Washington Redskins: 5 Bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Saints
5. Adrian Peterson is quiet
There may not be a better story in all of the NFL through the first month of the season than the resurgence of Adrian Peterson. Ok, well, Patrick Mahomes may have something to say about that. However, the future Hall-of-Fame running back has 236 rushing yards and three scores through the first three weeks of the season. He also has 100 receiving yards, too.
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For the Redskins, who lost rookie Derrius Guice to a torn ACL in the first preseason game, Peterson has been a revelation. Motivated by doubters who believed he was finished, Peterson has gotten off to a tremendous start for the Redskins.
On Monday, in his return to New Orleans where he spent a few weeks at the beginning of the 2017 season before being traded, Peterson won’t have his best game. And it won’t completely be his fault. The Saints are good against the run, as opponents are averaging just 79.5 yards per game and a meager 3.2 yards per attempt. Stopping Peterson and making Washington one-dimensional will be exactly what New Orleans wants to do.
Peterson will get the attempts and rush for between 40-50 yards and even get into the end zone once. But it won’t be another dominant performance — at least this week.
There’s also the sprained ankle Peterson suffered two weeks ago in the win over Green Bay. He’ll play, as he returned to practice, but how effective will he be?