5 best Minnesota Vikings moments of the past decade

2. Peterson joins the 2,000-yard club (2012)

Even though it ended with an early exit in the playoffs, the 2012 season will always be a memorable one for the Vikings and Adrian Peterson is pretty much the only reason why.

Peterson began the year by defying the odds and being ready for Minnesota’s season opener despite tearing his ACL less than 10 months before. So just the fact that he was even able to play for the Vikings in Week 1 was already viewed as an accomplishment for the veteran running back.

However, Peterson had other plans for the 2012 season and very few around the league could have predicted what he was able to do out on the field that year.

After a bit of a slow start (499 yards in his first six games), Peterson kicked it into high gear and rushed for at least 100 yards in nine of Minnesota’s final 10 matchups of the season.

With the franchise’s single-season rushing record already in his name as the Vikings’ prepared for their final game of the year against the Green Bay Packers, Peterson had his eyes on another notable record. He wanted to break the NFL’s all-time record for rushing yards in a single season which was set by Eric Dickerson in 1984 when he ran for an impressive 2,105 yards.

Well, the talented Minnesota running back certainly did his best to break the record. Peterson ended up rushing for 199 yards in a win over the Packers. His 2012 rushing total topped off at 2,097 and although it was very impressive, it was just short of surpassing Dickerson’s record.

Despite not breaking the league’s all-time rushing record, Peterson’s 2012 season will still go down in history as one of the greatest ever by a running back and he was rewarded for his efforts that year when he was named the NFL’s MVP.