In the NFL Playoffs the Running Game is Paramount
Yesterday's pair of thrillers proved one thing that football fans should never forget: You have to run to win in the playoffs.
The Arizona Cardinals ran well in the decisive third quarter of their 30-24 victory over the favored Atlanta Falcons, and the upstart San Diego Chargers ran the ball effectively in their shocking 23-17 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts and league MVP, quarterback Peyton Manning, in the nightcap.
As well as running the ball effectively, both victors stopped the other team's running game, especially at key moments in the games. For the Chargers, their dynamic mighty mite of an all around running back, Darren Sproles rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in OT. Sproles wound up with 328 all purpose yards for the day. And for the Cardinals, forgotten former standout Edgarrin James had one of his best efforts in his time in the desert, rushing for 73 yards on 16 carries and coming through with several timely first down carries. James is but a shell of his former self, but can still have flashes of brilliance from time to time.
Defensively, the victorious Cardinals held Atlanta's Michael Turner so just 42 yards on 18 carries, a key element in their win as Turner's terrific season took much of the pressure off of poised rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. Yesterday was one of the few games that Ryan was called on to win basically by himself, and he came up short despite throwing for a pair of touchdowns. Atlanta has been balanced all season and yesterday, without getting the required yards from Turner, they had to hand the game to rookie Ryan, and paying for it with a season ending loss.
The Chargers defense held Indianapolis Joseph Addai to only 44 yards on 16 carries. Though the Colts rely less on their running game than have the Falcons, in the game yesterday they could get nothing going on the ground and were forced to have Manning throw the ball 42 times, with the result being a crushing overtime loss to their hated rivals, the Chargers.
--------
The lesson to be learned is that, though Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have won the last two NFL MVP awards, neither will end the season with a Super Bowl ring largely due to lack of balance on offense and an inability to stop their opponents running game when crunch time presents itself. And today's participants should well heed the lessons from yesterday's games: establishing and stopping the running game is the absolute key to playoff football.
The Arizona Cardinals ran well in the decisive third quarter of their 30-24 victory over the favored Atlanta Falcons, and the upstart San Diego Chargers ran the ball effectively in their shocking 23-17 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts and league MVP, quarterback Peyton Manning, in the nightcap.
As well as running the ball effectively, both victors stopped the other team's running game, especially at key moments in the games. For the Chargers, their dynamic mighty mite of an all around running back, Darren Sproles rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in OT. Sproles wound up with 328 all purpose yards for the day. And for the Cardinals, forgotten former standout Edgarrin James had one of his best efforts in his time in the desert, rushing for 73 yards on 16 carries and coming through with several timely first down carries. James is but a shell of his former self, but can still have flashes of brilliance from time to time.
Defensively, the victorious Cardinals held Atlanta's Michael Turner so just 42 yards on 18 carries, a key element in their win as Turner's terrific season took much of the pressure off of poised rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. Yesterday was one of the few games that Ryan was called on to win basically by himself, and he came up short despite throwing for a pair of touchdowns. Atlanta has been balanced all season and yesterday, without getting the required yards from Turner, they had to hand the game to rookie Ryan, and paying for it with a season ending loss.
The Chargers defense held Indianapolis Joseph Addai to only 44 yards on 16 carries. Though the Colts rely less on their running game than have the Falcons, in the game yesterday they could get nothing going on the ground and were forced to have Manning throw the ball 42 times, with the result being a crushing overtime loss to their hated rivals, the Chargers.
--------
The lesson to be learned is that, though Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have won the last two NFL MVP awards, neither will end the season with a Super Bowl ring largely due to lack of balance on offense and an inability to stop their opponents running game when crunch time presents itself. And today's participants should well heed the lessons from yesterday's games: establishing and stopping the running game is the absolute key to playoff football.
posted by joe sweeney at 8:26 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home