NFL’s Best Teams Run, Not Pass, Their Way to Conference Championship Games

January 15, 2014   ·   Ty Schalter   ·   Jump to comments

While watching the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, did you notice something different?
The Denver Broncos ran for 133 yards against the San Diego Chargers. The San Francisco 49ers ran for 126 yards against the stout Carolina Panthers defense, after rolling for 167 yards the week before. The Seattle Seahawks rushed for 174 yards, and the New England Patriots chewed up an incredible 234 yards on the ground.
The NFL has become, indisputably, a quarterback's league. Yet, when passing yardage records are falling left and right, the last four teams standing in the NFL postseason all got this far by keeping it on the ground.
Is there something about the postseason that makes an effective running game more, well, effective in the playoffs?
 
The Final Four
Let's take a look at how the last four NFL contenders got it done in the regular season, based on Pro Football Reference's data:
The two pie charts for each team represent run/pass balance. On th...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL
Article is property of BleacherReport.com