Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson Deserves NFL MVP

By AJEnno
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday night we will find out who came out on top of one of the most intriguing MVP races in NFL history. Either Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning or Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson will be be crowned. It could go either way, but Adrian Peterson did more to clinch it.

Peterson deserves the MVP award, and should win it handily. Although Manning had a brilliant season coming off of major neck surgery, it wasn’t as impressive as what Peterson did.

Manning took a full year off of football due to his neck surgery as he missed the 2011 season. With his new team Manning threw for 37 touchdowns and 4659 yards for the Broncos. He was flawless most of the year, while leading the Broncos to a 13-3 record and the number 1 seed in the AFC. That still doesn’t compare to what Peterson did.

December 24, 2011 was the day Peterson’s MVP bid started. This was the day he tore his ACL while facing the Washington Redskins. He had surgery to repair the ligament on New Years Eve, and he began his rehab from there. There was much doubt as to whether Peterson would be able to play at all during the 2012 season. Peterson made it his goal to play in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Peterson did meet his goal as he played in the season opener. He managed to  surprise many who didn’t think he’d have a real impact. Once Peterson got going this season, the rest is history. He ravaged through every team’s defense that he went against. He seemed unstoppable and just unbelievable for a guy for who was coming off major knee surgery. Peterson finished the season with 2,097, 12 touchdowns and just nine yards short of Eric Dickerson’s record for most rushing yards in a season. On top of that Peterson led the Vikings to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. No one expected the Vikings to compete at all, and were picked by most to only win three games.

Peterson not only did the unthinkable coming off a injury like that, but put his team on his back and led them to the playoffs. Manning didn’t exactly lead the Broncos to the playoffs as their defense was solid, and most people expected them to go back to the playoffs after Tim Tebow took them there last season.

It would disappointing, to say the least, if Peterson didn’t win the MVP, but we’ll know soon enough. On Saturday night, expect him to gain the admiration he deserves for his accomplishments.

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