Adrian Peterson has played in a lot of games where he’s been the focal point of the offense while spending the majority of the game on the field.
That hasn’t been the case in the first two games of his Lions tenure. Peterson has played 39 offensive snaps so far this season, which accounts for less than 30 percent of the team’s overall offensive plays. Some of that has to do with the presence of Kerryon Johnson and D’Andre Swift and some has to do with the fact that the Lions were playing from behind in the second half of last Sunday’s loss to the Packers.
Whatever the cause, Peterson says he’s fine with the way things are unfolding in Detroit.
“It’s not tough at all,” Peterson said, via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “You kind of flash back to that [Green Bay] game, I want to say was either late third quarter or fourth quarter, I was kind of on the sideline for a good period of time. And a third-and-1 came up and my number was called. I went in there and picked up 6 yards. I’m a vet. I know how the situation is working out right now. For me, it is what it is. If it is four carries, I’m gonna take advantage of those four carries. If it’s four snaps, I’m going to take advantage of those four snaps, you know? All I can do is control what I can control and that’s making sure that I’m prepared and ready to help this offense be productive when I’m out there.”
Peterson has 21 carries for 134 yards, so he has been productive when given the chance to run the ball. Those chances are unlikely to get a big bump if the Lions continue trying to play catchup every week, so it would behoove him to find a way to help his new team get up early.