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More Than A Feeling: Are Rushing Plays Becoming More Extreme?

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Analyzing trends in rush play distributions in recent seasons.

Last Sunday, rookie running back Todd Gurley burst onto the NFL scene with a monster 19-carry, 146-yard day on the ground. Given his 7.7 yards per carry mark for the game, you would expect that Gurley did most of his damage with very good six- to nine-yard runs, mixed in with a couple of stuffs and a few monster plays.

Turns out that you would be wrong. In fact, not a single one of Gurley’s runs fell within the six- to nine-yard range.