Adrian Peterson captures 2015 NFL rushing crown

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the NFL’s leader in rushing yards for the 2015 season, earning the third rushing title of his career.

Going into week 17 of the NFL season, the race to be the NFL’s leading rusher was a two horse race between two running backs. Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings had a 64 yard lead on Doug Martin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers going into the week, so Peterson would know exactly how many yards he would need in order to capture the crown.

However. that wasn’t necessary. The Buccaneers were playing a tough Carolina Panthers defense that absolutely dominated their division rivals. Martin only saw 15 carries during the game since they trailed early and often, and finished the game with only 48 rushing yards. With that, Martin ended the season with 1,402 yards on the ground while Adrian already had 1,418 through his first 15 games.

Because of that, Adrian Peterson doesn’t need to worry about catching Doug Martin and has earned the NFL’s rushing title without gaining a single yard on NBC’s Sunday night Football.

The 30-year-old running back has now captured his third rushing title since entering the NFL, with his other winning seasons being 2008 and 2012. According to the Star Tribune website, that is something that means a lot to Peterson considering all his critics and having to sit out for most of last season.

"“The eight years I’ve actually played full seasons, I’ve always envisioned winning and leading the league in rushing,” Peterson said. “So it wasn’t any different coming into the season. I think people add more to it because of everything that took place last year and people saying this about my age and so forth.”"

Congratulations go out to Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings on earning another rushing title for their star running back. Peterson can continue to pile on the yards on Sunday Night Football when they play the Green Bay Packers with the NFC North championship on the line.