Factoid
I was aware that Cleveland won its final four games last year. And I was aware that Jerome Harrison ran for 286 yards in the win at Kansas City, the 3rd-most by a back in NFL history.
I still find myself surprised, however, to see that Cleveland averaged 172 rushing yards in its final seven games – 2nd-most in the league. Part of that is playing an easy schedule (Harrison also went over 125 yards late in the year against Oakland and Jacksonville teams that were mailing it in). And no arguing that putting up 300-plus yards at Kansas City helps a team’s average, particularly in a seven-game sample.
But 172 is still a surprisingly large number. Cleveland didn’t have much at quarterback, so it went with an ultra conservative offense. Only the Jets and Panthers called a higher percentage of running plays last year.
I’m not saying Cleveland is going to escape the AFC North basement, but I think you have to consider the possibility that they’ll post average, maybe even above-average, rushing numbers this year.
RUSHING PRODUCTION IN WEEKS 11-17
Yards
175.0 NY Jets
172.0 Cleveland
163.3 Baltimore
162.3 Tennessee
155.6 Carolina
148.0 Kansas City
136.4 Cincinnati
133.3 Dallas
128.3 Buffalo
127.7 New England
118.1 Denver
117.9 Miami
116.6 Minnesota
114.3 Green Bay
112.7 Pittsburgh
110.0 Oakland
109.7 Jacksonville
106.7 San Diego
106.6 New Orleans
106.3 Atlanta
105.3 Tampa Bay
105.1 Arizona
103.7 Seattle
103.6 Chicago
103.1 St. Louis
102.6 Philadelphia
98.3 Detroit
97.0 San Francisco
93.4 Houston
83.9 NY Giants
77.7 Washington
74.3 Indianapolis
—Ian Allan
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