Peterson to test Falcons’ top-ranked run defense

FLOWERY BRANCH – While buzzards are circling around the offense and quarterback Matt Ryan, the Falcons' defense has risen to be ranked first against the run in the NFL.

The Falcons (6-4) will get tested by the Minnesota Vikings (7-3), who featured dynamic running back Adrian Peterson, at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons held the Colts to 74 yards rushing in their last outing and now are giving up just 87.4 yards per game, tops in the league. It’s a dramatic turnaround under first-year coach Dan Quinn, from a unit that couldn’t get off the field last season.

This season, the Falcons defense has slowed down Philadelphia’s DeMarco Murray (eight carries for 9 yards), Houston’s Arian Foster (8 for 10), Washington’s Alfred Morris (8 for 15), New Orleans’ Mark Ingram (20 for 46) and Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin (23 for 71).

Dallas (127), Tampa Bay (117) and San Francisco (133) were the only teams to crack the 100-yard mark against the Falcons this season.

Peterson has rounded back into form after being suspended last season for child endangerment case.

“I don’t remember him being any different to be honest with you,” Quinn said.

Peterson leads the league with 1,006 yards rushing on 208 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and six touchdowns.

“It’s the explosiveness that he has in his cuts,” Quinn said. “That’s one of the things that I’ve most admired about his game. Where he starts off to one side and when he puts his foot in the ground and he explodes back out, there is a gear that he hits. It’s the strength and the speed that he’s able to show.”

The Vikings are coming off a 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Packers ran the football with running back Eddie Lacy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for more than 200 yards as the offense was balanced.

The Packers defense also mounted a pass rush against Minnesota’s second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and had six sacks.

“I still believe in this football team and I believe in everything about us,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told the Minnesota media on Monday. “We just have to figure out who we are and stay true to who we are and not let outside influences affect us.”

In his first NFL start, Bridgewater had his coming-out party game against the Falcons last season when he led the Vikings to a 41-28 victory in a rugged shootout. That game ended with several Falcons injured and tight end Levine Toilolo playing right tackle to finish the game.

Bridgewater completed 19 of 30 passes for 317 yards and had a 98.9 passer rating. Bridgewater leaned on wide receiver Jarius Wright and a rushing attack last season.

Wright caught eight passes for 132 yards and former Georgia Southern standout Jerick McKinnon rushed for 135 yards.

Now, Bridgewater has an entire fleet of receivers. In addition to Wright, who has 17 catches for 244 yards, Bridgewater has utilized wide receivers Stefon Diggs (36 catches for 573 yards and two touchdowns) and Mike Wallace (28 catches for 318 yards and a touchdown).

He’s also receiving strong play from tight end Kyle Rudolph, who has 29 catches for 288 yards and four touchdowns.

In addition to having dynamic offensive weapons, the Vikings don't hurt themselves. With 67 penalties for 532 nullified yards they are the least penalized team in the NFL. The Falcons are tied for 13th with 81 penalties for 684 nullified yards.

The Vikings defense is led by a stout line of left defensive end Brian Robison, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, nose tackle Linval Joseph and right defensive end Everson Griffen, who leads the team with 6.5 sacks.

The linebacker trio of Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and Chad Greenway is pretty strong, too.

The Vikings also have kicker Blair Walsh, who played at Georgia. He’s looking forward to kicking indoors for a week.

The former Bulldog expects to have his parents up from Boca Raton, Fla. and several friends at the game.