Chargers: Most Super Bowl winners didn’t need a franchise running back

Chargers and running back comparisons: Rushing stats in the Super Bowl

Here are the rushing yards leaders for the team’s lead back (we’ll go with carries to determine lead back in that game):

• Pierre Thomas: Nine carries, 30 yards, no touchdowns
• James Starks: 11 carries, 52 yards, no touchdowns
• Ahmad Bradshaw: 17 carries, 72 yards, one touchdown
• Ray Rice: 20 carries, 59 yards, no touchdowns
• Marshawn Lynch: 15 carries, 39 yards, one touchdown
• LeGarrette Blount: 14 carries, 40 yards, no touchdowns
• C.J. Anderson: 23 carries, 90 yards, one touchdown
• LeGarrette Blount: 11 carries, 31 yards, no touchdowns
• LeGarrette Blount: 14 carries, 90 yards, one touchdown
• Sony Michel: 18 carries, 94 yards, one touchdown

Averages: 15.2 touches, 59.7 yards per game, 0.5 rushing touchdowns per game.

Well that’s not very inspiring.

The goal here was to focus on the need for a bell-cow at running back, as well as how said bell-cow fared in Super Bowl games. Here, lead backs averaged less than four yards per carry. It’s not like the lead backs were even asked to do much, as only one player rushed more than 20 times in a game. Marshawn Lynch, who received just 15 carries in the Super Bowl, rushed more than 20 times on seven different occasion during the regular season, and averaged almost 19 rushes per game throughout the entire year.