Adrian Peterson thinks he can win NFL MVP

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is having an incredible season by any objective standard. He's leading the NFL with 1,600 rushing yards and has rushed for 10 touchdowns. That would be a great year for any running back, but he still has three games to play. He's also doing this just one year after tearing his ACL.

Normally players publicly ignore things like the MVP award, but Peterson thinks that he can win the honor for his efforts this year:

"The MVP, man, that’s something that I’ve always wanted to grab. I work hard. I want to be the best player to this game, so with that, MVP awards come," he told The Associated Press. "But I know this league and how it is, man. They’re kind of biased to the quarterback, which is unfortunate. They make it hard for other players to win it, but I will."

Peterson has never won the NFL MVP award. The only major NFL award he's taken home is the 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's right that quarterbacks have a leg up, though. Quarterbacks have won the past five MVP awards, and nine of the past eleven, with only Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson breaking through in 2005 and 2006.

The Vikings play the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, and desperately need a win to stay alive in the NFC playoff picture.