Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has openly discussed his goal of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. Dickerson is openly rooting against Peterson.
Dickerson told Mike Freeman of CBS that he doesn’t have anything against Peterson, but he’d prefer for his 2,105-yard season in 1984 to stay atop the single-season rushing list.
“Adrian is a class guy,” Dickerson said. “I don’t watch football any more. I don’t want sports. I just see the highlights. I see his highlights and he’s a great player. I don’t want him to break my record but I wish him the best.”
Dickerson said he’s not nervous because he doesn’t think Peterson, who has 1,600 yards this season, will get 505 in his next three games.
“I don’t want him to break it,” Dickerson said. “I’ll be honest. I don’t want to see it. If anyone ever broke it, and if my son played football, I’d want my son to break it. But that’s it. No one else. Again, he’s a phenomenal player, and seems like a good dude. If a player was to break it, I’d probably want it to be Adrian, but I like having the record. I don’t think it’s going to be broken.”
Dickerson is probably right about that. As great as Peterson has been this season, he’d have to be even better to top Dickerson’s record: Peterson hasn’t totaled 500 yards over any three-game span this year. Peterson has had a great season, however, and it’s amazing that he’s even close to Dickerson.
And Peterson having a great season but falling short is a good reminder of the greatness of Dickerson.