If you take a look at the teams that made the playoffs this year, you can start to sense a pattern. Something that they share in common. They’ve made it to the top of the ladder by standing behind their main strategy: their run game. It’s not hard to notice that the better teams this year are running the ball more and more often. Aside from New England, New Orleans, and Kansas City, the rest of the playoff teams finished in the top 15 in rushing yards. The Titans and the Ravens are the two biggest examples of this gameplan.
Baltimore led the league in rushing yards and also broke the record for the most rushing yards in one season. The critics are eating their own remarks after calling Lamar Jackson a mere running back. While, yes, he had the ninth-most rushing yards among all players, he was also quite efficient with his arm. He blew away his critics with his passing numbers: over 3,000 yards with 36 TD and 6 INT. The double-headed monster for the Ravens is a major piece in them being the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Fellow Heisman winner Mark Ingram also accounted for over 1,000 rushing yards. Their execution of the RPO and Wildcat made this team dangerous on the ground. It can all trickle down to Jackson. With being such a danger, it allowed for his RBs to find holes when the defenders bit and went after Jackson instead. I’m not forgetting about the O-line. Yes, Jackson was mobile on most plays but his line still only allowed 23 sacks. Russell Wilson was sacked more than twice that amount. They were also pivotal in opening the paths for the speedsters in the backfield to take off.
The 49ers stunned the entire football community when they ended up going 13-3 and clinching the NFC West and a first-round bye. Jimmy Garoppolo helped lead the team from worst to first and his stats back him up: 3,978 yards with 27 TD and 13 INT. There wasn’t a single 1,000-yard rusher but finished with the second-most rushing yards. (Ravens did have nearly 1,000 more than they did). San Francisco played with a three-back committee that all contributed very well, headed by Raheem Mostert. Mostert might have led the committee but Tevin Coleman was the breakout star. Atlanta seems to have chosen the wrong guy to keep in their backfield. Coleman didn’t have huge numbers but the plays he had were huge. Sure, he could have a 70-yard game and then a 20-yard game. When he was on the field, he helped in keeping the chains moving and gave Garoppolo an extra pair of hands to toss to. The NFC Divisional Game against Minnesota was just added proof can he be the lead guy for the 49ers. Mostert was an all-around good RB. He could pound through guys as well as hit the afterburners when needed. Coleman is just more reliable in big games and on critical plays. Matt Brieda is an excellent guy who can keep the momentum going when one of the other two needs a rest. He more of an “up the middle” type who can lead well with his shoulder.
It’s no surprise the Titans finished third in rushing. Their entire season basically hung on Derrick Henry’s shoulders. Once labeled as a bust, Henry is now leading the pack of the next generation of runners. He accounted for basically all of his team’s rushing yards. Just one year removed from losing his starting job to Dion Lewis and being part of a committee, Henry led the league in both rushing yards (1540) and carries (303). Why did Henry breakout now? Three words: Feed him more. Look at last year: Henry had over 200 carries for the first time in his career and rushed for over 1,000. This year, he had over 300 carries and led the league. He is a literal workhorse and if you let him go through the motions and find his flow and rhythm, he can have a great day. His massive frame and size make it hard to take him down when he takes it up the middle. A commentator once described him in the best way possible: a battering ram.
If Russell Wilson is on your roster, you are almost guaranteed to one of the top teams in rushing. He’s been known for being one of the best when it comes to extending a play. He was Lamar Jackson before Lamar Jackson. Wilson’s got the arm and accuracy to be a leading passer but can take off the next play and run for 60 yards. Luckily for Wilson and the Seahawks, Chris Carson emerged as a rising star in just his third season. He finished 2018 with over 1,000 rushing yards but in 2017 he only played in four games due to an ankle injury. Carson’s emergence in the backfield can be linked to Seattle’s success this year. Wilson was no longer the one-man army. Carson helped relieve Wilson’s need to run the ball so often. He ran 75 times, the third-lowest in his career. His receivers were also huge contributors but Carson was by far the most important for the long run. No pun intended. Everyone else on this list seems to play best when taking it straight up the middle. Carson can pound it through a line on 3rd and 1 but on the outside is where he’s best. He can right to the right, drop back an extra five yards to avoid a pass-rusher, and still take off for a gain of 15+ yards. Seattle is being smart with him though. Carson’s ankle could pose as a dilemma if he is overworked but the Seahawks kept him under 280 carries.
Dallas was the only team in the top five in rushing that did not make the playoffs. They were close though. Ezekiel Elliot was second in carries and fifth in rushing. Losing some key games hurt the Cowboys in the long run. Here’s the kicker: Zeke is not to blame. He’s played as well as he’s been his entire career. Dallas knows what type of player he is in the backfield and continues to let him dazzle. It just came down to injuries and a lack of big plays from other players.
Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook rushed for over 1,000 years for the first time in his career. He struggled with consistency but finds the endzone quite often. The fix for Cook is simple: give him the ball more. Whenever he struggles, it’s because he has had less than 20 carries. When Minnesota gets behind, they tend to abandon the run. Rookie mistake.
Indy’s Marlon Mack broke 1,000 yards as well but was injured towards the end of the season and the Colts aren’t a complete team yet. Once the Colts are back to 100% healthy and hopefully find their missing pieces in the offseason, they need to get Marlon a few more pounds on that frame. One of the things missing from his arsenal is to have the bigger build to plow through the line.
Buffalo was a three-headed monster with Josh Allen, Frank Gore, and Devin Singletary. All of them had over 500 rushing yards but there is no real leader of the pack just yet. It’ll come to time, or at least it’ll have to when Gore retires. Singletary is going to take a step back next year if Gore retires, spoiler alert. He can sometimes look like a young bull, just taking off at the first sign of a hole. Patience is something will develop and he will become a premier back in the near future.
The rest of the leading rushers were part of dysfunctional teams where they were pretty much the only highlight: Nick Chubb, Christian McCaffrey, Leonard, Fournette, rookie breakout Josh Jacobs, and Joe Mixon. All of these men had over 1,000 rushing yards. Actually, the top 16 rushers had at least 1,000.
Why is all of this important? Well, do you remember the middle of the last decade when everyone and their brother were stating the RB position was dying out and the NFL is becoming a “pass-first” league? Don’t get mistaken, the NFL is still mainly a passing league. The issue is the RBs aren’t going anywhere. Sure, there was a slump in the 2010s where runners struggled. It was partly due to QBs throwing a lot more and QBs also running more often.
NFL’s RPO-era, as I like to call it, had players like RG3 and he-who-must-not-be-named (Kaepernick) running havoc on defenses with the run-play option package. There is still those type of players leading the NFL (Lamar Jackson) but RB is still as important as any other position. Maybe even a bit more. A great RB or committee in Buffalo’s case seems to make a team a legit contender, at least this year.
So again, what do all the top teams have in common this year?
They aren’t afraid to stride away from the norm and trust their runners. Whether they are ground and pound guys or speedsters up the sideline, teams are starting to give them more carries instead of shying from them when they either struggle early or the team is down. If given enough carries and the ability to have patience behind the line, RBs can help you out of a hole.
