Among the stars
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. makes his postseason debut Sunday, as one of the elite non-quarterbacks in the playoffs. Though signal-callers often determine Super Bowl berths, there have been a number of stars who don’t throw passes, yet determine the results. Here are five recent examples:
Von Miller Broncos LB, 2016
In his fifth season, the pass-rushing dynamo produced a postseason for the ages, carrying the offensively challenged Broncos to an unlikely Super Bowl. In the AFC Championship game, he recorded 2.5 sacks against Tom Brady and also had an interception. He was named Super Bowl 50 MVP after notching six tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles — one of which resulted in a touchdown — and two quarterback hurries in a 24-10 upset of the Panthers.
Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals WR, 2009
In all four playoff games that postseason, he had at least six receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. He guided the Cardinals on the road in the second round past the Panthers by hauling in eight passes for 166 yards and a touchdowns. In the NFC title game, Fitzgerald had nine catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns, and in a narrow loss in Super Bowl XLIII to the Steelers, he had seven catches for 127 yards and two scores.
Ray Lewis, Ravens LB, 2001
The dynamic middle linebacker led one of the best defenses of all time to a stirring Super Bowl run, winning twice on the road to reach the big game, and hammering the Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV. In four playoff games, Lewis produced 31 tackles, two interceptions, nine pass deflections, a fumble recovery and a touchdown, and was named Super Bowl MVP after notching five tackles and four passes defensed.
Terrell Davis, Broncos RB, 1998
John Elway won his first of two consecutive Super Bowls in ’98, but Davis was the guiding force for the Broncos, producing four 100-yard games in the postseason, highlighted by his 157-yard, three-touchdown performance in Super Bowl XXXII to garner MVP honors. He was just as important in the AFC playoffs, carrying the Broncos past the Steelers in the AFC title game with a 139-yard effort, and producing 184 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns in an opening-round rout of the Jaguars.
Jerry Rice 49ers WR, 1989
Rice produced six touchdowns in three games, culminated by his 11-catch, 215-yard, onetouchdown performance in Super Bowl XXIII against the Bengals that won him the MVP. The 215 yards receiving remain a Super Bowl record. In the NFC title game, Rice dominated the Bears in a 28-3 rout, catching five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.