Quarterbacks Are the New Running Backs

Monday morning quarterbacks are rushing to judgement with breakneck speed as a great day of overreaction is upon us. Most of the sweeping declarations made after most of one week of NFL football won't age well and small sample sizes breed distorted or pure disinformation. But you know what? Forget all that. We've seen enough to know that running backs are completely obsolete.

Or, at the very least, leaning on a halfback to lead a team's rushing attack is old and busted. Dual-threat quarterbacks, however, are the new hotness. From NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano, who highlights how the actual quarterbacks rushed to favorable judgements:

Cam Newton had 75 rushing yards to Sony Michel's 37. Josh Allen had 57 to Devin Singletary's 30. Lamar Jackson had 45 to Mark Ingram's 29. Russell Wilson had 29 to Carlos Hyde's 23. Kyler Murray had 91 to Kenyan Drake's 60.

The results speak for themselves. And are replicable. It's so basic that it's a miracle no one thought of this before. Put the ball in your best playmaker's hands as much as possible and trust him to make plays. Make sure the quarterback is that guy because he touches the ball every play. This is not rocket science.

Of course, the fly in the ointment here is injury risk. Newton is already dealing with a potential hamstring problem. Taking a licking and keeping on ticking is harder than just avoiding the licking. More reps mean more bruises.

Again, I am far from a football expert or All-22 muncher. But I feel extremely confident that over the course of a regular season, teams who have quarterbacks pace the rushing attack will have an inspiring and attractive win percentage.