As the Arizona Cardinals boarded the plane for their trip across the pond to London on Monday, the team was in good spirits with a renewed energy after their new addition of Adrian Peterson and Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There was a noticeable kick up in the team’s energy and the fans enthusiasm from the time Peterson first touched the ball on Sunday. The home crowd gave Peterson a standing ovation after his first carry, which went for eight yards.
Just five days after being traded, Peterson rushed for 134 yards in Arizona’s 38-33 victory over the Buccaneers. He scored on a 27-yard run on the Cardinal’s first possession and punched one across from one yard later in the game which gave him 99 career rushing touchdowns.
Peterson said he felt no worse for wear after his 26 carries on Sunday and is ready for this weekend’s game. “It’s going to be pretty cool,” Peterson said. “The adjusting to the time change, I’m not really looking forward to that, because it took me like two days. It was like Wednesday or early Thursday before I really felt like I was here, home, on a regular schedule. Getting back was rough, as well.
“(But) great people down there in London. It’s a great crowd, a great fan base. That’ll be fun. The bye, I’ll definitely enjoy that second bye. I can tell you that much.”
In London, The Cardinals (3-3) will embark on the NFC West showdown with the much-improved Los Angeles Rams, who lead the division at 4-2.
The Rams are staying in Jacksonville after beating the Jaguars on Sunday and won’t leave for London until Thursday. The Cardinals chose to depart late Monday afternoon, so they can adjust to the 8-hour time difference. Coach Bruce Arians said the team was to arrive in London at noon, local time, on Tuesday.
“We’ll unpack and go straight to a workout and break a sweat, try to keep them up and stay awake,” he said. “If you’re going to take a nap, take it a little bit later in the day and then get a night’s sleep.”
We can only hope that the British Birdgang can cheer our Cardinals on to a victory. Kickoff for the game will be 6 p.m. London time – 10 a.m. in Arizona.
