Tag: rushing

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes comments on rushing performance vs. Bills: ‘Pull the ball and run it’

Kansas City #Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes comments on rushing performance vs. the Buffalo #Bills: ‘Pull the ball and run it’ | @EdEastonJr

During Sunday’s AFC Championship victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs relied on Patrick Mahomes’ legs as much as his arm. The reigning Super Bowl MVP carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

Mahomes addressed his decision to run more during his postgame press conference.

“They always give me options to kind of pull the ball and run it. And they were playing man coverage a lot of the day and putting a lot of attention on Travis (Kelce),” said Mahomes. “So with them kind of pushing that safety, pushing that linebacker to Travis, it opened up different lanes for me to run; I pulled some of those, those reads that I’ve had all season long, just because it’s playoffs, and you have to make sure that the defense is true to what their rules are.”

Mahomes created problems for the Bills’ defense, as they often were concerned with his legs opening up significant gains down the field to receivers Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster. While Kelce received much attention, his teammates and Mahomes benefitted from their in-game offensive adjustments.

Worthy was a game leader in receiving with six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, while Smith-Schuster tallied two catches for 60 yards.

Once-proud Saints run defense hit a new low vs. Raiders

The New Orleans Saints’ struggles stopping the Las Vegas Raiders’ rushing attack is a perfect depiction of how far their once-proud run defense has fallen:

The New Orleans Saints’ struggles stopping the Las Vegas Raiders’ rush attack is a perfect depiction of how far the Saints run defense has fallen.

New Orleans is a long way from holding on to a yearslong streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher. Now, they’re allowing Ameer Abdullah to break the century mark for the first time in his 10-year career. Coming into the game, the Las Begas running back had a total of 196 rushing yards and nearly matched that total in a single game against the Saints.

Aidan O’Connell took two kneel downs, and Brock Bowers ran the ball for a loss of one. Even with that, the Raiders averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Abdullah, their lead back, averaged 5.8 per rush. He left the field with 115 rushing yards on the afternoon.

The Saints entered as the third-worst run defense, and the Raiders had the worst run offense in the league. Someone had to break, and that someone was the Saints.

A lot of the issues come down to poor tackling. This has troubled the Saints throughout the year. It’s one thing to be a bad run defense. It’s another thing to be bad against one of the league’s least-productive rushing offenses. Whoever is coaching them in 2025 must make fixing this a top priority.

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Coaches are praising Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt for his versatility: ‘He’s a good football player’

Coaches are praising Kansas City #Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt for his versatility: ‘He’s a good football player’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Monday during his weekly Zoom press conference. He shared his thoughts on running back Kareem Hunt’s versatility being utilized in the passing game.

“Yeah, well, we think touches for him (Kareem Hunt) end up being important, whether he’s carrying it or – he’s a good football player, so you want to have him have an opportunity to show off those talents,” said Reid. He’s always been a good receiver. We weren’t getting as much out of the run game as we wanted to, so we started throwing it a little bit more, and he became an important part of that.”

Hunt had another busy afternoon. He was active in the passing game, leading the team in receiving yards with 65 and seven receptions. For the first time in weeks since signing with the team, he had below 20 carries but maintained his effectiveness as a receiver. Reid mentioned Hunt and other players’ heavy workload while dealing with the odd scheduling this season.

“It’s not as much the maybe the physical part as it is the time in between games. That’s what you’re managing. Then, it comes down to how the guys are feeling because of the short week.” said Reid. “That’s the way we did it last week. This is a normal week, so it’s not going to be quite like that. It’ll be a normal week of practice, but in this league, every game is physical. I mean, the parity in this league is crazy right now. You just check out some of these scores and go, ‘Jeez, it’s nuts.’ There’s – any given Sunday. It’s no more important than that is right now in this league. You better be on your A-game every week.”

The Chiefs will be on a traditional schedule this week with this Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Saints vs. Chargers may come down to this pivotal stat

With a pair of offensive linemen hopefully returning, the Saints’ ability to open up running lanes should improve. It has to if they’re going to end this losing streak.

One of the biggest flaws of the New Orleans Saints this season has been the struggles in the offensive line.

The Saints are middle of the pack in run blocking this year, currently possessing 16th best run block win rate. Both teams are going to prioritize the run offensively. The Los Angeles Chargers are really good at stopping the run.

Joey Bosa is dealing with an injury, but at best the Saints will still have to deal with Khalil Mack and Bud Dupree. As a team, the Chargers have the 8th best run stop win rate.

Lucas Patrick and Cesar Ruiz may return from injury this week for the Saints. That should help matters. Alvin Kamara started the season on fire, but injuries have made it difficult for Kamara to find running lanes.

Running the football is the identity of this team, and they’ve been unable to do it in recent games. It’s a big reason the offense has stalled out. This week they’re going against one of the best rush defenses in the league.

If trends continue, the Chargers will dominate the trenches which will greatly limit the Saints’ chances of victory.

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Jalen Milroe’s electric rushing TD ties Alabama up with LSU mid first quarter

Jalen Milroe rushing TD ties things up in Tuscaloosa!

One of the biggest frustrations people have had with Alabama this season has been some of the play-calling by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Granted it is his first year with the Tide and it takes time to adjust, but some of his play-calling has left Tide fans less than satisfied. The largest gripe people have had specifically with Rees is his lack of use of Jalen Milroe in the run game. Milroe is a freak of nature athlete as his speed and ability in the open field are simply dazzling. Most importantly, he continues to get better by the week.

It appears as if Rees and the offensive staff heard the critics as he dialed up a great call for Milroe to get the Tide into the endzone for the first time today. Milroe ran a read option that he pulled and walked 23 yards into the paint. Halfway through the first quarter, Milroe leads both sides with three carries for 25 yards and the score. It’s going to be a back-and-forth game for all 60 minutes as we currently are tied at 7-7 halfway through the first quarter.

WATCH: Chiefs QB Shane Buechele shows off wheels for rushing touchdown

#Chiefs QB Shane Buechele got on his horse to score this touchdown against the #Cardinals on Saturday.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Shane Buechele has made his case for the team’s backup role in the preseason and showed some serious athleticism on this impressive touchdown run against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.

The play came early in the second quarter on Buechele’s first drive with the Chiefs’ second-team offense after Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City on a touchdown drive late in the first quarter. Buechele drove the Chiefs downfield with surgical precision in his first action of the game and looked like he was in sync with his receivers.

Though fans are sure to wish that Mahomes was still taking snaps in this game, Buechele’s standout run provided a needed boost to Kansas City’s offense, which was less than spectacular last week against the New Orleans Saints.

Watch for Buechele to get more looks with the Chiefs’ second-team offense in this game as Kansas City’s coaching staff weighs their options for the backup quarterback spot on their depth chart ahead of the regular season.

WATCH: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes shows off wheels during touchdown run

Patrick Mahomes scored a rushing touchdown during the #Chiefs’ Sunday workout session in St. Joseph.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is known for his magical abilities as a passer, but his work in the ground game can also be equally unbelievable.

He showed off his wheels during Sunday’s practice session, driving for the front pylon in the end zone in a video posted to Twitter by the Chiefs’ official account:

Mahomes might not have the speed of, say, Lamar Jackson, but his ability to make defenses pay when they discount his rushing abilities is reminiscent of Alex Smith, who mentored him back in 2017 as a rookie.

Plays like these don’t mean much given that Mahomes dons a yellow non-contact jersey that keeps defenders from tackling him during practice, but any athleticism he showcases at training camp is a good sign ahead of the 2023 season.

Watch for Mahomes to make some highlight reel plays with his feet during the Chiefs’ upcoming regular season campaign as Kansas City looks to defend their Super Bowl LVII title.

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Ravens QB Lamar Jackson stands alone as NFL’s most explosive quarterback in key category

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson Jackson stands alone as the NFL’s most explosive rushing quarterback in a key category

The Baltimore Ravens selected quarterback Lamar Jackson at No. 32 overall in the 2018 NFL draft. Since then, the former Louisville star has turned into one of the most polarizing and electric players in the league, showing off his skills on a weekly basis when he’s on the field.

Jackson stands alone as the most explosive rusher at the position in a key category despite stiff competition from Chicago Bears signal caller Justin Fields.According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson has 87 rushes of 10 or more yards since 2020, more than any other quarterback in the NFL.

Jackson’s dual-threat capability has made the Ravens’ offense a dynamic threat since he was drafted by the team back in 2018, and every effort is sure to be made to secure his talents in the Charm City for years to come. Baltimore has already added offensive coordinator Todd Monken to shore up their coaching staff and provide Jackson a more steady game plan when the Ravens are on the attack, and more moves are sure to come once free agency opens next month.

While Baltimore’s future could be in question should Jackson choose to decline the Ravens’ extension offers, one thing is sure: their offense will be far less dynamic if they are unable to retain their superstar quarterback for the 2023 season.

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Justin Fields enters Week 16 with seventh-most rushing yards in the NFL

Fields has set the league ablaze with his abilities in the rushing game this year and enters Week 16 as the NFL’s seventh-leading rusher

Justin Fields has turned heads across the league with his exceptional rushing abilities in 2022, though they haven’t necessarily translated to winning the Chicago Bears games to this point in the season. Entering Week 16, Fields is the NFL’s seventh-leading rusher by yardage with exactly 1000 yards under his belt on the ground this season.

Prolific though he may be, Chicago’s fans are more concerned with the team’s ability to turn his raw production into marks in the win column. At 3-11, the Bears boast the NFL’s second-worst record and are in need of a big win against a top-tier opponent to get Chicago’s denizens back behind the team heading into the 2023 season.

Fields has done his best, and nobody has ever doubted that he is making the most of the opportunity presented to him, but without wins to show for his efforts, thousand-yard seasons and potential only go so far. The Bears’ goal when they traded up to draft him was to secure themselves a franchise quarterback with which to compete for a Super Bowl championship and, to this point, it just hasn’t been in the cards for him to be able to meet that loftiest of expectations.

As he continues to develop, the game-breaking plays that Fields makes with his feet will need to give way to more traditional traits that championship-caliber teams get from their quarterbacks; the ability to find receivers downfield with consistency, limit turnovers, keep defenses guessing, etc.

For now, in a failed season where Chicago is likely in for a rebuild in the new year, Fields’ counting stats will have to suffice for a silver lining that fans can point to as an area of improvement this season. But soon, the most basic of stats, wins and losses, will come to define his legacy more than what he has accomplished with his legs in 2022.

Cowboys’ Elliott, Pollard look to feast against Lions’ last-place run D, no matter who’s under center

With Dallas’ rushing attack suddenly a team strength and Detroit dead last in rushing yards allowed per game, who plays QB may not matter. | From @ToddBrock24f7

While the focus in Dallas this week has been whether or not starting quarterback Dak Prescott will make his return, the real answer to getting back in the win column this coming Sunday against the Lions may rest on the shoulders- or more accurately, the legs- of the tandem threat lined up behind him.

The Cowboys’ run game has been effective so far this season, to the tune of 118.8 yards per outing. Ezekiel Elliott’s 386 rushing yards places him 15th in the league overall, while Tony Pollard is averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, 12th-best among all players with double-digits carries.

“Zeke’s done a really nice job,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said in a Tuesday press conference. “Him and Tony kind of doing it together, those guys are big parts of this. We love getting those guys touches, and certainly the run game has been a real positive thing for us the last few weeks.”

While the heavy ground commitment has been partly a way to simplify things for backup passer Cooper Rush over the past five games, it’s also been one of the Cowboys’ strengths on that side of the ball.

And now, getting Prescott back after September surgery on his throwing thumb and almost six weeks of rehab may not alter the offensive game plan much.

“Nothing will change,” head coach Mike McCarty told reporters on Monday. “The only thing that will change is how we view the defense we’re getting ready to play and how we want to attack them.”

With the Lions set to visit, Elliott and Pollard may want to do a little extra stretching. Detroit ranks dead last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, averaging 167.6 over their five games played.

Elliott and Pollard will look to build off their strong performances last week against a fierce Eagles defense. While their stats weren’t necessarily eye-popping- 81 yards for Elliott and 44 for Pollard- the two nearly matched Philadelphia’s team rushing total… but did it on 15 fewer carries. More important, the duo kept Dallas in the game on a night when Rush struggled.

“There were a few runs where I’m like, ‘Oh, we got stuffed,’ and the next thing you know, they push the pile and it’s a four-yard gain,” Rush said after the 26-17 loss, “Kind of showing who we are there.”

It’s who the Cowboys say they’ll try to stay even after Prescott reclaims his starting spot. Dallas may choose to lean on their two-pronged rushing attack again versus Detroit just to allow Prescott time to shake off the rust. But the veteran’s mere presence under center will no doubt give the Lions an extra threat to honor. And if that’s enough to help pave the way for even more rushing yards, so much the better.

“We’re ready to get 4 back,” Elliott confirmed. “As long as he’s healthy and ready to go, it’ll be good to get him back.”

Indeed. Even if Prescott’s primary job this Sunday afternoon is turning and handing the ball to the crash-and-slash combo behind him.

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