You might think that Adrian Peterson has reason to dislike Houston, fair cause to hold a grudge against the city. You might think he'd take some extra joy in ripping a hole right through Houston's dream NFL season and denying the Texans' chance to clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

This is where Peterson's name was dragged through the mud after a night club incident in the summer that saw three off-duty cops jumping on him and a resisting arrest charge. The charges were later dismissed with a grand jury declining to indict Peterson after listening to the running back for only 25 minutes.

From the moment he was the released from jail after the initial arrest, Peterson vehemently denied ever shoving a police officer, memorably proclaiming, "I'm 200 percent innocent" at one point.

Peterson's Houston attorney — the high-powered Rusty Hardin, an athlete favorite — has said Peterson will not decide if he wants to sue for false arrest or defamation until after the Super Bowl.

But Peterson makes it clear he has no grudge against the people of Houston.

"I love Houston," Peterson says. "I love Texas. I love that you can have the country or the city.

"I love both."

In many ways, Houston is Peterson's second home. His mom lives on the north side. He keeps a condo in the Galleria area and has considered buying a house in the area.

Peterson half jokingly credits "the Houston heat" with helping him pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history.

"All Day" — Peterson's fitting nickname — wouldn't be standing on the verge of breaking Eric Dickerson's 28-year-old all-time NFL single season rushing record if it wasn't for the relentless work he did in Houston. Russ Paine, a prominent local physical therapist who works with the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, and Houston-based personal trainer James Cooper helped push Peterson through an unprecedentedly quick recovery from a complete tear of the ACL and MCL in his left knee.

Though, Peterson really pushed them — to let him do more, to virtually ignore the traditional timetables for recover from a surgery of this magnitude.

"Yeah, I was in a mission," Peterson says. "I wasn't playing around."

Peterson wanted a training team that wouldn't flinch (at least not too much) when he tried to defy the limits of the human body. That would take some serious guts — if Peterson re-injured the knee while pushing to return faster, any trainers involved would be vilified. He found that willing to be daring in Houston.

Peterson — who grew up in Palestine, Texas — appreciates that Lone Star State attitude.

Now, he's being touted as a superhuman MVP candidate, a man who has come back with a season for the ages from one of the most devastating injuries in football. Never mind that many players do not start looking or performing like themselves until two full years after ACL surgery.

Peterson will drag an otherwise flawed Minnesota Vikings team into playoff contention with an 8-6 record. He'll cause a 12-2 Texans team that looks superior in every other way some sleepless nights.

"It's not like we have a lot of things around him," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier frankly puts it.

Peterson laughs when asked if he worries about carries piling up in an era when the workhorse running back is endangered (except in places like Houston and Minnesota).

"Nah, not me," he says, dismissing any concern. "I would rather tote the ball every snap . . . All Day."

An Arian Foster Fan

The Texans' Arian Foster — who leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns (14) and carries (325) — is the same way. It's no surprise that the two running backs share a bond. They swapped jerseys — with each signing his for the other — on the field after the Texans and Vikings met in the last preseason game in August (neither Foster or Peterson played in the game).

Foster, a devoted student of the game who's also swapped signed jerseys with other stars like Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, semi frequently texts with Peterson.

"He texted me when they were going out to Chicago (to play the Bears) asking me, 'Hey, what suit do you think I should wear, bro?' I gave him a couple pointers and whatnot," says Peterson, who's something of an expert on the Windy City given all his trips there to play the Vikings' NFC North rivals. "He's a cool guy.

"I love the way he runs the ball. He's a smooth runner."

While the 26-year-old Foster chases a second 1,500-yard season in only his third year as a starter, the 27-year-old Peterson makes a push for immortality.

Dickerson, another Texas-reared running back (from Sealy), always fascinated Peterson. All Day came close to being a No. 29 like Dickerson.

"I loved his running style," Peterson says. "I wanted to be No. 29 because of Eric Dickerson. The only reason I got No. 28 because (his high school) didn't have No. 29. To surpass a milestone that's been there for 28 years would mean a lot."

That the path there takes Peterson right through Houston seems fitting. This is his town too. This is where things happen for him. Good or bad.