This past off-season, the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Las Vegas Raiders acted under the growing narrative that you don’t need to pay a top-tier running back to be successful and that in fact, is a poor roster-building decision to do so.
So far this season, the recently departed Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs are leading the league as number one, two, and three in rushing yards.
Big names like these three are scattered across the rushing leaderboard and more teams are relying on a powerful running game to be the engine that drives their offense. We have been made to believe the NFL is a passing league now, but this season, running backs are taking a meaningful stand.
Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson
The story of the 2024 running game resurgence starts with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens 2023 campaign finished with a disappointing loss in the AFC Championship to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. This loss felt especially sour because the Ravens, who built an identity on running the football and controlling games, ran the ball just 16 times for 81 yards.
The mind-boggling decision to abandon the run in the most important game of the season inspired their big off-season move to sign four-time All-Pro and 2020 Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry.
The Titans moved on from the 30-year-old, expecting some decline after eight years of NFL wear and tear. But the Ravens saw this as an opportunity to bolster their backfield with reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and return to their relentless and dynamic rushing attack.
What a decision it was. The Ravens are off to a 6-3 start and have been excellent on offense.
As many predicted, Henry’s power and downhill speed have perfectly complemented Jackson’s elusive running style. The pair has combined for 1,557 rushing yards through nine games, which is more than any other team has been able to manage. Henry leads the league with 1,052 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and is on pace for his second 2,000-yard rushing season.
Jackson currently sits as the betting favorite for the 2024 NFL MVP.
Saquon Barkley
Just like the Titans, the New York Football Giants had a tough off-season decision with Saquon Barkley set for a new, massive contract. After a year of tense negotiations, the Giants and Barkley failed to reach a deal, and he instead inked a three-year, $37 million deal with division rival Philadelphia Eagles.
For years, the Eagles were seen as the model for building a cost-effective rushing attack. They paid their running backs sparingly, rotating through multiple players with complimentary skill sets. They invested in their offensive line, which became one of the league’s best. Watching the Eagles play supported the theory that a running back is only as good as his offensive line.
But this season, the Eagles took a chance on Barkley which can be seen as a running game experiment. They already had the offensive line and proved they could be effective without a top player at the running back position.
But what if they had one? What if they had one of the most explosive players in the league carrying the football?
Their gamble has more than paid off. With the retirement of Jason Kelce and injuries up front, the offensive line has not been what we have come to expect in Philadelphia. This has been no problem for Barkley, who spent his whole career behind abysmal offensive lines in New York. Barkley has 925 rushing yards with six touchdowns and has also been impressive in the passing game, with 20 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Barkley could join Henry on a 2,000-yard watch if he continues this pace.
The Eagles’ sideline reaction to Saquon’s backwards hurdle might be the coolest angle yet pic.twitter.com/L68A5ZRFgN
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 5, 2024
Josh Jacobs
In 2023, the Las Vegas Raiders placed the franchise tag on their All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs refused to sign it and held out of training camp. They eventually agreed on a one-year, $12 million deal, but the message was clear: the Raiders did not see a future with Jacobs on the team.
The Green Bay Packers did. They gave Jacobs $48 million for four years, simultaneously moving on from Aaron Jones. In Green Bay, Jacobs continues to produce at a high level. He ranks third in rushing yards with 762. With Jordan Love banged up and missing games, Jacobs has provided a steady centerpiece for the offense no matter who is under center.
The Packers sit at 6-3 and have been impressive in an exceptionally tough NFC North. They project as a playoff team, and their rushing attack provides an essential balance to the offense that should translate to games in January.
Josh Jacobs sent this man into the shadow realm 🥶 pic.twitter.com/1f6hE9RAyG
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) October 28, 2024
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs
Atop this vaunted NFC North is the Detroit Lions, led by the two-headed monster of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, or “Sonic and Knuckles.”
There has been no answer for Ben Johnson‘s offense this season. In the Lions’ only loss, they still posted 463 yards of total offense. They are blowing teams out and doing it by running the football. In their 52-14 win over the Titans, Jared Goff threw for 85 yards. 85. While they scored 52 points. 52.
This isn’t to say that Goff has been bad. He has been great, taking care of the football and distributing it to his great weapons on the outside and in the backfield. But this offense goes as Montgomery and Gibbs go, and this is by design.
Much like Henry and Jackson, Montgomery and Gibbs have styles of play that complement each other perfectly. Montgomery is their bruiser. He carries the ball with authority and finishes his runs with bad intentions. He wears on defenses, forcing them to make tough tackles every time he touches the ball. As a playcaller, Ben Johnson relies on a back like Montgomery to set up play-action pass patterns down the field.
His tough running also sets up the change-of-pace that Jahmyr Gibbs provides. It almost feels disrespectful to use the term “change-of-pace” when talking about Gibbs, as if he is a third-down back or a situational player. On almost every other team, Gibbs is your number-one guy. His explosive speed and elusiveness paired with elite vision and anticipation makes him impossible to game plan for on his own. Never mind as a one-two punch with Montgomery.
The Lions’ offense relies on the talent of their two backs to establish their identity as a power-running team. Some may point to this offense as evidence that running backs are interchangeable and not worth paying big money. Although the Lions’ decision to extend Montgomery after drafting Gibbs with the 12th pick in 2023 shows that the front office values this position and attributes their rushing output to the players carrying the ball.
Jahmyr Gibbs is pacing 1,300+ rush yards, 17 total touchdowns, and 320+ fantasy points in his 2nd season on 47.5% opportunity share…
Still 22 years old.pic.twitter.com/IOf0FVTiuj
— Snoog's Fantasy HQ (@FFSnoog) October 23, 2024
Going Forward
The offense currently seems to be at a crossroads in the NFL. Could this season be an outlier? Is the running back position fated to be cast aside? Or have defenses caught up to the rapid advances made in the passing game and running the football is a viable option to win games again?
If more running backs like Henry, Barkley, and Jacobs can prolong their careers and produce at the top of the league into their late 20s and early 30s, we may see the demand for players like them increase. If we have learned anything so far this season from these guys and teams like the Lions, running the football matters.
Running the football wins games.
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