We're running out of superlatives to describe Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson.
With apologies to Peyton Manning, the NFL Comeback Player of the Year race is already over. All Day already has that in the bag -- or at least he should. He might take home the league's MVP award before it's all said and done.
Again, this is the same player who shredded his knee in a game last December. Peterson is -- quite literally -- a medical marvel, performing at a level thought to be impossible this soon after reconstructive surgery.
"I can still get stronger," he told The Star Tribune after he went more than 120 yards on the ground in a fourth consecutive week. "I'm still not there, man."
Peterson has rushed for 1,128 yards on 195 carries, averaging a career-best of 5.8 yards per carry. All this while still technically in a recuperation period for his left knee.
"Last week in Seattle, on one run, I felt scar tissue break up around my patella tendon on one of my cuts," he told Peter King from Minneapolis. "That's part of the recovery, that scar tissue breaking."
Peterson's recovery has been impressive enough to earn notice from opponents on the field.
"They just tell me that, 'You're great, just some of the things you're doing,'" he said. "I guess it shocked me. You're out there, you're playing against guys and they come up and say different things like that to you."
This is not normal behavior in the NFL. Then again, there's nothing normal about what Peterson is doing right now.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
