Adrian Peterson wants a Super Bowl and Emmitt Smith’s rushing record

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Adrian Peterson is 35 years old, ancient for a running back, but he thinks he’s a long way from done.

Heading into his 14th NFL season and his third in Washington, Peterson says he still has more he wants to accomplish, starting with winning a Super Bowl.

“Winning a championship is the one I want most,” Peterson said on NFL Network.

Peterson also said he’d like to catch Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader. Peterson, who has 14,216 career rushing yards, needs to gain 4,140 more yards to pass Smith’s record of 18,355.

“That’s one of the goals I set to myself when I entered the NFL was to pass the GOAT,” Peterson said. “I look forward to playing a couple more years, 3-4 more years, who knows, depending on how my body is feeling.”

Realistically, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that Peterson will catch Smith. But even in his mid-30s, he’s not ready to walk away just yet.

58 responses to “Adrian Peterson wants a Super Bowl and Emmitt Smith’s rushing record

  1. He’s not going to catch Emmitt and that’s just a fact. He would have to play until he’s 38 and average 1,000 yds+ per season at that. He’s a first ballot HOF’er and a physical freak of nature, but this is not realistic. He’s also not going to get a ring on the Washington Football Team either.

  2. AB certainly has surprised me with his determination and production the last few years. Shame he will always be remembered for his off the field conduct.

  3. In 2014, 2016, and 2017 combined, Adrian Peterson had a combined 214 carries.

    If you were to give him his usual 280 carries in each of those years, at a reasonable 4.5 yards per carry, that’s an extra 2,800 yards right there.

    That alone would put him a mere 1300 yards behind Emmitt Smith.

  4. Hes crazy but you gotta love the drive & passion. Refreshing to see somebody who wants to show up for work every day.

  5. Considering he is behind Derrius Guice on the depth chart and also will probably lose carries to Bryce Love, it ain’t gonna happen in DC. AP may be a surprise cut this year

  6. He’s got a better chance of passing Emmitt than he does of winning a championship in Washington.

  7. AP needs around 1,000 more carries to break Emmitt’s record. I can’t see that happening over a five year span. He would likely need to play 7-8 more years, and that would put him at 42 years old. Which team is going to employ a 40+ year old RB? Even Jerry Rice got cut at that age.

  8. His best chance was with Favre but he fumbled twice. Twice. He only needs 13 more fumbles to pass Emmitt Smith. That seems more realistic.

  9. Maybe if he wouldn’t have had those issues that put him out that full season it would be a little more believable best of luck a.p.

  10. Sadly, he will get neither the rushing title or the actual title. AD is a great back with super human physical qualities who will more than likely land in the Hall but was saddled with bad QB play and sub par coaching for majority of his career.

  11. Well, let’s put it this way, AP has a much greater chance of rushing for 4,100 more yards than he does of even sniffing a championship with the wretched Washington Football Club.
    That is all.

  12. What’s up with these former Sooners believing they can do anything. Water check on Oklahoma campus please.

  13. 5thorkid says:
    August 7, 2020 at 9:17 am
    Considering he is behind Derrius Guice on the depth chart and also will probably lose carries to Bryce Love, it ain’t gonna happen in DC. AP may be a surprise cut this year

    Expect Guice to be back on IR by week-2

  14. Each of these goals is admirable, but not likely. He’s playing well especially for his age, so his goal of Smith’s title isn’t impossible. The super bowl one, however, is even less likely for one main reason: He plays for Washington.

  15. Why do people equate the GOAT to the person who has the most yards? It makes no sense. Emitt was a great back but if we are truly discussing great backs in NFL history without talking yard, Emitt doesn’t make the top 5. It’s easy to be a great back when you have maulers at the OL position for many years, Just like Ezekiel Elliot now.

    Play for the love of the game, not because you want pass another player.

  16. What he really wants is to hang around for another paycheck or two, considering how much money he has blown.

  17. I’ll say it again … Barry Sanders is the real all time rushing leader , he did far more with far less … While Emmitt overstayed his career and stayed in games that were decided so he could pad his stats his offensive line just brutalized tired worn out just want to get home defenses at the end of lopsided games. Imagine Barry or better yet APs hit the hole running style behind that situation.

  18. It’s pretty incredible that he rushed for almost 2,000 yards over the last two seasons. I don’t know how much of that he last left but he’s already greatly surprised. I don’t think he’ll catch Smith but I didn’t think he’d go for 2000 yards in his age 34 and 35 seasons either

  19. Peterson > Emmitt…….by a mile, as football players.

    Emmitt’s stats are great and all but he’s not in the conversation of all time greats.

    Emmitts not even close to the caliber of player Marshall Faulk, Edgerrrin James, Ricky Williams or Ladanian Tomlinson were.

  20. “That’s one of the goals I set to myself when I entered the NFL was to pass the GOAT”

    So does he want to pass the GOAT or Emmitt Smith?

  21. 1billsnation says:
    August 7, 2020 at 9:04 am
    He’s not going to catch Emmitt and that’s just a fact. He would have to play until he’s 38 and average 1,000 yds+ per season at that. He’s a first ballot HOF’er and a physical freak of nature, but this is not realistic. He’s also not going to get a ring on the Washington Football Team either.
    —–
    Maybe. The more interesting discussion is which is more likely Peterson winning a Superbowl with Washington or catching Emmitt? ESPN would run a full segment on that alone. Too bad he lost a season to injury and another to stupidity. He likely would have been 1-2k yards away from the record.

  22. Emmitt is far from the GOAT, he is just the all time leading rusher. Barry Sanders was hands down a better running back than Emmitt.

  23. The greatest ever is not on most of these lists. His problem was a career cut short by injury. Bo Jackson.

  24. He will get his Super Bowl — this year in fact. Washington is absolutely lethal on defense. And offensively, you combine AD with Scary Terry MacLaren and emerging star Dwayne Haskins, the scoreboard will light up. AD will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy by year’s end.

  25. If hes given the carries he will do it. Finding a team to give him them carries is less likely.

  26. As a NY GIANTS fan I am a Dallas Cowboys Hater.

    I am shocked at the amount of disrespect that Emmitt Smith is getting here.

    Barry Sanders was NOT a better Running Back then Emmitt Smith was.

    He was a more Dynamic and exciting Runner then Smith, that is undeniable. Smith was a better all-around back though.

    Smith was a phenonemal all-around back and had the Heart of a Lion.

    There is a myth that Barry Sanders had a crummy O-Line. Sanders played with Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover who were perennial Pro-Bowlers and Borderline Hall of Famers.

    Was Emmitt Better then Marshall Faulk? Hard to say, Faulk was the man.

    Was Emmitt better then Edgerrin James, LaDanian Tomlinson and Ricky Williams?

    I would say he was better then those guys.

    Was Emmitt better then Walter Payton? No

    Was Emmitt better then Dickerson? Yes, and I am a huge fan of Eric.

    Emmitt carried it more times, carried it farther and scored more times then ANY other RB in NFL History.

    That means something in my world.

  27. Sorry Tommyribs, both Lomas Brown and Keving Glover were much better pass blockers than run blockers. Other than 1990, Barry’s online was average at best in run blocking. I watched every game Barry played, every game there were many times where he would have guys in the backfield as soon as he received the handoff. With Dallas’ line at that time he would’ve been over 2000 yards every year.

  28. The GOAT come on. Easy Earl Campbell.. And he was running with a not yet diagnosed spinal stenosis I believe it is.

  29. He coulda got a SB if he had stayed on the Saints in 2017. He wouldve had to accept being a change up power back, but at the end of the year with Kamara and Ingram down, we needed him.

  30. chastain00 says:
    August 7, 2020 at 10:04 am
    I’ll say it again … Barry Sanders is the real all time rushing leader , he did far more with far less … While Emmitt overstayed his career and stayed in games that were decided so he could pad his stats his offensive line just brutalized tired worn out just want to get home defenses at the end of lopsided games. Imagine Barry or better yet APs hit the hole running style behind that situation

    —‐—————

    Umm yeah, Im an Eagles fan and i hate the cowboys and am haopy to crap on Emmitt Smith anytime. But what you described is called football. Its not “padding stats” when a team is winning they run the ball at the end of the game to chew clock. Its actually the sportsmen like thing to do. I dont think Smith is the best of all time, but he was really good and one of the things that made him good was his ability to stay on the field and hammer out those hard runs at the end of games. To be a bell cow that took the bulk of the carries and get the hard first downs and not turn the ball over.

  31. His best chance at a ring is being cut by Washington and signing with a contender with injuries and/or COVID outbreak for the playoffs.

  32. I’d like to accomplish both of those things as well. Unfortunately, we both have about the same chances of doing it.

  33. First, he has to get cut from Washington.
    Then, he has to be willing to play for free on a Superbowl contender. Since there is a league minimum salary, I wouldn’t expect a Superbowl team to be sniffing around Peterson.

    So, it’s just a pipe dream.

  34. “That’s one of the goals I set to myself when I entered the NFL was to pass the GOAT.”

    I’m sorry. Emmitt Smith is not the greatest of all time of running backs. Yes, statistically he has the record. But to me the greatest ones will always be the trinity of running backs: Jim Brown(father), Barry Sanders(son), and Walter Payton(holy ghost). And then there is everyone else. I do admire Peterson’s determination to chase the record book.

  35. adamb182 says: August 7, 2020 at 12:34 pm
    “Its not “padding stats” when a team is winning they run the ball at the end of the game to chew clock. Its actually the sportsmen like thing to do.”

    ==============

    Smith was good at earning those hard short yards to extend the drive. And he broke Walter Payton’s record by the same number of years in year 13 so credit must be given. But after that, his two years in Arizona were purely padding his stats to be out of reach for newcomers. He will always be number 4 in my book.

  36. “Emmitt carried it more times, carried it farther and scored more times then ANY other RB in NFL History.”

    For the record, Emmitt had a career yards-per-carry of 4.2, Adrian has a 4.7ypc.

    Barry and Jim Brown and Gale Sayers all had 5.0 per attempt.

  37. Sweetness is the greatest of all time – this coming from a Vikings fan – he was the quint essential running back who could do it all, pass, throw a block and run.

  38. I wished he hadn’t done the stuff to warrant the year suspension, so its his own fault. He never had the O-line that Smith did or even a decent QB except the one Favre year.

    He now is as likely to get the rushing record as he is to ride a camel at his birthday part. Oh wait. . . . .

  39. tommyribs says:
    August 7, 2020 at 11:47 am

    Barry Sanders was NOT a better Running Back then Emmitt Smith was.

    +++++

    Emmitt Smith gained more than 4.3 yards per carry 3 times in his 15 year career (20%).

    Barry Sanders gained more than 4.3 yards per carry 8 times in 10 seasons (80%).

  40. AP has a great heart and is a first ballot HOFer. He won’t get a Super Bowl in Washington, and passing Emmitt is practically impossible. But I would love for AP to have a couple more productive years left in him.

    As for Emmitt, we can argue whether or not he is the GOAT, but he is absolutely in the top 5 RB of all time. He has all of the rushing records, 3 Super Bowls, an NFL MVP, and a SB MVP. He deserves a ton of respect for his accomplishments, longevity, and classy approach to the sport.

    My top five RB of all time look like this: 1. Jim Brown 2. Walter Payton 3. Barry Sanders 4. Emmitt Smith 5. Adrian Peterson

  41. “For the record, Emmitt had a career yards-per-carry of 4.2, Adrian has a 4.7ypc.

    Barry and Jim Brown and Gale Sayers all had 5.0 per attempt.”

    Right….so that means that Emmitt gained his incredible 18,000 plus yards on a lot more carries, showing unparalleled endurance, longevity, and toughness. Then we have to also examine his huge lead on the all time rushing TDs…he was a scoring machine.

  42. Sorry, but the 3 greatest all time rushers in my option were Jim Brown, Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders no matter who gained the most yards.

  43. An age of a RB isn’t the only thing that determines his effectiveness…the number of carries and amount of punishment absorbed plays a role as well.

    I think a lot of us are impressed that AP has rushed for 2,000 yds the past 2 seasons in his mid 30’s. Some have argued that he could actually have a shot at Emmitt’s record if he hadn’t missed so much playing time earlier this decade. Does anyone here think that Peterson’s high level of play is due to the fact that all the missed playing time has allowed his body to heal and keep him fresh?

  44. You are a good guy AP but in this cases the miracle of 4141 more yards is unlikely to happen!

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