Redskin who injured Peterson hopes rusher breaks record

• Adrian Peterson was injured on a hit by DeJon Gomes on Christmas Eve 2011
• The Redskins safety calls Peterson a "freak athlete"
• Peterson needs 208 yards to break the NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105

ASHBURN, Va. -- DeJon Gomes is pulling for Adrian Peterson. It's the least he can do.

It was Gomes, you see, who inflicted the blow a little more than a year ago that left the Minnesota Vikings star running back with the two torn knee ligaments that were central to one of the most amazing comebacks in NFL history.

Peterson is poised to become just the sixth player to top 2,000 rushing yards in a season as he heads into Sunday's regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers needing 208 yards to break the NFL single-season mark of 2,105 yards set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.

Gomes, a second-year Washington Redskins safety, hopes Peterson comes through.

"Oh, definitely," Gomes told USA TODAY Sports this week. "Any time anybody gets hurt, you want to see them come back and have success. Because at the end of the day, it's our livelihoods. I'm glad he's been able to do the things he's doing."

Peterson was hurt last year as Gomes crashed helmet-first into his knee from the side, on an inside run just beyond the line of scrimmage. It was a clean shot, as Gomes was not blocked on the play and dove low to apparently upend Peterson. It did not appear to be flagrant; it was a violent but routine tackle, except when considering the NFL's best running back tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament.

"I wasn't going for him or anything," Gomes said. "It wasn't malicious. According to some fans, a lot of people thought it was dirty. I was just trying to make a tackle. I wasn't trying to hurt him."

Gomes never called Peterson or tried otherwise to reach out to the Vikings star as he went through surgery and months of rehab. He did make it a point, though, to chat with Peterson on the field following the Redskins' home victory against Minnesota at FedEx Field in mid-October.

"He said he knew it was part of the game," Gomes recalled of the conversation. "We wished each other well for the rest of the season."

There's a chance the backup strong safety (listed as questionable for Sunday night's finale against the Dallas Cowboys because of a knee injury) could see Peterson again, during the NFC playoffs. The Vikings and the Redskins can both clinch playoff berths Sunday merely by winning.

​Regardless, Gomes is already a footnote to history … and Peterson's inspiring comeback.

"I think most of America, or at least the people who watch football, know he's a freak athlete," Gomes said of Peterson. "If you saw any clips during the offseason of how hard he was working to get back to where he was, it's not surprising to see him come back so strong. It doesn't seem like he's missing a step.

"But I don't know if anybody can say they thought he'd be this close to the rushing record, a year off that injury."