Everyone has heard the storylines: Russell Wilson vs. Tom Brady, the Legion of Boom against the New England Patriots’ offense, Pete Carroll vs. Bill Belichick. Not much is made of the Seattle Seahawks and Patriots rushing attacks.
Maybe it’s because Marshawn Lynch can’t utter anything more than a sill scripted response, or maybe because it’s simply overshadowed by the rest of the Super Bowl hoopla. We won’t forget to break it down for you, so here’s what to look for from each rushing attack.
Seattle Seahawks
If you haven’t heard of Beast Mode by now, you probably aren’t watching the Super Bowl for the respective rushing attacks. Marshawn Lynch has proven he has the ability to bulldoze opposing tacklers and break of miraculous runs.
Lynch contributed 1,306 yards to the Seahawks’ league-leading total of 2,762. He’s one of the best running backs in the league and ranks 13th in yards per carry, at 4.7.
However, the leader in that category is Russell Wilson, who cannot be ignored in this rushing game. He ran for 849 yards on 7.2 yards per carry and will run on designed plays and at times on his own. The Patriots certainly have their hands full with the Seahawks ground attack.
Lynch and Wilson will be up against the No. 9 run defense in the Patriots, which shut down the Indianapolis Colts’ rushing attack in the AFC Championship. However, against the two Top-10 run defense the Seahawks faced this season, Lynch and Wilson combined for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
Not to mention, the Seahawks rushed 135 yards against a tough Denver Broncos defense in the Super Bowl last year. The Patriots may be wise to adhere to the “contain, not stop” philosophy” when it comes to the Seahawks.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have been and, until Tom Brady retires, will be a pass-first team. But that doesn’t mean that Belichick can’t dial up a run-heavy gameplan.
He’s done it in the past, using Jonas Gray to run for 201 yards and four touchdown en route to a regular season win over the Colts. In the AFC Championship game, it was LeGarrette Blount rushing for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
The Patriots certainly have a rushing attack, but it remains to be seen whether the 18th-ranked run game can step up against a tough defense. In the Divisional Round, the Patriots escaped with a win while running for 14 yards. Yes, you read that correctly.
The Patiors struggled to run the ball against teams like the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills, but still won. It doesn’t seem to be their crutch, but they’re going up against the third-ranked rush defense that it hitting its stride.
With Blount, Gray and Shane Vereen the backfield, the Patirots have the ability to be creative. They’ll need to be, as the Seahawks are just as innovative on the other side of the ball.
Brady might be the star of this game, but it’s up to these running backs to help keep the Patriots on the field. The amount of rushing yards the Patriots rack up (not in garbage time) may be a key to this game.