With one week down and another still to go before Super Bowl XLVII, a lot has been written and said about the epic quarterback showdown between Colin Kaepernick and Joe Flacco. While this will indeed be a great matchup to keep an eye on; the running backs from each team will be another interesting and intriguing matchup to watch and it could be the determining factor in the outcome of Sunday’s game.
It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers made it to this point thanks in part to their potent rushing attack. Were it not for key touchdowns by Frank Gore and LaMichael James, the Atlanta Falcons probably would have won the NFC Conference Championship Game. Gore leads all running backs with three touchdowns in the playoffs, and is third with 209 rushing yards. While James only has 55 yards, he does a great job in the option to set up Gore for big plays, as well as in the passing game. Plus, you can’t forget about Anthony Dixon. His two carries for six yards don’t look like much, but they came at very crucial times: one on fourth down to keep an important drive going and another four yard goal line scamper for a touchdown. This trio, along with the speedy Kaepernick; give the 49ers a ton of options and weapons against the Baltimore Ravens’ talented defense.
Ray Rice has been a big factor in the Ravens’ offense this postseason. He leads all running backs with 247 rushing yards and is tied for second with two touchdowns. But, he is also tied for the lead with two fumbles in the playoffs; definitely something to keep an eye on headed into the Super Bowl. Bernard Pierce has done a great job when brought in to spell Rice; ranking fifth in the postseason with 169 rushing yards. It’s also necessary to mention fullback Vonta Leach. He does a tremendous job blocking in the running and passing game, catching passes and running the ball for short yardage and goal line situations.
As a whole, I think San Francisco’s running backs bring just a bit more to the table than Baltimore’s; but in the end, Kaepernick will probably be the difference maker between the two. Even though he only had two rushing attempts against Atlanta; the constant threat of him taking off was enough to open up big spaces in the rushing and passing game. The Ravens’ defense will likely have a spy assigned to Kaepernick for the entire game, allowing the 49ers to open things up elsewhere. While Flacco is a tremendous passer and will be hard to contain downfield, he obviously doesn’t bring the same threat and need for a constant babysitter to the table like Kaepernick does.