Four Vikings to Pro Bowl

Eden Prairie, MN (December 26, 2012) – The NFL has announced that 4 Vikings have earned Pro Bowl honors. Vikings who earned Pro Bowl selections are DE Jared Allen, FB Jerome Felton, RB Adrian Peterson, and K Blair Walsh. Of the 4 selected to attend the All-star game in Honolulu, Hawaii, 2 were drafted by the Vikings, 1 was acquired via trade and 1 was signed as a free agent. The Vikings had 2 Pro Bowl selections last season, Allen and LB Chad Greenway.

Allen was named to his 5^th Pro Bowl after posting 11.0 sacks on the season. Since 2004, Allen leads all players in sacks with 115.0. Allen, with 4 Pro Bowl selections as a Viking, trails only Chris Doleman (6) and Carl Eller (6) for most appearances by a Vikings DE.

Felton is selected to his first Pro Bowl after paving the way for Peterson to rush for a League-high in rushing yards. Felton becomes the 3^rd FB in team history to be voted to the Pro Bowl, joining Bill Brown who played in 4 (1964, ’65, ’67, ‘68) and Tony Richardson who played in 1 (2007).

Peterson is having his best season as a pro, leading the NFL in rushing yards with a team record 1,898 and tied for 2^nd with 11 rushing TDs. Peterson currently owns the team record and leads the League in yards from scrimmage with 2,023. His 7 runs of 50+ yards in 2012 is tied for the most in NFL history in a single season with Barry Sanders in 1997. This is Peterson’s 5^th Pro Bowl in his six seasons in the NFL, most of any active running back in the NFL.

Walsh becomes the first-ever Vikings rookie kicker to be selected to the Pro Bowl. Drafted by the Vikings in the 6^th round out of the University of Georgia, Walsh has made 32 of his 35 field goal attempts (91.4%) and hit on all 32 PATs in 2012. He is 9-for-9 on field goal attempts of 50+ yards, a single-season NFL record. His 49 kickoff touchbacks are a team record and also rank 4th in the League. Walsh becomes the first rookie kicker to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Dallas’ Nick Folk was selected in 2007. Walsh is the 1^st Pro Bowl Vikings kicker since Gary Anderson in 1998.

The Pro Bowl will be played in Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on January 17, 2013.