Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is not shy about expressing his desire to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. While AP was pleased that he helped his team reach that playoffs last season, he openly admits falling just nine yards short of the record stung.
“I look back on that play and there’s so many things after the case,” Peterson told ESPN’s Bob Holtzman for the SportsCenter Sunday Conversation. “I’m like, ‘Man, maybe I should have cut inside or if I would have broke one more tackle I got have gotten that record.’ It was there to take. It just wasn’t meant to happen, so I’m comfortable with that.”
Peterson then once again reiterated that he is confident he will break Dickerson’s record, possibly this season.
“I feel like I will definitely break it,” he said. “I’m going after it this year. It’s not my main focus. I put a lot of work in during the offseason. One thing I tell myself is that when I’m done working out, I want to know that no one around the world outworked me. That’s a comforting feeling. So with that, I feel like records will come.”
After witnessing what Peterson was able to accompish last season following reconstructive knee surgery, anyone would be stupid to doubt him. He rushed for over 2,000 yards while playing with a sports hernia and his doctor claims he should be even stronger in 2013.
Would I bet against it? Certainly not, but part of me feels we have talked about Dickerson’s record so frequently that people lose site of just how difficult it would be to surpass. Peterson is not the only player who feels he can break 2,105 yards. He is, however, the most likely to do it. That being said, my gut instinct says the record is safe.
