Adrian Peterson’s game-sealing run helped by Brandon Scherff

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Adrian Peterson had a couple of thoughts racing through his mind during the play in which he broke free for a 64-yard touchdown, which essentially sealed the Redskins’ 20-13 win over the New York Giants.

First, the Redskins running back reminded himself to raise his knees. To the side, he saw a defender rushing in and knew the player would try and dive to make the tackle.

Then after that, he urged himself to relax. Peterson glanced up at the jumbotron around the 5-yard line and saw another defender in his rearview. He knew he had the touchdown.

“It felt good,” said Peterson, who moved past Tony Dorsett on Sunday to become the NFL’s ninth all-time rushing leader. “Ya know, it has been a long drought since I broke one.”

One thousand and 78 days, in fact.

Peterson’s 64-yard score was his longest run since Nov. 15, 2015 — when the running back, still with the Minnesota Vikings, went for 80 yards against the Oakland Raiders.

Peterson has been the Redskins’ most valuable offensive player through seven games, and on Sunday, he was again the most effective player for a struggling offense. The former MVP, who wasn’t signed until August, had 149 yards on 26 carries against the Giants. His game-clinching run even made up for an earlier lost fumble.

From the moment Peterson arrived in Ashburn, the running back has insisted he had plenty left. His struggles elsewhere can be attributed, he said, to shaky offensive line play.

And with Washington, Peterson has gotten consistent help up front.

His 64-yard run, for instance, was made possible because of a key block from guard Brandon Scherff — who pulled out to the right and picked up cornerback Janoris Jenkins.

“I saw the hole develop, and I saw Brandon ready to hunt,” coach Jay Gruden said. “Once you see the hole is ready, and Brandon with his eyes on his target, you know something good is about to happen. Brandon is the best puller in pro football. There was a great hole — a great call.”

Peterson has credited his teammates repeatedly since signing with the Redskins. He even bought them motorized scooters as a thank-you gift.

He gave credit to Scherff on Sunday, as well.

“He’s very dependable, and he gets around anything,” Peterson said. “We were talking earlier this week, and it wasn’t the play that we called. It was a counter play where he was pulling. I told him, ’Hey, you do you and I’ll play off of you.’ That last play was a great example of that.”

With the Redskins, Peterson has averaged 4.6 yards per carry — which is even better than 2015, the year he last ran for 1,485 yards.

Last year in New Orleans and Arizona — Peterson’s last two stops — the 33-year-old averaged just 3.4 yards per carry combined. He also mustered just 1.9 yards per carry during his last season in Minnesota.

Gruden has said he didn’t know what to expect from Peterson this year because the team was planning on having rookie Derrius Guice be its lead back until he tore his ACL.

But now, Peterson is partly the reason the Redskins are off to a 5-2 start — their best since 2008.

“The combination of the size and the speed and the physicality,” quarterback Alex Smith said, “it’s such a unique combination to see those three things. … It’s fun to see, fun to be back there with him.”