Dec 30, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) smiles following the game against the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Packers 37-34. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Adrian Peterson deserves to be the MVP of the NFL this year. Not only should he be MVP, but he also deserves the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Adrian Peterson changed the game with the type of stats he put up this past year with the Minnesota Vikings. Coming off a torn ACL and MCL, Peterson was able to lead the Vikings to the playoffs, one year after a lowly 3-13 season. Leading his team to the playoffs isn’t even the most impressive thing about the year, Peterson’s pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s rushing yards record was an MVP effort all in itself.

A pursuit that he fell just 8 yards short of, gaining 2,097 yards on 348 attempts along with an impressive 12 touchdowns via ESPN.com. To put the year that AD had in perpective, he alone gained more rushing yards in 5 games this year than the Vikings’ quarterback Christian Ponder had in passing yards. Peterson took a team that went 3-13 to the playoffs coming off a devastating injury that sometimes sidelines players for over a year. Adrian Peterson is the MVP of the NFL.

AD has set the bar when it comes to recovering from the gruesome injury that is a torn anterior cruciate ligament or ACL for short. Every athlete that has suffered the injury since Adrian’s remarkable comeback has visions and expectations of coming back and being better than before.

The amount of time it took Peterson to come back from the rehabilitation is absolutely freakish. He was running sprints up a hill with teammate and wide receiver Percy Harvin and beating him after just 4 months of rehab. Adrian Peterson deserves the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award simply because of the expectation and hope that he has given thousands of athletes around the world who suffer torn ACLs every year.

Peyton Manning took an entire year off to recover from his injuries. Adrian Peterson took half that amount of time and had a near record breaking year. Adrian Peterson had a freak year that deserves both the MVP and NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Dec 30, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) against the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Packers 37-34. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Those who have watched the NFL this season think the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award, and the Most Valuable Player Award come down to the same two men: Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson. Both players came off injuries requiring surgery, and both had stand out years.

Peyton Manning, with a new team, in an outdoor stadium  led that team to a 13-3 record. He competed nearly 69% of his passes for 4,659 and 37 touchdown passes. This after having 4 neck surgeries that caused him to miss the entire 2011 season.

Adrian Peterson tore his ACL, had surgery to repair that and fell 9 yards short of having the best season ever by a running back. He finished with 2,096 yards, just 9 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single season record.

Both are playing in the Pro Bowl as neither led their team to the Super Bowl. And Adrian Peterson is taking the opportunity to campaign for the MVP award. When a reporter asked about who he though the MVP should be, Peterson had a simple answer.

“I’m going to win it. I will get it,” Peterson said, via the Denver Post.

While Manning had a good year, Peterson seemingly had an even better year. The Minnesota Vikings lacked any kind of passing attack and opponents knew Peterson was coming, and he finished strong after a slow start. He didn’t even cross the 100 yard mark till his fourth game and didn’t record his second till the 7th game.

And it’s that 7th game when he caught fire. He ran for 153 yards that game, the first of 8 game streak where he passed 100 yards every game, the 150 yard mark 6 different times and the 200 yard mark twice.

Peyton Manning’s stats are no doubt less impressive. He tied Y.A. Tittle’s record for most touchdown passes thrown after the age of 35 years. But the league took notice of what Adrian Peterson did.

“I’m still amazed,” Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said. “What A.P. did was incredible. Unless you’ve played football and had knee issues, there’s no word to quantify what he did. I kept waiting and waiting for fatigue to come into his game. But, as the season went on, he actually started getting stronger. And that doesn’t happen in the NFL.”

We’ll wait and see who wins, but it looks like Peterson has the edge.