Super Bowl Rumble: Remembering the greatest running backs on the big stage

The modern NFL is a league dominated by quarterbacks. The MVP award is almost always awarded to a signal-caller, and the Super Bowl MVP, awarded after the big game, is primarily a quarterback award, too. Seven of the last 10 Super Bowl MVPs have been passers, and another two have been wide receivers, further emphasizing how important the passing game has become. 

However, aerial attacks did not always dominate the NFL and its most prominent stage. There was a time when running backs were often the focal point of the offense, putting up monstrous performances when it counted the most. Below, we highlight the biggest and best performances from running backs in the Super Bowl.

As the Denver Broncos and Terrell Davis prepared for Super Bowl XXXII, it was no surprise that the running back was set to be the primary offensive weapon for Denver. Throughout the season, he amassed 1,750 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, stats that earned him several regular-season MVP votes and clearly distinguished him as the NFL's best running back.

Davis proved that he deserved that status throughout the Super Bowl. He scored Denver's first touchdown to tie the score at seven in the first quarter, then added two more, including the game-winning 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Davis easily could have had another trip to the end zone on his resume, but Broncos quarterback John Elway took a 1-yard carry into pay dirt himself on one drive. Davis finished the day with 157 yards and three touchdowns, as well as the Super Bowl MVP award and a championship ring.

Back in Franco Harris's day, running games were all the rage. Super Bowl IX was played in January 1975 after a season in which the Pittsburgh Steelers ran the ball nearly twice as much as they passed it. Harris was obviously the engine of that run game, taking 208 carries for 1,006 yards and five touchdowns. 

The Super Bowl followed Pittsburgh's typical offensive script. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw tossed the ball 14 times while Harris handled 34 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown. In a game that ended 16-6 in the Steelers' favor, Harris was crucial in controlling the time of possession, a key factor that led to the victory and his own win in the Super Bowl MVP race.

While John Riggins only scored a single touchdown in this Super Bowl, his contributions were almost entirely responsible for Washington's win in the big game. His touchdown came in the fourth quarter, pulling the Redskins into the lead by three points with little time remaining on the clock. The other two Washington touchdowns came at the end of drives primarily engineered by Riggins, who finished the game with 38 carries for 166 yards. 

Marcus Allen followed Riggins' performance with an even better one against Washington, a Super Bowl that pitted two of the best running backs in NFL history against each other. Riggins had a massively disappointing game, amassing only 64 yards on 26 carries with a single score. That is not entirely surprising, as the Redskins were forced to pass for most of the 38-9 loss. 

As the game script dictated, Allen handled the majority of the offensive load for the Raiders, helping to seal the game away behind 20 carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the third quarter. It was one of the most memorable performances by a running back in any Super Bowl, a benchmark that's difficult to surpass in the modern era.

Somehow, the best-ever Super Bowl performance from a running back was overshadowed by his quarterback. Smith put up a monster game of 22 carries, 204 yards, and two touchdowns, which would almost always be enough to win a running back the Super Bowl MVP award. However, quarterback Doug Williams threw for 340 yards and four passing touchdowns in the process of blowing out the Broncos 42-10. Williams stole the trophy away from his backfield mate, but that does not take away anything from Smith's incredible performance. 

There is a reason that a running back has not won the Super Bowl MVP award in 27 years. The NFL appears to have taken a permanent shift toward passing offenses, putting quarterbacks and wide receivers on a pedestal they are unlikely to relinquish. While the age of the running back might be over, these performances serve as a reminder that the position used to be among the most important in the NFL, with stars and huge performances found everywhere, even on the game's biggest stage.