Adrian Peterson inches closer to Dickerson's NFL rushing record

Eric Dickerson has held the NFL's single-season rushing record for nearly three decades, but one of the league's most dynamic rushers could pass him his season.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson finished the day against the St. Louis Rams with 212 yards of rushing, pushing his season total to 1,812 yards on the ground. Peterson is now 293 yards shy of Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards.

Peterson has crested the century mark in each of his last eight games and has eclipsed 200 yards twice in that streak.

Perhaps more importantly, Peterson's big day helped the Vikings to a 36-22 win and they now sit with an identical record to the New York Giants, who hold the final NFC playoff spot. The Vikings' potential road to the playoffs won't be easy as they finish the season against two of the league's best teams in the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.

Peterson's road to the record won't be easy, either, with the Texans sporting the league's third-best rushing defense and the Packers sitting at 15th in that category.