Arizona Cardinals

Captain pulls rank as Cardinals' Peterson overrules Arians on day off

Published Nov. 30, 2015 11:38 p.m. ET

foxsports

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was overruled by one of his players - and didn't seem to mind one bit.

Arians barely concluded his postgame remarks following Sunday's 19-13 win over San Francisco, telling his players to enjoy the next two days off, when cornerback Patrick Peterson interceded and canceled his unit's "Victory Monday" tradition.

"Defense, we’ll be in there at 11,” Peterson told the team per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official website. “We’ve got to fix this.”

A team captain, Peterson was unhappy with how Arizona played on defense, allowing 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert to throw for a career-high 318 yards in the narrow win.

“It’s by me, the captain,” Peterson said. “I have to make sure our guys are ready for this run of the season. These next five games are very important. If we want to be home for playoff games, we have to make sure we win them."

Peterson had the support of his fellow secondary members. Safeties Tyrann Mathieu - “I understand him and I feel him” - and Tony Jefferson each said Peterson's request was a small sacrifice to make.

Even Arians didn't mind ceding authority in that instance. “That’s what captains do,” the coach said.