Adrian Peterson’s lousy game against the Seahawks was right on cue

It’s boom or bust for Adrian Peterson since he was traded to the Cardinals in October. There’s no in between.

Peterson had a career-high 37 carries and ran all over the 49ers for 159 yards last week. He got 21 carries on Thursday night against the Seahawks and finished with 29 yards and a lost fumble. That shakes out to just 1.4 yards per carry. That number is the 13th-worst of all time for a running back with more than 20 carries in a single game since 1950.

But despite his heavy load on Sunday, he said he was ready for 30-plus carries against the Seahawks, just four days later.

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll just make sure my body is ready to roll,” Peterson said, via the team’s website. “If it’s 30, I’m all in for it. If it’s 15 and that’s what they give me, I’ll make them the best 15 I have.”

Carson Palmer is gone for the season, and backup Drew Stanton is averaging just 180 yards per game. Letting Peterson tote the rock against Seattle would have made a whole lot of sense. It didn’t work out against the Seahawks and their 12th-ranked run defense, especially when the Cardinals lost their best run blocker, D.J. Humphries, for the season when he dislocated his kneecap early in the game.

“It was some missed opportunities on my part; they did a great job defensively of containing us,” Peterson said after the game. “We just really couldn’t get into a rhythm.”

His performance against the Seahawks was reminiscent of Peterson’s stint with the Saints over the first four weeks of the season. Peterson wasn’t the best fit in New Orleans, where he was overshadowed by rookie Alvin Kamara and veteran Mark Ingram. Peterson barely got any touches and finished with just 81 yards and no touchdowns with the Saints.

Then he landed with the Cardinals, and it’s been all peaks and valleys for Peterson:

Now Peterson will have a full 10 days to recover before the Cardinals face the Texans. Peterson is due for another big day. Whether he can do it against a top-10 Texans run defense with the Cardinals’ best run-blocker on the sideline is the question.