Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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PETERSON UNBOTHERED BY MCLAURIN'S BIG DAY
The Washington offense struggled against the Cardinals, but receiver Terry McLaurin had a sterling performance with seven catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Cornerback Patrick Peterson shadowed him much of the day, but because a lot of the production came late in the blowout -- and because it was mostly yards after the catch -- he wasn't concerned.
"That was all loose defenses," Peterson said. "He got a lot of junk yardage on us last week. He had one where we were blitzing off the corner. He had another when he caught a little drag route and went for 30-something yards. So to me, obviously we have to defend those, but those were considered junk yards to us as a defense."
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph had a different perception, as the yards-after-catch exploits by McLaurin stuck in his craw.
"It's concerning, because it wasn't that we softened up," Joseph said. "I thought we stopped tackling. … If you catch the ball for five yards, he should go down for seven, not catching at five yards and run for 15 more."
A FAVORABLE MATCHUP FOR KENYAN DRAKE
Kenyan Drake has a 4.1 yards-per-carry average this season, which isn't bad, but he's yet to duplicate the astounding eight-game run of success he had upon arrival with the Cardinals last season.
Sunday's game against the Lions could be a golden opportunity for a breakout, as Detroit is giving up 6.5 yards per carry through two games. Green Bay's Aaron Jones had 18 carries for 168 yards, four catches for 68 yards and three total touchdowns last week against the Lions.
Drake said the team rushing numbers – 170 yards per game at 5.0 yards per tote on the strength of Kyler Murray’s exploits – are good, so he's not worried about his own production.
"My runs will pop if I stick to the script and integrity of the situated play," Drake said. "Other than that, we're winning, and that's the most important stat to me."
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