Washington followed through on plans to focus on the run game

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Washington running back Adrian Peterson averaged 10 carries a game over his first four weeks as the team’s starter, but all signs pointed to a heavier workload against the Dolphins in Week Six.

Interim head coach Bill Callahan talked a lot about focusing on the run after replacing Jay Gruden last week and he followed through with a game plan tilted heavily to the ground game. Peterson ran 23 times and picked up 118 yards to help push Washington toward its first victory of the 2019 season.

It took some time for Peterson to get going, which he called a “famine, famine, feast” approach to running the ball after the game.

“It felt good to get into a groove and pick up first downs to keep the chains moving as an offense, and to be a big part of that in the running game,” Peterson said, via the team’s website. “The guys up front, they did an incredible job. I told them, ‘Hey, you guys can be mad at me on a couple plays because I left them out there.’ But I think we all needed this. Get our bodies conditioned to run the ball, run the ball throughout the game, and for our first time doing it this year, I feel like we did a decent job.”

The heavy doses of Peterson were tempered by some big plays through the air by rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin and the end result was a positive one. Given the way the 49ers defense has been playing, they’ll be hard pressed to make it two in a row in Week Seven.