But it’s an interesting subject for debate
Regardless of what happened in the years that followed it, Adrian Peterson’s 2012 season represents what might be the greatest individual season in the history of the Minnesota Vikings and one of the best in the history of the league. On a recent list from CBS Sports, however, Peterson’s Herculean efforts that season seem to be ranked a little bit low.
Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports has put together a list of what he feels are the 10 greatest running back seasons of all time. Peterson’s 2012 effort makes the list. . .obviously. . .but it’s slotted way down at #8. Here’s what DeArdo had to say about Peterson’s 2012 season.
Peterson came up 9 yards short of breaking Dickerson’s record with his 2,097-yard effort in 2012. He entered the Vikings’ regular-season finale with 1,898 yards. Needing a win over the Packers to make the playoffs, “AD” rumbled for 199 yards and a score that day while leading Minnesota to a last-second win over its rival. Peterson endured a slow start to the season (he had just one 100-yard game during his first six games) before averaging 141 yards per game during the season’s final 10 games.
Now, I’m obviously biased, and I don’t do anything to hide the fact that I’m biased. I also understand that there are really solid arguments for a lot of the seasons that are listed above Peterson’s on DeArdo’s list.
But maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. . .that ranking still seems low. The fact that he got off to a slow start can be attributed to the fact that the guy blew his knee out eight months prior to the 2012 season starting. Having that sort of season with that slow start and coming off the injury is absolutely unheard of. Back in 2012. . .yeah, I know, a whole decade ago. . .an ACL tear wasn’t the sort of thing that guys came back from at full strength in eight months. So the fact that Peterson did that and nearly set a single-season rushing record makes it incredibly impressive.
Do you think Peterson’s 2012 season is slotted correctly on this list of the 10 greatest running back seasons in NFL history? If not, which ones above it on the list do you think Peterson deserves to be ahead of?
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