It was the year 2000. At the turn of the century home phones and CDs were still a thing. Eminem was bursting on the scene. Y2K didn’t happen, and of course, bell cow running backs were still all the rage before this became a full-fledged passing league.
The NFL’s rushing leaderboard was littered with names like Eddie George (235 pounds), Mike Anderson (230 pounds), Corey Dillon (225 pounds), Jamal Lewis (245 pounds, Jerome Bettis (255 pounds) and Stephen Davis (230 pounds). Ah, the good ole days, when running backs were the most valuable players in Fantasy. Eddie George had 404 carries for 3.7 yards per rush that year, an unheard of level of inefficiency today.
George and Co. aren’t walking through those doors anytime soon, and neither is a 400-carry bell-cow back (the last player with 400 carries was Larry Johnson in 2006) as the running back timeshare is here to stay, but we are seeing a resurgence in the power back in 2024.
Overall, running the ball is making a comeback as passing plummets. Teams are averaging 119.5 rushing yards per game this year, the second-highest rate through Week 3 in the last 35 seasons. The leaguewide yards per rush (4.43) is its highest at this point in the year since 1958, when Jim Brown won the second of an NFL-record eight rushing titles.
Teams are running it over 44% of the time this year, the highest through Week 3 since 2008, and it’s the highest rate on first downs (54%) since 1998.
Rushing on the rise this season
Rushing yards per game
119.5
2020
Yards per rush
4.43
1958
Rush percentage
44.4%
2008
It’s slowly becoming more valuable, too. Rush EPA is still a net negative but it’s steadily increasing to -0.04 this season, the highest rate through Week 3 since 2008.
The main catalyst is the dual-threat quarterback as we are seeing record levels in terms of both volume and efficiency of quarterback rushing and scrambles.
Rushing by running backs is…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/return-of-power-running-backs-is-a-key-part-of-this-years-rushing-resurgence/
Author : Douglas Clawson
Publish date : 2024-09-25 18:28:02
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