Super Bowl LV Running Backs
When we talk about the large number of talented weapons that Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady and Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes have at their disposal, we are mostly talking about their collection of great wide receivers and the two tight ends that will eventually end up in Canton. Your Super Bowl betting should take another group into account.
Don't sleep on the running backs these two teams possess. The Chiefs have one of the best rookie running backs in their backfield in Clyde Edwards-Helaire, while the Buccaneers got a total of 13 touchdowns from Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette.
Kansas City Chiefs
Edwards-Helaire suffered a scary injury to his ankles and hips near the end of a Week 15 win over New Orleans. But he is back and healthy, and he will be key against Tampa Bay.
His first game back was the AFC Championship Game, and he was limited to just seven yards rushing. But two more weeks of practice, and he will close to 100%.
Like his teammate, Darrel Williams went to LSU. But unlike Edwards-Helaire's status as a first-round draft pick, Williams was an undrafted free agent.
Still, his importance to this team can't be overstated. His two best games this year have been the two playoff games, going for 78 yards against the Browns and 52 against the Bills.
This online sportsbook thinks so highly of him that he is listed at +3800 as a possible Super Bowl MVP, ranking him the sixth-most likely to win the award.
The Chiefs also have Le'Veon Bell in the backfield, but his use has been a mixed bag in 2020. He had 62 yards against a good Saints defense but ran for only six yards against the Browns. He was sidelined against the Bills with a knee injury.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jones is the top option in the Buccaneers backfield, going over 100 yards four times this season, including an incredible 192 against the Panthers. He finished the season just shy of 1,000 yards but averaged more than five yards per carry.
The big deficit to the Chiefs in November kept his numbers down in that game, but he did get 66 yards on just nine carries, which is good for 7.3 yards per rush.
Fournette had nearly 1,700 total yards last year but found himself unemployed this offseason when the Jaguars released him. It seems to have worked out well for the fourth-overall pick in 2017.
Instead of playing for the 1-15 Jaguars, he's in the Super Bowl and seeing his most consistent work since going over 100 yards in Week 2.
Fournette has averaged more than 100 yards of total offense this postseason (70 rushing, 34 receiving) and has scored a touchdown in each of the Buccaneers' three playoff games. A wager on Fournette to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl is paying +135, according to the latest online betting odds.
When the Chiefs played the Browns two weeks ago, both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt averaged more than five yards per carry. The Buccaneers will be looking for similar production from their two-headed monster of Jones and Fournette.
