Circling back to Marshawn Lynch for just a moment. To me, him and Calvin Johnson are in the same class as Hall of Fame prospects. Great players and certainly solid prospects. I like them better than some guys who are already in there. Just will come down to trying to get them in the top 5 when they’re eligible.
With Lynch, I am very much impressed by his production in big games – playoff games. He went over 100 yards six times in playoff games, and he went over 130 yards in three of those games. He came up big when it counted.
In the past 20 years, we have seen running backs go over 130 yards 34 times in playoff games. Nobody has done it more often than Lynch. The other guy with four is Terrell Davis (another player who doesn’t make the Hall of Fame based solely on the regular season but gets a lot more interesting when you look at the quality of his work in the playoffs).
Arian Foster also seems to have some rise-to-the-occasion ability. He’s done it three times in more limited opportunities.
Here’s the complete list of the top 34 rushing games in the postseason from the last 20 years. Note that only two of the top 25 are running backs selected in the first round by the team where they achieved their big game. Many were lightly regarded at the time of the NFL draft.
| MOST RUSHING YARDS IN PLAYOFF GAMES (last 20 years) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Score | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2000 | Lamar Smith, Mia. | IND | W 23-17 | 40 | 209 | 5.2 | 2 |
| 2007 | Ryan Grant, G.B. | SEA | W 42-20 | 27 | 201 | 7.4 | 3 |
| 1998 | Terrell Davis, Den. | MIA | W 38-3 | 21 | 199 | 9.5 | 2 |
| 2012 | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | GB | W 45-31 | 16 | 181 | 11.3 | 2 |
| 2003 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | IND | L 31-38 | 24 | 176 | 7.3 | 2 |
| 1998 | Terrell Davis, Den. | NYJ | W 23-10 | 32 | 167 | 5.2 | 1 |
| 2013 | LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | IND | W 43-22 | 24 | 166 | 6.9 | 4 |
| 1996 | Curtis Martin, N.E. | PIT | W 28-3 | 19 | 166 | 8.7 | 3 |
| 1999 | Eddie George, Tenn. | IND | W 19-16 | 26 | 162 | 6.2 | 1 |
| 2001 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | PHI | W 29-24 | 31 | 159 | 5.1 | 2 |
| 2001 | Charlie Garner, Oak. | NYJ | W 38-24 | 15 | 158 | 10.5 | 1 |
| 2014 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | GB | W 28-22 | 25 | 157 | 6.3 | 1 |
| 1997 | Terrell Davis, Den. | GB | W 31-24 | 30 | 157 | 5.2 | 3 |
| 2003 | Ahman Green, G.B. | PHI | L 17-20 | 25 | 156 | 6.2 | 0 |
| 2011 | Arian Foster, Hou. | CIN | W 31-10 | 24 | 153 | 6.4 | 2 |
| 2005 | DeShaun Foster, Car. | NYG | W 23-0 | 27 | 151 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 2014 | LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | IND | W 45-7 | 30 | 148 | 4.9 | 3 |
| 2008 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | SD | W 35-24 | 27 | 146 | 5.4 | 2 |
| 2004 | Corey Dillon, N.E. | IND | W 20-3 | 23 | 144 | 6.3 | 0 |
| 2006 | Deuce McAllister, N.O. | PHI | W 27-24 | 21 | 143 | 6.8 | 1 |
| 2004 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. | STL | W 47-17 | 17 | 142 | 8.4 | 2 |
| 2006 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | NYG | W 23-20 | 20 | 141 | 7.1 | 1 |
| 2013 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | NO | W 23-15 | 28 | 140 | 5.0 | 2 |
| 2012 | Arian Foster, Hou. | CIN | W 19-13 | 32 | 140 | 4.4 | 1 |
| 1996 | Natrone Means, Jac. | DEN | W 30-27 | 21 | 140 | 6.7 | 1 |
| 1997 | Terrell Davis, Den. | PIT | W 24-21 | 26 | 139 | 5.3 | 1 |
| 2006 | Tiki Barber, NYG | PHI | L 20-23 | 26 | 137 | 5.3 | 0 |
| 1999 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | MIA | W 62-7 | 18 | 135 | 7.5 | 1 |
| 2012 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | WAS | W 24-14 | 20 | 132 | 6.6 | 1 |
| 2011 | Arian Foster, Hou. | BAL | L 13-20 | 27 | 132 | 4.9 | 1 |
| 2005 | Shaun Alexander, Sea. | CAR | W 34-14 | 34 | 132 | 3.9 | 2 |
| 2012 | Ray Rice, Balt. | DEN | W 38-35 | 30 | 131 | 4.4 | 1 |
| 2010 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | NO | W 41-36 | 19 | 131 | 6.9 | 1 |
| 2013 | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | SEA | L 17-23 | 11 | 130 | 11.8 | 0 |
—Ian Allan