INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Veteran running back Adrian Peterson acknowledged that he left much to be desired in his Tennessee Titans debut.
“I felt like it was OK,” Peterson said. “I think we left a lot out there as a running back group. I know I did as well. As we continue to get practice and get reps in, we’ll continue to build that chemistry with those guys up front.”
A future Hall of Famer, the 36-year-old Peterson had 10 carries for just 21 yards (2.1 yards per carry) and a touchdown in the team’s convincing victory over the Los Angeles Rams Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
Without star Derrick Henry, the run game – like the rest of the offense – struggled against a stout Rams’ defense. Tennessee produced a season-low 69 rushing yards, its fewest rushing yards in a win since 2012, according to NFL Research.
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Peterson had just three practices with the Titans before playing Sunday, his first game in 10 months. Tennessee was also banged up on the offensive line, with left tackle Taylor Lewan and right guard Nate Davis not playing.
“I thought he played physical,” coach Mike Vrabel said of Peterson. “I thought he brought an energy and a professionalism. … He was running behind this line and we didn’t have a practice that was a full-speed padded practice because of where we were in the season. I’m sure there are a lot of things that he would’ve liked to have had back or cuts. We were battling. I give our guys a lot of credit for competing.”
Left guard Rodger Saffold said he wanted to give Peterson a better opportunity to be successful on Sunday.
“I want to create better opportunities for him and I think we left a lot of yards out there on the ground,” Saffold said. “I’m going to continue to try to focus on getting our running game back to where it needs to be and making him feel as comfortable as possible along the way.”
Ben Arthur covers the Tennessee Titans for The USA TODAY Network. Contact him at barthur@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @benyarthur.