Adrian Peterson Says His Best Play Was 'Angels in the Outfield'-type Fumble Recovery

Adrian Peterson had some truly epic plays in his NFL career, but his favorite one might surprise you.

He told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the moment he replays in his head the most was recovering his own fumble during the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, a game the Saints won, 31-28.

"It was an inside zone play to the right. I burst through the hole. I'm probably three or four yards past the line of scrimmage and I don't know who hit the ball out, but the ball flew out in front of me, and probably landed six, seven yards in front of me and I was down on my knees. It was two defenders by it. I don't know how I got to the ball. It's like the 'Angels in the Outfield'-type situation, seriously. I flew to that ball and recovered it and two guys literally were like two or three yards from it. And it was like an out of body experience, just the urgency to get to that ball. You got to look it up and you'll understand... Like, I was so determined that I couldn't lose that ball that just like that, I was able to get to it."

You can see the play here. It truly does defy logic that Peterson was able to grab it.

That game would hold additional significance in the years to come, as it would serve as the launching point for the Bountygate investigation against the Saints, culminating in a one-year suspension for Sean Payton, among other punishments and controversies.

In that regard, Peterson's fumble recovery is barely a footnote in the history of that particular game, but it was a wild play nonetheless.