Adrian Peterson reaches 100 career rushing touchdowns in his 1st game with Washington

After a long stretch without a trip to the end zone, Adrian Peterson finally topped a career milestone.

Washington running back Adrian Peterson became the ninth player in NFL history to reach 100 career touchdowns on the ground. The score came thanks to a 1-yard run in the second quarter of a Week 1 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Peterson reached the milestone in his first game with Washington — and it came against his former team. With several injuries suffered by other Washington running backs, the team has leaned on Peterson against Arizona and at the time of the touchdown he already had 53 rushing yards.

Peterson’s career total had been sitting at 99 rushing touchdowns for nearly a full year, but he finally cracked triple digits Sunday. It capped the end of a long journey for Peterson.

Peterson had been closing in on his 100th rushing TD since 2016

The 2012 NFL MVP entered 2016 just three scores away from breaking into the triple-digit club, but fate had other plans. A knee injury erased all but three games from his season, and he averaged just 1.9 yards per carry while failing to find the end zone in what turned out to be his last year with the Vikings.

He was released by the team that offseason and signed with the New Orleans Saints for 2017 with plenty to prove — but he wouldn’t get the chance in Louisiana. The Saints’ suddenly stacked backfield meant there was little room for mop-up duty behind Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. He lasted only four weeks in the NFC South before being traded to a desperate Arizona Cardinals backfield.

The future Hall of Famer was willing to tell anyone who would listen he didn’t feel as though he’d lost a step. For a moment, it looked like he was right. He broke out with 134 yards and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers in Week 6, but failed to find the end zone through the rest of the season. He went on injured reserve in December due to a neck injury and was then released in March.

Peterson remained a free agent until August, when injuries ravaged Washington’s backfield and Jay Gruden brought him in for a workout that quickly turned into a signing.

Where this puts Peterson in the NFL’s record books

Peterson's total of 100 touchdowns ties him with Shaun Alexander and Marshall Faulk for seventh all-time and places him behind only six Hall of Famers.

By getting to 100 touchdowns, Peterson passed the 99 career rushing touchdowns of Barry Sanders. Longtime Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith, who finished his career with the Cardinals, owns the all-time record with 164 rushing touchdowns and the record for rushing yards with 18,355.

Peterson is also up to No. 10 on the NFL’s all-time rushing yards list after passing both Marshall Faulk and Jim Brown in his first game in Washington.

Peterson becomes the seventh player to rush for at least 12,000 yards and 100 touchdowns. The other six — Smith, Walter Payton, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk, and Marcus Allen — are all in the Hall of Fame. One day, Peterson will join them there, too.