We all want players who’ll carry the ball at the goal line. The team gets the ball inside the 5, then it just feeds the ball to said back, who punches it for the touchdown are a carry or two. But there simply aren’t many of those running backs around.
Only 18 running backs, in fact, accounted for over half of their team’s rushing attempts inside the 5 last year. Only 32 even handled over a third of those works. Guys like John Riggins, Ottis Anderson and Robb Riddick simply aren’t easy to find.
Here’s the list of all running backs who last year handled the ball on at least a third of their team’s rushing attempts. These are home-cooked stats (rather than something issued by the league) so they’re slightly different. The NFL doesn’t count 2-point conversions as plays. We do, so we’ve tossed them in there (the scores, therefore, aren’t just touchdowns but also 2-point conversions – I’ve got them flagged as “EZ” (end zone)).
First you see the player’s individual numbers. Then, in the final column, you have the concatenated numbers for the first of the team.
DeMarco Murray was the king of this area of the field last year. He carried the ball 17 times inside the 5. The Cowboys didn’t get a single rushing attempt to another player last year. Matt Forte was No. 2, account for 14 of Chicago’s 15 plays.
Biggest surprise was Matt Asiata, who had 17 of Minnesota’s 19 rushing attempts. Adrian Peterson is back, so Asiata should return to being primarily a special teams player this year.
| RUSHING INSIDE THE 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | EZ | Rest of team |
| DeMarco Murray, Dall. | 17 | 19 | 9 | 0-0-0 |
| Matt Forte, Chi. | 14 | 7 | 4 | 1-0-0 |
| Matt Asiata, Minn. | 17 | 30 | 9 | 2-4-0 |
| Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | 15 | 28 | 7 | 2-6-2 |
| Joique Bell, Det. | 13 | 13 | 6 | 3-3-2 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 10 | 10 | 4 | 3-(-7)-0 |
| Steven Jackson, Atl. | 12 | 7 | 5 | 4-(-2)-0 |
| Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 13 | 20 | 6 | 5-6-3 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 20 | 15 | 7 | 9-14-5 |
| Arian Foster, Hou. | 11 | 13 | 5 | 7-7-4 |
| Chris Ivory, NYJ | 14 | 13 | 5 | 10-3-2 |
| Lamar Miller, Mia. | 12 | 15 | 5 | 9-13-5 |
| Branden Oliver, S.D. | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3-4-0 |
| Knile Davis, K.C. | 10 | 15 | 5 | 8-15-4 |
| Trent Richardson, Ind. | 10 | 12 | 3 | 8-4-1 |
| Alfred Morris, Wash. | 11 | 12 | 5 | 9-7-5 |
| Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 14 | 24 | 6 | 12-18-7 |
| Fred Jackson, Buff. | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6-11-4 |
| LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 11 | 9 | 3 | 11-18-6 |
| Toby Gerhart, Jac. | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5-8-4 |
| Zac Stacy, St.L. | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6-5-3 |
| Darren McFadden, Oak. | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6-(-3)-0 |
| Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 8 | 15 | 4 | 10-15-5 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 6 | 7 | 2 | 8-5-2 |
| Andre Williams, NYG | 11 | 18 | 6 | 15-12-4 |
| Rashad Jennings, NYG | 11 | 9 | 3 | 15-21-7 |
| Ben Tate, Clev. | 10 | 15 | 3 | 14-17-6 |
| Shonn Greene, Tenn. | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6-2-2 |
| Bishop Sankey, Tenn. | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6-6-3 |
| Chris Polk, Phil. | 8 | 11 | 3 | 14-16-6 |
| Justin Forsett, Balt. | 12 | 7 | 2 | 21-14-6 |
| Frank Gore, S.F. | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9-11-3 |
| Josh McCown, T.B. | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4-6-1 |
| Bobby Rainey, T.B. | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4-9-3 |
| Latavius Murray, Oak. | 4 | -1 | 0 | 8-2-2 |
—Ian Allan