Over the course of the season I've been keeping an eye on Demarco Murray and the number of carries he's had over the season. I admit I kept an eye on his carries and progress fearing a playoff clash. A quick rundown of Murray's stats shows 392 carries for 1845 yards with 13 TDs with 57 receptions for 416 and no TDs receiving. That's 449 touches for a combined 2261 yards from scrimmage, similar to what RBs where putting up in the early to mid 00s during the hey-day of 3 down dual threat backs. Throw in the game vs Detroit, that's 471 touches for 2385 yards from scrimmage and 19 TDs.
Breaking down his stats by halves
First 8 games: 25.63 carries, 5.27 per carry, 132 yards and 0.88 TDs per game
Last 8 games: 23.38 carries, 4.25 per carry, 98.88 yards and 0.75 TDs per game
Breaking down by quarters
1st quarter: 24.75 carries, 5.4 per carry, 133.5 yards and 1.25 TDs per game
2nd quarter: 26.5 carries, 5.13 per carry, 130 yards and 0.5 TDs per game
3rd quarter: 20.5 carries, 4.55 per carry, 93.25 yards and 0.25 TDs per game
4th quarter: 26.25 carries, 3.95 per carry, 104.5 yards and and 1.25 TDs per game
vs Lions: 19 carries, 3.9 per carry, 75 yards and 1 TD
His yards, yards per carry and TDs all took a dip in the second half of the season. Whether or not this was because teams loaded up to stop the run or Murray just being worn out I can't say. Against teams that either made the playoffs (Arizona, Indy, Detroit) or finished with a winning record (Philly X2), Murray failed to top 100 yards, averaged 73.2 yards on 3.4 yards a carry and scored 5 TDs. I think if GB wins, his stat line will look something like that.
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