Of the eight teams scheduled to take the field for the kickoff of the NFL playoffs, at least five have great running backs, but this list features only the hard-hitting, power runners who can send defenders flying with stiffarms and make guys miss with their speed.
#1- Adrian Peterson
Mmm...mmmm... mmm look at that stiffarm. It must feel embarrassing being a defender and thinking you have a sure tackle when suddenly BLAM! you get a purple glove to your face or chest and find yourself admiring No. 28 from the floor.
You can't talk top running backs in the league and not have Peterson as your No. 1, at least while they're still alive in the playoffs.
Peterson is the definition of a lot of things; warrior, survivor, leader, but he is definitely under the categories of both power runner and a guy who can make you miss. Defenders can't choose whether to matchup pound for pound or wait for help and see if they can take him down as a team.
By the time defenders make up their minds Peterson has raced right by them. The Green Bay Packers have a handful on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. ET as they will have the duty of slowing down the possible MVP and Comeback Player of 2012.
Peterson has 409 yards combined against the Packers in two regular season games. Let's see what they can do in the Wild Card game.
#2 Marshawn Lynch
This guy is so good we couldn't just settle with showing a picture. Remember this run from the 2011 Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints?
Some say eight, nine, 10 tackles, I can only count seven. Maybe it's the skittles he eats on the sidelines, but man, Lynch is a scary runner. He showed shrewd strength as he barreled through defenders and then stiffarmed Tracy Porter who tumbled down the field.
Lynch is agile and strong which makes him a great candidate for this list of top backs. Not to mention he finished the season third in rushing with 1,590 yards on the ground.
It will be interesting to see if the Washington Redskins can contain him on Sunday night as both teams wrap up the Wild Card games this weekend.
#3 Alfred Morris
Speaking of the Redskins, this back is just, oh, 5' 9" and 218 pounds of moving bricks.
Ouch, this looks painful. This was Eric Frampton's poor attempt at bringing down the Redskins' back and NFL's second best rusher this season. Morris tallied 1,613 yards this season and 200 came in this game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Morris was the leading rusher for the Redskins in the best running offense in the league. He now has a chance to get them further into the playoffs, but will go against a Top 5 defense in the NFL.
The Seahawks and Redskins faceoff on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
