NFL Week 10: Experts Believe Adrian Peterson Key To Arizona Cardinals Win Over Seattle Seahawks
NFL Week 10 is underway, and one of the most intriguing matchups in the lineup is the Thursday night game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals host the Seahawks at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The game starts at 8:25 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals (4-4) and Seahawks (5-3) are in a tight battle for second place in the NFC West as both teams try to get a playoff spot this season. It is the first meeting between these two teams this year, and a lot of fans are excited as experts have conflicting predictions on who will win this matchup.
Some pundits believe that ageless veteran Adrian Peterson is the key for the Cardinals to beat the highly favored Seahawks. Peterson was coming off an incredible game against the San Francisco 49ers last week. The future Hall of Fame running back pulled off a career-high 37 carries for 159 yards against the Niners. He did this in his 11th season in the league at age 32 with 2,519 carries and 12,142 yards already under his belt.
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians believes so, too. Speaking in front of reporters after practice on Wednesday, Arians said that Peterson is a “freak of nature.” The fifth-year Arizona coach also said that he is impressed by how fast Peterson was able to learn the team’s offense. The Cardinals had just acquired Peterson last month in a trade with the New Orleans Saints.
"He's a freak of nature." – @BruceArians on @AdrianPeterson pic.twitter.com/WbKkmYLzLV
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 8, 2017
In a report by Arizona Sports, 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Vince Marotta and Mike Jurecki said that the Cardinals will still “lean” on Peterson against the Seahawks at home this Thursday. Talking about the Cards’ 20-10 Week 9 victory over the Niners, Marotta admitted that he was wrong to doubt Peterson’s ability to lead the team’s running game.
“It certainly didn’t look like a Bruce Arians-engineered win when you have a running back carrying the ball 37 times for 159 yards. But Adrian Peterson, I was a doubter, I was wrong. He has gas left in the tank.”
Jurecki agreed with Marotta’s comment, saying that the Cardinals’ “thought process” against San Francisco was to “feed the beast,” which ended in Peterson achieving a career-high in carries.
Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ official website reported that Peterson is feeling “fresh” despite having only three days to rest before this game against Seattle. Urban also attributed coach Arians as saying that Peterson “will get another heavy load” versus the Seahawks even though Seattle evidently has a much better defense than the Niners.
However, despite the high expectations on Peterson, the Seahawks are 73.9 percent favored to win the match, according to ESPN. The Cardinals are 25.9 percent favored while the remaining 0.2 percent predicts a tie.
[Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
