Will Nick Chubb running the ball 350 times take the Browns to the top?
By Josh Brown
Super Bowl XLVI: New York vs. New England
The New York Giants would top Tom Brady's New England Patriots 21-17 under the dome in Indianapolis. Eli Manning would win the Super Bowl MVP for the second and last time in his career.
New York's running game was led by Ahmad Bradshaw with 659 yards on 171 carries. He would lead the worst rushing attack in the NFL. Eli Manning threw for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns on his way to the 15th-best passing attack. The Giants were a mostly mediocre team during 2011 as they went 7-7 to start the year, but would rip off six wins in a row, including the playoffs, to take the Super Bowl win.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the Patriots' 20th-ranked ground game with 667 yards. He would lead the 20th-ranked rushing game in the NFL. Tom Brady led a high flying fourth-ranked passing attack with 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns, finishing second in the MVP voting to Adrian Peterson.
Super Bowl XLVII: San Francisco vs. Baltimore
The Joe Flacco-led Baltimore Ravens would take down Colin Kaepernick's San Francisco 49ers in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game would be delayed by a partial power outage which seemed to take the momentum the Ravens had gained after a 108-yard return by Jacoby Jones put them ahead 28-6. They would hold on in the end for a 34-31 victory to take the title.
Baltimore's running game was led by Ray Rice with 1,143 yards and ranked 11th in the NFL. Joe Flacco supported the rushing attack with 3,817 yards and 22 touchdowns. Flacco would catch fire in the playoffs with 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a passer rating of 117.2, leading the 8-8 Ravens to the title and himself to a Super Bowl MVP trophy and a new big contract.
The 49ers head the list of highest-ranked rushing attacks to be in the big game. They would finish fourth in the NFL with 2,491 yards. The man leading the rushing game was NFL ironman Frank Gore with 1,214 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kaepernick and Alex Smith combined to throw 23 touchdowns, and Kaepernick helped the ground game become even more effective, running for 415 yards and five touchdowns in his 13 games and seven starts that season. He would also help them get by the Green Bay Packers with 181 yards rushing en route to the Super Bowl.