Arizona Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson is set to take on a heavy workload on Sunday against the 49ers with injuries killing the offense.
If you are the San Francisco 49ers, one thing should be noted in your gameplan for Sunday: Stop Adrian Peterson. The running back has been an asset for the Arizona Cardinals ever since he arrived there, and it appears on Sunday that he will be a key part of the team’s gameplan. As Kevin Patra of NFL.com noted, the Cardinals plan to ride Peterson to victory.
Peterson seemed comfortable with that idea, as he’s felt since signing with the Saints that he can still be a featured back.
As Patra points out, Peterson has looked very different in both of his starts. In his first one, he ran for 134 yards, averaging 5.2 yards a carry. In his second one, he did not fare so well, rushing for only 21 yards and 1.9 yards per carry. Due to those numbers, it remains a mystery as to which Adrian Peterson we will see on Sunday.
I suspect we will see something that more closely resembles his debut. The 49ers rank No. 20 in the NFL in run defense with 766 yards given up on 182 attempts. They have surrendered six touchdowns and 95.8 yards per contest. Although those are not the worst numbers, they aren’t great. To me, those numbers read along the lines of something as “bending but not breaking.”
This could bode well for Peterson on Sunday. Any time you give him an opportunity to run, he will make you pay. The Buccaneers found that out the hard way. Although Tampa Bay ended up winning the game, Peterson made life very difficult for the Bucs. It was a rebirth of sorts for a player who just did not seem to fit in New Orleans. Now, it is up to the 49ers to see if they can stop him. Stacking the box, and bringing various blitz packages could be the key to success for them, and it will be interesting to see what they try to do.
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Either way, Adrian Peterson will be a fixture in the game plan on Sunday. It is a role he is accustomed to and one he has thrived on in the past. Will he turn back the clock and have another 100-yard day or will he be stifled by a well-prepared 49ers team? It will be interesting to see which AP will show up on Sunday.