFL, and he could receive a fine.
"Peterson's frustrations were surely extenuated due to his physical status and being restrained on the sidelines following his ankle injury," wrote Aj* *Mansour of Minnesota's KFAN.com. "But it's rare to hear one of the league's superstars, a normally quiet one at that, spout off in regards to fans and officials.
"Like his brethren before him, Peterson will likely be hearing from the league later this week in regards to his criticism of the officials."
And honestly, how could you not see how Ravens fans are the best in the league after watching this guy celebrate by doing a snow angel in his boxers? This is die-hard awesomeness, right here.
Catering Truck Crashed Into Vikings Plane
Oooff.
Peterson and the Vikings' day got worse once they got to BWI airport.
Turns out the team charter plane was stuck there for a few hours because of sno – … no wait, that would have been the logical assumption, but the craziness of the game followed them to the plane.
A catering truck, yes a catering truck, crashed into the plane.
"Apparently the catering truck ran into our plane," defensive end Chase Baker tweeted. "So we're stuck here for 3 hours. Not the snow... The catering truck #areyoujoking?!"
"Catering truck runs into plane, two hr delay, classic!" added fullback Jerome Felton via Twitter.
The team finally left the airport at around 7 p.m., according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Time To Stop Doubting Flacco, RavensAnswer honestly.
Did you think the Ravens could come back from two blows to the gut when the Vikings scored twice in the final two minutes?
You weren't alone if you doubted.
Our own John Eisenberg didn't think the offense could do it: "I’ll be honest: I wasn't sure the offense was capable of winning a game twice like that, not with the way things have gone this year."
And Jimmy Smith's faith waivered too, as he said: "[The Vikings] probably thought it was over, and I'm not going to lie, part of me thought it was over at that point, too. For Joe Flacco and the offense to go back down and score the way they did, it just says a lot about them."
What it says about Flacco is that it's time to stop doubting him, says Hensley.
"It's officially time to stop counting out Flacco and the Ravens," the ESPN blogger wrote. "How many 'miracles' need to happen before you're convinced? There's no disputing this is a team with flaws. But this is also a team that plays its best when the odds are stacked against it. All you have to do is google 'Hey diddle diddle, Ray Rice up the middle' and 'Mile High Miracle.'"
The Ravens are the first to admit they're far from perfect. Flacco would like to have back the three interceptions he threw in the game.
But there's one characteristic that separates the Ravens: they simply won't quit.
"Baltimore on numerous occasions looked doomed to drop behind Miami (7-6) in the AFC wild-card chase, but the Ravens refused to wilt and won their third consecutive game, all at home," wrote SI.com's Don Banks.
GIFs Of The Game
The six touchdowns in the fourth quarter were obviously the highlights of this game, but there were some unforgettable images in between that we just can't overlook. Mobile users tap "View in Browser" at the top of the page to view these awesome GIFs.
FoxSports.com gave the Ravens the award for the worst job of failing to run over an entire team. A snow plower nearly took out several Vikings players. "Too bad, he took his foot off the gas just before knocking the Vikings defense over like bowling pins," wrote Sid Saraf. !
Speaking of snowplowing, kicker Justin Tucker got trucked by Vikings returner Cordarrelle Patterson. You have to love a kicker who loves a little physical contact, as long as he isn't injured. Props to Tucker, who immediately popped back up and gave a congratulatory slap on the helmet to Patterson for such a great return. !
This is classic: Art Jones' eye-popping celebration of Jacoby Jones' kickoff return for a touchdown. He had a sigh of relief after the game after the defense blew leads in the fourth quarter three times. "They bailed us out in the end," Jones said. "We got the last laugh because we got the win, thank God for that."
And one more celebration from the defense … this one comes from Matt Elam after he got his second NFL fumble recovery. Love it!
Ravens Don't Gain Ground, But Steelers (Essentially) Done
The Ravens may have saved their season with Flacco's touchdown completion to Marlon* *Brown with four seconds left.
Without it, the Dolphins would have taken over the final wild-card spot and the Bengals would have moved into a three-game lead in the division.
Miami eked out a 34-28 win over the Steelers, who nearly got the upset on a miracle game-winning touchdown after lateraling the ball five times. But a little "sideline karma" did the Steelers in, as receiver Antonio Brown stepped out of bounds on his way to the end zone. Mike Tomlin was nowhere in sight.
Prior to Sunday, the Steelers were nipping at Baltimore's heals, but now it looks like there's no chance for them to advance to the postseason with a 2.5-game disadvantage to Baltimore and Miami.
"This should essentially eliminate Pittsburgh from the wild-card race," wrote Hensley.
The Bengals easily took care of the AFC South division leading Colts, 42-28. Cincy is looking as dangerous as ever.
"Following last week's seven-point win on the road at San Diego, this weekend's dismantling of a division leader proves that they ought to be taken seriously during the postseason," wrote EPSN's Coley Harvey.
Miami remains Baltimore's biggest threat, with a "slight schedule advantage" with three games to go.
Dolphins remaining opponents: vs. Patriots (10-3), at Bills (4-9) vs. Jets (6-7).
Ravens remaining opponents: at Lions (7-6), vs. Patriots (10-3) at Bengals (9-4).
Below are the current AFC playoff standings, per NFL.com:
| AFC PLAYOFF STANDINGS | ||||||||||
| Division Leaders | W | L | DIV | CONF | ||||||
| Broncos [clinched playoff berth] | 11 | 2 | 4-0 | 7-2 | ||||||
| Patriots | 10 | 3 | 3-1 | 7-2 | ||||||
| Bengals | 9 | 4 | 2-2 | 7-3 | ||||||
| Colts [clinched division] | 8 | 5 | 4-0 | 6-3 | ||||||
| Wild Card | W | L | DIV | CONF | ||||||
| Chiefs | 10 | 3 | 1-3 | 6-3 | ||||||
| Ravens | 7 | 6 | 3-2 | 6-4 | ||||||
| In The Hunt | W | L | DIV | CONF | ||||||
| Dolphins | 7 | 6 | 1-2 | 6-3 | ||||||
| Chargers | 6 | 7 | 1-2 | 3-6 | ||||||
| Jets | 6 | 7 | 2-3 | 3-7 | ||||||
| Titans | 5 | 8 | 0-4 | 4-6 | ||||||
| Steelers | 5 | 8 | 2-2 | 4-6 | ||||||
Quick Hits
- @BirkMatt: Im so conflicted- @Vikings vs @Ravens Its like trying to pick which of your kids is your favorite. [Twitter]
- @BirkMatt: Any player wearing sleeves today gets zero cred. #ItsFootballBeTough [Twitter]
- Before … @Ravens: Here's what it looks like just before kickoff. #MINvsBAL #FootballWeather #RavensInTheSnow [Twitter]
- After …@jamisonhensley: Goodnight from M&T Bank Stadium [Twitter]
- @RichCimini [ESPN]: Ed Reed lives! His first interception of the year. Could see that coming a mile away. [Twitter]
- @jamisonhensley: Ray Rice is looking like the old Ray Rice. [Twitter]
- @RavensInsider: Justin tucker shaking his head heading into locker room 'what just happened?' [Twitter]
- Could have a huge impact in Ravens-Pats game next week … @AdamSchefter: Patriots believe Rob Gronkowski tore his ACL, as @MikeGarafolo reported. MRI on Monday to confirm it is torn. [Twitter]
- "Think about what this guy [Pitta] means to this team, that he could come back and catch six passes after being sidelined for four months," wrote Mike Garafolo. "Knowing he has a reliable target between the numbers surely made Flacco feel more comfortable in snowy, slick conditions. As for Pitta, realizing he could survive a game like that in his return will provide confidence in the coming weeks. And pretty soon, he'll realize how far he's come since suffering what was first thought to be a very serious injury." [FoxSports.com]
- @PMGleason: Joe Flacco has now produced 18-career game-winning drives in the 4th quarter or overtime (16 regular season & 2 playoffs). #Ravens [Twitter]
- @PMGleason: This marked the #Ravens 100th regular season win at home. A special thank you to all fans who braved the elements & saw it in person! [Twitter]
- @ESPNStatsInfo: Via @EliasSports, today's Vikings-Ravens game is the 1st game in NFL history w/ 6 lead changes in the 4th qtr [Twitter]
- @mzenitz: Brandon Stokley left today's game with a head injury. There was no update on his status after the game [Twitter]
