The NFL is no longer a run-first league. It hasn’t been one for years. But this de-emphasis on running backs doesn’t mean they still aren’t important.
Seven of the top 10 most efficient running attacks in 2021 made it to the postseason. 13 of the top 14 won at least eight games. A punishing ground attack may no longer be the headliner for most offenses, but it’s a damaging jab that helps set up the knockout punches that come through the air.
There are several ways to determine run success. Older metrics like total yards and yards per carry have given way to more advanced statistics that paint a fuller picture or where teams fail and excel. While no one number can sum up how good a team’s tailbacks were, we can create a collection of these stats in order to create a panoramic, if not complete, view.
Here’s a matrix of 2021’s team rushing stats across a number of those stats. In this case, it’s sorted by expected points added by rushing play, but we’ll expand on each major category later in this analysis. It’s a lot, but the important thing to remember is green is good and more red means your run game was probably butt.
What does this mean? Let’s break down some numbers to pinpoint where teams succeeded and failed.