Adrian Peterson found a new home on Tuesday signing a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Peterson is the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher with 11,747 yards in 10 seasons. He won the MVP award in 2012 and led the league in rushing three times.
Despite the impressive accolades, Minnesota was never able to capture successful playoff runs during his tenure in purple-and-gold. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and relive some painful memories.
After drafting Peterson in 2007, the Vikings made the playoffs four times.
- 2008 Wild Card: 26-14 loss to Philadelphia
- 2009 Divisional Round: 34-3 win over Dallas
- 2009 NFC Championship: 31-28 loss to New Orleans
- 2012 Wild Card: 24-10 loss to Green Bay
- 2015 Wild Card: 10-9 loss to Seattle
The team’s lone playoff win with Peterson came when the Vikings slaughtered the Dallas Cowboys, 34-3 in the 2009 Divisional Playoffs.
He followed up that performance with a stat-stuffing day against the Saints in the NFC Championship game where he rushed for 125 yards, on 25 carries with three touchdowns.
But his two fumbles in the loss are still causing agony with Vikings fans.
In the 2015 playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks (although some would say Blair Walsh is mostly to blame here), Peterson couldn’t muster much of anything, rushing for just 45 yards on 23 carries.
It’s obviously unfair to put the blame on Peterson for the lack of playoff wins, but after watching him tear up the league for 10 years, it’s a shame the Vikings weren’t able to capture a Super Bowl with Peterson.
