The Sports Xchange

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — In a strange post-game moment following Sunday’s 28-19 victory over the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson explained the illness that got him downgraded to questionable on Saturday while denying an odd report by Fox play-by-play man Chris Myers during the telecast.

Yes, Peterson actually did become ill enough to vomit on Saturday. No, it wasn’t because he swallowed his chewing tobacco during a rough landing on the flight into Detroit, as Myers reported.

“Man, I’ve been dipping for the past 10 years; swallowing dip,” he said after rushing for 98 yards in the 28-19 win. “My body is immune to it. It doesn’t affect me at all.”

Peterson, who has a seafood allergy, said he ate grilled shrimp on Saturday. He didn’t think he had an allergic reaction, but he does think he ate enough to upset his stomach.

During training camp in 2012, Peterson had a serious allergic reaction when he ate gumbo. He called head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman to administer an EpiPen injection and take him to the hospital.

Peterson became a spokesperson for EpiPen and carries one with him for emergencies. But he admits that he will eat small portions of shrimp despite having the allergy.

“Sometimes, I love shrimp so much that I go against the grain sometimes,” Peterson added. “I always make sure I keep an EpiPen with me.”

But he did learn something over the weekend.

“I won’t eat it before a game again,” he said. “I learned my lesson.”

–The Vikings needed something to break Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford’s rhythm. Stafford had completed his first seven passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in two possessions. But on second down on his third possession, Stafford was sacked on an “add blitz” by linebacker Chad Greenway.

The game changed dramatically at that point. Stafford would be sacked six more times while the Lions produced just 9 yards in their next seven possessions.

Greenway knew he had a shot at the sack when offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas reported as an eligible receiver to bolster Stafford’s protection on second-and-16 early in the second quarter.

Greenway’s first responsibility in that situation is to cover the tight end if he releases. But that was unlikely to happen since the “tight end” actually was a third offensive tackle.

“I know he’s not really going to release, so we kind of schemed that up all week,” Greenway said. “If he stays in and blocks, I’m the ‘add blitz.'”

–Running back Jerick McKinnon had season highs in carries (nine) and touches (10) as the Vikings gave starter Adrian Peterson his most rest of the season on Sunday. McKinnon, a second-year player who stepped in last year when Peterson missed the final 15 games, had 36 yards rushing for a 4.0-yard average.

–Middle linebacker Eric Kendricks has at least one sack in each of the past three games, four total in that stretch, including two against the Lions on Sunday. Both of Kendricks’ sacks came on first-down blitzes that caught the Lions off-guard.

NOTES: Wide receiver Jarius Wright is going through the NFL’s concussion protocol after leaving Sunday’s game and not returning. He hit his head on the turf while dropping what would have been about a 30-yard completion near the goal-line. … Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd missed Sunday’s game because of a left ankle injury. Coach Mike Zimmer said Floyd had “a piece of cartilage removed from the area,” but was unsure of how long Floyd will be out. Floyd was seen in a walking boot on Monday. Tom Johnson, the inside nickel pass rusher, started and had a sack and a key role in a goal line stand late in the game. … Center John Sullivan, who was on injured reserve with the designation to return, had a relapse in the weight room and a subsequent second back surgery recently. Zimmer said he’s unlikely to return this season.