Tramel: NFL predictions & can Adrian Peterson catch Emmitt Smith?

When Adrian Peterson arrived at OU in 2004, he was a man before his time. Nineteen years old and NFL-ready. 

Sixteen years later, Peterson is a man after his time. Thirty-five years old and still NFL-ready.

Peterson is a relic by NFL standards. Tailbacks who reach 30 are on fumes. Their careers are about over. 

But since reaching age 30, Peterson has rushed for 4,119 yards. That’s not even close to the NFL record.

Frank Gore has rushed for 6,532 yards in his 30s -- he’s still cranking for the Jetropolitans, having rushed six times for 24 yards last Sunday, when Peterson gained 93 yards on 14 carries for the Detroit Lions.

And both are chasing Emmitt Smith’s NFL career rushing record, a mark seemingly insurmountable, except they keep surging along.

If Peterson averages 93 yards a game this season, that’s 1,488 for the year. That would lift Peterson to 15,704 career rushing yards and, depending on how Gore does, into the No. 3 slot all-time.

Here are the leaders:

1. Smith 18,355

2. Walter Payton 16,726

3. Gore 15,371

4. Barry Sanders 15,269

5. Peterson 14,309

So even with a 93-yards-a-game pace, Peterson would be 2,651 yards behind Smith. Peterson would need two more monster seasons to catch Smith, or three solid seasons. Heck, it’s not easy to rush for 662 yards in an NFL season, and Peterson would need four of those years to catch Smith.

But at least he’s in the ballpark, and Gore is showing that a 37-year-old tailback still can play.

The greatest running backs in NFL history retired early: Jim Brown at 29, Sanders at 30. Only a few greats trudge on into their mid-30s.

Here is the list of most rushing yards by players in their 30s:

1. Gore 6,532

2. Smith 5,789

3. John Riggins 5,683

4. Payton 5,101

5. Marcus Allen 4,968

6. Tony Dorsett 4,403

Peterson has entered the odyssey part of his career. After 10 seasons with the Vikings, he’s played for Arizona, New Orleans, Washington and now Detroit. Washington cut Peterson a couple of weeks ago, but the Lions quickly picked him up and put him to work.

Peterson’s workout commitment is legendary. He was a physical marvel at age 19 when he debuted against Bowling Green on Owen Field, and Peterson is a physical marvel at age 35 when he ran for 93 yards against the Chicago Bears.

Peterson was suspended for virtually all of the 2014 season after pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault on what the NFL termed “an incident of abusive discipline” toward his 4-year-old son.

Give Peterson 1,000 yards or so for 2014, and we’re talking a serious threat to Smith’s record. For now, that remains a longshot. But even at 35, Peterson still is going strong.

Let’s get to the predictions:

Bengals at Browns: Cleveland 23-20. Cincinnati owner Mike Brown, 85, never has missed a Bengal game since the franchise was born in 1968. Until now. He’ll miss the showdown of Heisman-winning quarterbacks Joe Burrow (2019) and Baker Mayfield (2017).

Giants at Bears: Chicago 24-19. New York quarterback Daniel Jones looked OK at times against the Steelers. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky staged a late rally against Detroit that will keep Nick Foles on the bench a little while longer.

Falcons at Cowboys: Dallas 31-23. I’m not down on the Cowboys’ opening loss to the Rams. Road game. Stadium opener in LA. Injury problems. Shaky call on the offensive interference. And still the Cowboys could have won.

Lions at Packers: Green Bay 35-20. While everyone is going ga-ga over 40something quarterbacks Drew Brees and Tom Brady, 36-year-old Aaron Rodgers looked like the vintage quarterback of a decade ago.

Jaguars at Titans: Tennessee 24-11. Both teams are 1-0. No one saw Jacksonville beating Indianapolis, just like no one sees Jacksonville beating the Titans. But Tennessee is far better than the Colts.

Vikings at Colts: Minnesota 27-17. Indy looked awful against the Jags. The Vikes just ran into a buzzsaw against Green Bay.

Bills at Dolphins: Buffalo 23-17. Miami was a chic pick for the AFC East, but if the Dolphins lose this one, they’re already two games behind Buffalo, and Buffalo would have a tiebreaker edge. 

49ers at Jets: San Francisco 30-10. Will tight end George Kittle, the pride of Norman, play for the 49ers? Don’t know yet on his injured knee. San Francisco doesn’t need Kittle against the Jets, but it needs Kittle going forward.

Rams at Eagles: Los Angeles 27-17. Sorry, but I can’t pick Philadelphia after seeing its offensive line get crushed against Washington -- and after seeing Aaron Donald and Co. get after Dak Prescott rather vociferously.

Broncos at Steelers: Pittsburgh 28-19. Not a believer in Drew Lock yet. But I am a believer in Ben Roethlisberger.

Panthers at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay 27-10. Brady is not a tonic for all that ails the Bucs, but he’s still an improvement over Jameis Winston.

Washingtons at Cardinals: Arizona 30-15. Funny. No one is questioning Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching credentials these days. And I don’t mean that Kingsbury has arrived. I just mean, when Kyler Murray leads you past the 49ers, people change their tune.

Chiefs at Chargers: Kansas City 38-20. It’s a quarterback mismatch, Patrick Mahomes vs. Tyrod Taylor.

Ravens at Texans: Baltimore 25-17. Hey, who did Houston make mad in the NFL office? Opening the season with Kansas City and Baltimore? That’s a quick ticket to 0-2.

Patriots at Seahawks: Seattle 26-14. The Seahawks’ consistent quality is an undertold NFL story. New England’s upgrade at quarterback -- Brady to Cam Newton -- will not be an undertold NFL story.

Saints at Raiders: New Orleans 32-24. The NFL comes to Las Vegas. 

Last week: 10-6.