The Arizona Cardinals rode Adrian Peterson on Sunday, giving the veteran running back a whopping 37 carries for 159 yards in the win over the 49ers.
The 37 totes were a career high for Peterson -- his previous high was 35 in December of 2013 -- and was an NFL season-high in attempts. Those closest to Peterson's number of attempts: Jordan Howard (36), Le'Veon Bell (35, twice), Ezekiel Elliott (33).
Peterson is 32 years old. Howard is 23 years old. Bell 25. Elliott 22.
Surely, Sunday's workload can't be replicated on a short week, by a man on the wrong side of 30, against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. No way Bruce Arians would do that, right?
Well, maybe.
Arians was asked Monday how many carries Peterson could get Thursday:
"I would think the same as last week," Arians responded, via the Arizona Republic. "He runs in the walkthrough. He's amazing. I wouldn't challenge him in any form or fashion by saying, 'You're only going to get 20 (carries)' because I'd probably have to fight him on the sideline."
Arians has been known to make outlandish claims about his running backs' workloads in the past -- remember when Andre Ellington was supposed to get 25-30 touches a game? -- but with Drew Stanton at quarterback, riding the running game is vital for Arizona.
It seems ludicrous to think Peterson could take another 30 totes on three days' rest. Game script could also get away from the Cards against their division rival, necessitating more passes.
He didn't get the nickname All Day for nothing. Peterson is a freak. Just take a gander at this anecdote from Stanton on Monday when he and Carson Palmer walked into the training room to see jumping boxes stacked more than five feet high:
"Me and Carson were like, 'Who's doing this?' " Stanton said. "And everybody was like, 'Oh, Adrian did that.' Then he went out there, ran like 16 110s (sprints) and beat everybody. It just speaks volumes about the type of professional he is.
"For guys to be able to sustain success over a long period of time in their careers, it just doesn't happen out of dumb luck. He takes care of his body. He's meticulous with everything he does. And he's also been blessed with really good fortunes and really good genes."
Another 37 carries would be a surprise, but the Cards will certainly try to ride Peterson to another victory on Thursday.
