We go a little beyond the statistical results, and we look at what the player did during the regular season, ie better performance in regular season, greater expectations, so a bad performance on the main stage is even more disappointing.
Walter Payton, Chicago Bears.
SB XX. New England Patriots vs. Chicago Bears
It’s true that the Bears dominated not only that game but the entire season, Payton’s performance in the Super Bowl was disappointing especially for him. During the regular season, the RB managed 1,551 yards (3 in the league) on 324 carries (4 in the league and 9 TDs (5 in the league), becoming the catalyst of the attack that perfectly complemented the team defensive identity.
That afternoon, both the Head Coach, Mike Ditka, and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, were so excited to put an exclamation point at the end of that glorious season beating up their rival, that they forgot to give the ball to the star RB. Even William Perry scored in that game and Payton did not. He finished the game with 22 carries for 61 yards and 0 TDs, remaining far below what is usually produced in any other game.
Stephen Davis, Carolina Panthers.
SB XXXVIII. New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
In a season in which Davis became one of the stars of the league finishing with 1,444 yards and 8 touchdowns, the best numbers of his career, continued with an enviable performance in the playoffs, being the leading rusher in this instance with 315 yards .
All this, even made him finish third in voting for the MVP award of the 2003 season, but reached the Super Bowl to face a Patriots who by then were already perfecting the art of eliminating the opponent’s best weapon. Davis finished with 13 carries for 49 yards and 0 TDs.
Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
SB XLVIII. Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos.
In one of the most dominating performances of a team in the Super Bowl where the Seahawks pulverized the Broncos. Lynch had a really poor performance. In 2013, “Beast Mode” had an incredible season in which he was the second RB with 301 carries, he amassed 1,257 yards (6 in the league) and scored the highest number of TDs in the league with 12.
In the Super Bowl, the defensive was responsible for the Broncos pressure early in the game and even though Lynch got a 1-yard TD, he did nothing more, the team’s leading rusher went to Percy Harvin. In the game, Lynch with 15 carries for 39 yards and 1 TD.
Natrone Means, San Diego Chargers.
SB XXIX. San Francisco 49ers vs. San Diego Chargers
Another one of the most dominant performances in Super Bowl history, the Chargers were victims of the 49ers. The San Diego team was the Cinderella team that faced the tremendous power of San Francisco. In the 1994 season, Means took the league by assault accumulating 243 carries (2 in the league), 1,350 yards (4 in the league) and 12 TDs (2 in the league).
In the first quarter of the Super Bowl the RB provided the first points for his team to keep the score 14-7, but unfortunately for their cause the 49ers in the second quarter began to gap increasingly and in turn the Chargers forgetting the running game betting on the pass as the best method of reaching his rival in the scoreboard. In the end, Natrone with 13 carries for 33 yards and 1 TD, and a reception for 4 yards.
Dave Osborn, Minnesota Vikings.
SB IV. Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Vikings came into the game with an impressive team and with 12-2 in regular season back in 1969, with the largest number of points scored (379) and fewest points allowed (133), having scored 50 or more points twice. Besides the offensive line had stars like Grady Alderman and Mick Tingelhoff, today members of the Hall of Fame. What led Osborn to finish in the top 10 in the league in rushing, yards and TDs.
In the Super Bowl the Chiefs took off in the lead 16-0 at halftime suffocating the attack of Minnesota, which meant that in the second half to forget to some extent the running game, and although it was Osborn who scored the only points for his team in the third quarter, he virtually disappeared throughout the game. He finished the game with 7 carries for 15 yards 1TD and also caught 2 passes for 11 yards.
Sammy Winder, Denver Broncos
SB XXI. New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos
The Giants came into this game with all the certainty to the situation, who came to have a playoff in which they only allowed 3 points and a season allowed no more than 20. The defense called “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” led by Lawrence Taylor continued his dominance in the Super Bowl drawing the Broncos out of their comfort zone and making Winder, their main RB, which in the regular season had finished in the top 10 and in rushing TDs, disappeared completely ended with 4 carries for 0 yards 0 TDs, plus 4 catches for 34 yards.
It is noteworthy that the following year against the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII, again he had a very bad game in which he managed only 30 yards on eight carries and 0 TDs.
Bonus Mention Thurman Thomas, Buffalo Bills
It is noteworthy that in three of the four years in which the Bills went to the Super Bowl in a row, the Star RB Thurman Thomas had truly regrettable actions. That is why we decided to create this bonus mention to talk about those three terrible performances in chronological order.
SB XXVI. Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills
In a season in which he had the third highest number of carries in the league (288) and yards (1,407) and 7 TDs, he had very little impact in the big picture.
It is possible that his poor performance was a result of an incomplete pregame ritual, where he always placed his helmet on the 34 yard (his jersey number) before kickoff and took it just before the kickoff. In the game his helmet was removed for the ceremony anthem and ended up lost during the first two plays of the game.
He ended with 10 carries for 13 yards and 1 TD plus 4 catches for 27 yards.
SB XXVII. Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills
His poor performance is attributable to a hip injury suffered in the first playoff game that year, which limited his performance at the Super Bowl, but he did put the first points of his team in the game.
At some point, he cooperated with one of the eight fumbles, which resulted in a 52-17 thrashing against his team. He finished the game with 11 carries for 19 yards and 1 TD, plus 4 catches for 10 yards.
SB XXVIII. Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills
The game started well for the Bills this time and Thomas was the one who scored the TD that gave the advantage at halftime, but in the second half the nightmare began when in the first series of the third quarter he lost a fumble that turned 7 points for the opponent and later another fumble would add three more points against them.
In a season that once again saw Thomas finish in the top 5 of carries and yards, he ended the Super Bowl with 16 carries for 37 yards and 1 TD, 7 receptions for 52 yards.
