Sport
Adrian Peterson gets NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year while Robert Griffin III top offensive rookie award
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. PHOTO/Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Adrian Peterson called it a blessing in disguise.
Strange way to describe career-threatening major knee surgery.
The Minnesota Vikings running back came back better than ever, just missing Eric Dickerson’s longstanding rushing record and closing out the season with two of the top NFL awards from The Associated Press: Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year.
As sort of an added bonus, he beat Peyton Manning for both of them Saturday night.
“My career could have easily been over, just like that,” the sensational running back said. “Oh man. The things I’ve been through throughout my lifetime has made me mentally tough.
” I’m kind of speechless. This is amazing, ” he said in accepting his awards, along with five others at the “2nd Annual NFL Honors” show on CBS saluting the NFL’s best players, performances and plays from the 2012 season. The awards are based on balloting from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL.
Also honored were:
—Washington’s Robert Griffin III, who beat out a strong crop of quarterbacks for the top offensive rookie award.
— Houston end J.J. Watt, who took Defensive Player of the Year, getting 49 of 50 votes.
— Bruce Arians, the first interim coach to win Coach of the Year after leading Indianapolis to a 9-3 record while head man Chuck Pagano was being treated for leukemia. Arians became Arizona’s head coach last month.
—Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, the league’s leader in tackles with 164, who won the top defensive rookie award.
Peterson returned better than ever from the left knee surgery, rushing for 2,097 yards, 9 short of breaking Dickerson’s record. He also sparked the Vikings’ turnaround from 3-13 to 10-6 and a wild-card playoff berth.
He received 30 1-2 votes to 19 1-2 for Manning.
“I played my heart out, every opportunity I had,” Peterson said. “The result of that is not what I wanted, which is being in the Super Bowl game. But I have a couple of good pieces of hardware to bring back and put in my statue area. So it feels good.”
Was the knee injury the toughest thing he’d ever overcome?
“Losing my brother at 7, seeing him get hit by a car right in front of me, that was the toughest,” he said. “But as far as injuries, yes.”
“Trying to get two or three like Peyton, trying to get to your level,” Peterson said of his first MVP award. “But I won’t be there to accept it because I’ll be winning with my coach, the most important award, the team award, the Super Bowl.”
Dickerson predicted Peterson could get back to 2,000 yards.
“I hope he does have a chance to do it again,” Dickerson said, adding with a laugh, “but do I want him to break it? No, I do not.”
Wearing a burgundy and gold tie in honor of his Redskins, Griffin said his goal is to be ready for the season opener.
“It’s truly a blessing to be up there — to be able to stand, first and foremost,” said Griffin, who underwent knee surgery last month. He added that next season “you’ll see a better Robert Griffin.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press