The race for NFL Comeback Player of the Year features three strong candidates who have helped lead their teams into playoff contention.
Andrew Luck has now thrown three or more touchdown passes in seven straight games for the 5-5 Colts after three years of battling shoulder issues. J.J. Watt has reached 10 sacks for the first-place Texans in his surprising return to top form after multiple surgeries.
Then there's Adrian Peterson.
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Peterson missed 19 games over the past two years with knee and neck injuries. He then joined his fourth team in three years when he signed with the Redskins in late August for the veteran minimum of $1.015 million.
At age 33 and playing at a position where career longevity isn't common, most assumed Peterson was done as a productive starting back. Virtually no one — except maybe himself — expected that through Week 10, he would have an excellent chance to become the fifth running back in NFL history to gain over 1,000 yards rushing in a season after age 32 and the first since 2016 when Frank Gore ran for 1,025 yards for the Colts.
The ageless Peterson is fighting Father Time and winning, and with Washington quarterback Alex Smith suffering a season-ending injury in Sunday's loss to Houston, Peterson and the running game will be more integral than ever for the first-place Redskins moving forward.
It has been an amazing year for Peterson, who ranks seventh in the league with 723 rushing yards. His two rushing touchdowns against the Texans bring his season total to six. Coach Jay Gruden has not been afraid to use him in the passing game, either; Peterson has caught 14 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown.
Peterson stands 1 yard shy of 13,000 for his career and needs just 261 yards to move past Eric Dickerson for eighth all time.
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His excellent season is a result of his great work ethic and strong desire to prove to teams that they were wrong to give up on him.
I have been hard on Peterson in recent years for saying and doing lots of stupid and appalling things, starting with his child abuse case after physically disciplining his 4-year-old son. He never understood the public outrage, instead using the excuse that he had been disciplined in a similar manner growing up.
He talked about how bored he was with organized team activities and training camp in 2016 after he had played only one game the previous season due to a league suspension stemming from the child abuse charges. It's almost as if he wanted people to feel sorry for him having to practice football and attend meetings all while earning $12 million that season.
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Another beauty of a statement came before the 2017 season opener when Peterson, then playing for the Saints, said: "Going back to Minnesota, playing the Vikings? Yeah, I want to stick it to them."
At the time, he was New Orleans' third-string running back behind Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Peterson hardly stuck it to the Vikings, rushing six times for 18 yards. Four weeks later, Sean Payton had seen and heard enough from Peterson and he was traded to Arizona. He had several productive games and reached 529 rushing yards with the Cardinals before ending the season on injured reserve and then being released in March.
Peterson has obviously never suffered from a lack of ego. In the lead-up to this season, he posted his high-energy workout videos on Twitter in an attempt to entice teams to pursue him, and made his usual boastful statements such as: "I know once I get back out there, I'll be blessed with a healthy season and show people I'm still the best in the league."
He got his opportunity in Washington after would-be starter Derrius Guice tore his ACL. He has made the most of it on the field while, for the most part, staying low-key off the field, save for a shot he took at the Vikings earlier this season when Minnesota's run game was struggling: "I could be beneficial to them right now."
That was a pretty mild statement for him, so perhaps Gruden and the Redskins' PR staff has convinced him he's better off letting his play do the talking. If that's the case and it continues, I say, "Bravo."
Peterson started the season strong with 166 yards from scrimmage in a win at Arizona. His best rushing performance came in Week 8 with 149 yards against the Giants. He has two games with more than 100 rushing yards and three other games with more than 90 rushing yards.
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Washington's offensive line has done a good job leading the way for Peterson, with Smith and the passing game creating balance. With Colt McCoy taking over at quarterback, defenses are surely going to give Peterson more attention and eight-in-the-box alignments.
There's no shortage of top-ranked rushing defenses on the schedule for Washington, either, beginning with the No. 5 Cowboys, who will be geared to stop Peterson after he rushed 24 times for 99 yards in their last meeting. Also ahead are Philadelphia, Jacksonville and Tennessee, who are all ranked in the top half of the league against the run.
We'll see if Peterson can sustain his pace, which would give him a 1,156-yard season, and perhaps help the Redskins land an NFC East title or a wild-card spot. If that occurs, I hope that Peterson resists the temptation to toot his own horn and talk trash to all the teams and commentators who thought he was washed up.
After all that has happened the past several years, it would be a wise choice for him and his shaky legacy to wrap up his career — for however long it lasts — with continued good play on the field combined with acting humble and staying trouble-free off the field.
Jeff Diamond is a former president of the Titans and former vice president/general manager of the Vikings. He was selected NFL Executive of the Year in 1998. Diamond is currently a business and sports consultant who also does broadcast and online media work. He makes speaking appearances to corporate/civic groups and college classes on negotiation and sports business/sports management. He is the former chairman and CEO of The Ingram Group. Follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffdiamondNFL.
