Perine excelling as feature back

Following impressive performances in the last two games, former OU star Samaje Perine became the first player for the Washington Redskins since Alfred Morris in 2013 to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Somehow, it was only after losing their top two running backs and two starting offensive linemen to season-ending injuries that the Washington Redskins found someone — Samaje Perine — to end a four-year drought of a player rushing for at least 100 yards in consecutive games.

"His vision has been good," coach Jay Gruden said Friday about the former OU star, "and his decisiveness has been outstanding."

Perine gained exactly 100 yards on 24 carries in Washington's 20-10 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night. In the previous game, a loss at New Orleans, he ran for 117 yards on 23 carries.

You have to go all the way back to Weeks 9 and 10 of the 2013 season to find someone topping 100 on the ground two games in a row for the Redskins: Alfred Morris. They'll get a closeup look at Morris next week, when the Redskins play at his current team, the Dallas Cowboys in a matchup of NFC East rivals who are both 5-6.

Perine, a fourthround draft pick, got his chance to become a starter and carry the full load because Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson were put on injured reserve.

Perine is suddenly Washington's season leader in yards rushing with 427 — coincidentally, the same total he put up in one game for the Sooners against Kansas in 2014 to set a college football record.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Perine said Thursday about the injuries to his teammates, "but I have to play for those guys, and that's what I did tonight. I went out and I was thankful for them, and everything that they taught me in the short time I've been here."

He didn't exactly get off to a terrific start against the Giants, gaining 3 yards on five carries in the first half.

"We just had to stay the course," Perine said, "and then things started going our way."

Gruden thinks it is not merely happenstance that the 5-foot-11, 236pound Perine was more successful as the game proceeded.