Adrian Peterson played more snaps Sunday than he had in the first two games combined.
Peterson, who signed six days before the season opener, played 24 snaps in Week One and 15 in Week Two. He saw 21 touches in those two games combined, while sharing the backfield with Kerryon Johnson and D’Andre Swift.
In Sunday’s game against Arizona, Peterson played 40 snaps and got 22 carries for 75 yards as well as one catch for 10 yards. Johnson got three carries and one reception and Swift one catch.
It appears the Lions are ready to make Peterson their lead back for the foreseeable future, too.
“It’s not anything that those guys are or aren’t doing,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said Tuesday, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “We’re just trying to, again, accentuate their positives and put them in positions to be successful. You saw Swift. His plays were a little bit down. We want to keep those up and get him more involved. The one play he catches, he has a nice catch-and-run, looks fast, looks explosive.
“It’s just continuing to manage those guys and putting them in the best situations.”
The Lions see no need to put Peterson on a pitch count despite his age (35), his career games (167) and his career usage (3,372 touches).
“I’ve told you, this guy is a freak of nature now. I don’t know where that wall is or where he’s going to hit it. The guy is always asking for more,” said Bevell, who served as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator early in Peterson’s career. “He is in great shape. He takes care of his body. He does all those little things to set himself up for that success.
“I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but he wants [the ball], we want him to have it and we’ll just keep continuing to go there and spell him with Kerryon, spell him with Swift and kind of go from there.”