peterson

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson nearly had a record-breaking season in 2012, missing Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984 by a mere nine yards.

But that hasn’t discouraged the NFL’s best running back. In fact, it has only motivated him to rush for 400 more yards next season. In a recent interview on Dan Patrick’s radio show Peterson said of his goals for next season, “I set the mark for 2,500. If you reach for the stars and fall short, you’re still there.” Only a man with the nickname “All Day” would set the bar even higher for himself after coming so close and falling short of a new NFL record.

While hitting a number like 2,5000 yards in a single season would without a doubt earn Peterson the MVP, this years award is up in the air. Peterson’s 2,097 yards this season are definitely good enough to earn him MVP honors in 2012, but Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning just might have done enough to steal that award from Peterson. Peterson, however, made no secret of the fact that he thinks he deserves the award and he wants to win it. He told Patrick that he has been told (unofficially) he has the votes to edge out Manning for the illustrious award. He did admit that he would be “a little salty” if he didn’t earn the award this year saying, “I play this game to be the best, so I definitely expect to win.”

The MVP will be announced Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET before Super Bowl Sunday.

[PP]