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By: Henry
McKenna | February 14, 2019
When New England Patriots running back Rex Burkhead
touched the football in Super Bowl LIII, good things happened.
Plenty of Patriots
had a play or two that had a major impact, a play that will live in the minds
of fans. Running back Sony Michel scored the game’s only touchdown in the
Patriots’ 13-3 win. Rob Gronkowski had the 29-yard reception that put the
Patriots on the 2-yard line for Michel’s touchdown. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore
had an interception that ended a fourth-quarter Rams’ drive. Defensive end Trey
Flowers had a sack that put the Rams out of field goal range. The list goes on.
Burkhead didn’t have
one of those plays. But
his performance was still admirable and, frankly, unheralded. He finished
with seven carries for 43 yards (6.1 yards per carry) with a 26-yarder in the
Patriots’ final offensive drive, which ended in a field goal that essentially
clinched the game. Burkhead also had two receptions for 15 yards. He touched
the ball on nine of his 19 snaps. He did that in a game where running
back James White, one of the heroes of Super Bowl LI, was surprisingly absent
with two carries for four yards and one receptions for five yards.
Burkhead did what he had done all year: a little bit of
everything. None of his touches went for negative yardage, except for a
reception which got wiped away due to an unnecessary roughness penalty that
gave New England 15 yards.
Burkhead hasn’t
become a household name because of injuries and a crowded backfield over the
last two years. His contributions tend to fly under the radar. However, he’s
provided reliable on all four downs with 18 special teams snaps (67 percent).
In an offensive game where everyone but
Julian Edelman had an inefficient game, Burkhead was a sneakily productive
piece.
