ARIZONA CARDINALS

Cardinals’ Adrian Peterson named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

Oct 18, 2017, 7:35 AM | Updated: 11:58 am

Arizona Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson (23) runs back onto the field prior to the second ha...

Arizona Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson (23) runs back onto the field prior to the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

What a debut!

Adrian Peterson’s first game as an Arizona Cardinal went swimmingly. Sunday, the veteran running back ran for 134 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 38-33 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Wednesday, Peterson was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

“For the first time in my career, I’m averaging less than ten plays a game for four weeks,” Peterson told reporters in London on Wednesday. “Then for this opportunity, for this trade, to happen and to come back my first game and be named NFC Player of the Week. It’s like a story that you see in a book. It’s just amazing, man. It’s a blessing.”

It is Peterson’s eighth career weekly award, and first since 2012 (he won it twice that season).

Peterson, who was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints last week, became the first Cardinals player to rush for more than 100 yards in his team debut since Ottis Anderson, who ran for 193 against the Dallas Cowboys in his first game as a rookie in 1979.

Peterson joins wide receiver J.J. Nelson as Cardinals who have earned weekly awards in 2017. Nelson won it in Week 2 after catching five passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 16-13 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts.

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