Adrian Peterson’s career was supposed to be in jeopardy. He was not supposed to be the running back he was, with perhaps the best combination of speed and burst in the NFL.
If you witnessed the injury the Vikings running back suffered last Christmas Eve, a tear of the anterior and medial cruciate ligaments in his left knee, the thought of Peterson being the back he was seemed impossible.
For a running back, knee injuries like he sustained are supposed to be career-enders. Yet, some 10 months after having major reconstructive surgery, Peterson has looked better than he ever has — so much better that he has to be considered a front-runner for the league MVP honors.
Peterson enters today’s game against the Bears with the Vikings in first place in the NFC North, and he leads the league in rushing yards with 1,128, to go along with a gaudy 5.8-yard average and seven touchdowns.
Those numbers project to 1,805 yards through 16 games, which would be a career high for Peterson. For a running back coming off a major knee injury, this is almost unfathomable. Major knee injuries for running backs are supposed to doom their careers, slow them down, render them never the same again.
Peterson has gotten better. Someone get the number of his surgeon.
Though everyone around the NFL has taken notice of Peterson’s remarkable comeback, one local player has been watching with particular interest. Giants receiver Domenik Hixon is coming back from his second ACL injury this season and has found himself inspired by Peterson.
“Man, he’s doing an awesome job,’’ Hixon said. “From the outside looking in, it looks like he never had an injury. I remember when he initially went down my thoughts were, ‘Is he going to be able to come back and be as physical as he was before?’ He’s not only shown that he can, but he has that same burst of speed, too.
“He’s showing all ACL knee surgery guys that you can come back just as strong as you were before you got hurt. Before, when you tore something in your knee — especially an ACL — it was suppose to make you a step slower. That’s one of the myths floating around. He’s proving that myth wrong.’’
Giants running back Andre Brown, too, has marveled from afar at what Peterson is doing, calling him “very inspirational.’’
“He’s come back and he looks better than he did the year before he hurt it,’’ Brown said. “He’s a beast, man. The doubters ain’t saying nothing now. He’s out there doing it.’’
What Peterson is doing this season rivals the accomplishments of Hall of Fame back Barry Sanders. A comparison between Peterson this season and Sanders in 1997, when he was the co-MVP of the league with Brett Favre, is eye-opening.
Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997. Through 10 games that year, he had 1,103 yards (25 fewer than Peterson), a 5.5-yard average (0.3 less than Peterson) and four TDs (three fewer than Peterson).
The Vikings, at 6-4, already have twice as many wins as they had last season, and Peterson is as much a reason for that as anyone.
“It’s hard to imagine another guy having a greater impact on his team — especially considering where we are and what we have to do every single week to win,” Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said of Peterson. “He’s a joy to watch. I think all of us should cherish having the chance to watch him live.’’
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com