Neither medical science nor the Green Bay Packers defense seem to be able to slow down Adrian Peterson.
The Minnesota Vikings' running back once again defined the term "freak" with another spectacular performance in Week 13 -- this time against the Packers -- less than a year removed from reconstructive knee surgery.
Not only did Peterson eclipse the 100-yard mark for the sixth straight game, he rumbled for the longest touchdown run of his six-year career.
Late in the second quarter, with the Vikings just inside their own 20, Peterson took a handoff from Christian Ponder and started to his right. He cut through a hole and then broke tackles from Green Bay defensive backs Morgan Burnett and M.D. Jennings. And just like that, there was nobody else left to beat as Peterson sprinted down the right sideline for the 82-yard touchdown. He made a bit of history along the way and over the course of the day.
Peterson finished with 210 rushing yards, his third game with 200 or more yards of his career, per ESPN Stats & Info. He also surpassed 8,000 career rushing yards, becoming the sixth fastest player to ever reach that mark.
The list of statistical achievements continues.
According to Sports Illustrated, Peterson's 210 yards was the second most allowed by Green Bay since 1960. It was also his 12th career game with 150 yards or more, per SportsCenter.
In the end, however, AP's historic tally wouldn't be enough for Minnesota as Green Bay went on to win 24-13. Peterson still made history by becoming the third player since 1990 to rush for 210 yards or more in a loss, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Peterson leads the league in rushing yards with 1,446 and runs that go for 20 yards or more. Perhaps that's why Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said a day before Sunday's game against the Packers that Peterson is a better running back than he was before the surgery.
"I think he's a more patient runner than he was. He'd see things in the past, and just take off, and his offensive line wouldn't know where he was at," Frazier told Albert Breer of NFL.com. "One play might be called this way, and he was so aggressive, he might be somewhere else. Now, he's more patient, he's letting the offensive line do its job, setting them up and letting them finish their blocks. In a lot of ways, he's better than he was before the surgery. I never thought I'd say that. But he's done things to make himself better."
Even before the season began and Peterson started rattling off 100-yard games, Matt Bowen of National Football Post wrote that his recovery was amazing.
Following Minnesota's win over Detroit just a few weeks ago -- in which he had 171 rushing yards and a touchdown -- Peterson even said that he "still can get stronger."
Since he's already been described as a freak, a monster, a beast, and a mutant for his astounding performances, it looks like we may need to break out even more outlandish verbiage if Peterson is still getting better.