The Peterson name almost took a double whammy of serious injury on Saturday, but Patrick Peterson was able to avoid the fate of Adrian Peterson.
The Cardinals cornerback left the loss to the Bengals early after injuring his Achillles. Peterson picked off an Andy Dalton pass on the play, but Adrian Wilson roughed Dalton so the play that led to the pain was all for naught. That double dose of bad news was tempered by the fact that the injury was just a strain that won’t require surgery to repair.
“That’s a huge relief,” Peterson said on the team’s website. “It’s something that can heal over the next week or so with rehab.”
With the Cardinals out of the playoff hunt, there’s little chance Peterson will play in Week 17. That means he won’t get a chance for a fifth punt return touchdown this season, leaving him tied for the NFL record with Devin Hester, Rick Upchurch and Jack Christiansen.