NFL's Best Running Backs in the 4th Quarter

It's the fourth quarter of the 2011 NFL season and the playoff race is heating up.

Four teams—Houston, Green Bay, New Orleans and San Francisco—have already clinched their division and are fighting for home-field advantage. A remarkable 16 teams are still alive and within reach of the last eight spots, but what's it going to take for those last few teams to separate themselves from the pack and earn a spot in the postseason?

Football has shifted from a run-heavy to a pass-heavy game in recent years, but you can't rule out the running game completely. Of the four teams that have already punched their ticket to this year's playoffs, three of them—Houston, New Orleans and San Francisco—have a rushing offense that's near the best in the league.

Even in this pass-first, pass-second, pass-again league, the running back is incredibly important, especially in the fourth quarter. The last 15 minutes is when defenses are worn down, leads are secured and games are won.

For example, Houston is having its best season in franchise history. Why? Because running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate have combined for more attempts, more yards and more touchdowns in the fourth quarter than any other quarter of the game.

So, without further ado, I give you the running backs that are at their best in the fourth quarter.

Willis McGahee

There's a lot of reasons the Denver Broncos are flying high and Tim Tebow's not all of them.

Running back Willis McGahee has turned it on in recent weeks, rushing for 315 yards in the month of November and providing ground support for most of the Broncos' fourth-quarter comebacks.

His 6.4 yards per carry is best in the league in the last 15 minutes and his two touchdowns in the fourth quarter equals his touchdown output for all other quarters combined.

Maurice Jones-Drew

Despite playing on a team with only four wins, Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew has taken the lead in this year's rushing title.

The Jaguars have been losing in the fourth quarter in six of their 13 games so far, but Jones-Drew hasn't given fans (or fantasy football owners) a reason to quit on him just yet. Of the 10 touchdowns he's scored this season, four of them have come in the fourth quarter. His 67 rushing attempts in the fourth quarter also lead the league.

The most impressive thing is that's with defenses knowing that quarterback Blaine Gabbert, one of the worst in the league, can't win a game with his arm.

Chris Johnson

There's only one feature running back in the NFL who has more yards in the fourth quarter than any other quarter and his name is Chris Johnson.

The Tennessee Titans running back can be blamed for a lack of production, especially early in the season when he only had 98 yards in the first three games combined.

But he's finishing the game better than he starts it, running for 265 yards in the final 15 minutes. Compare that with 243 yards in the first quarter, 154 yards in the second quarter and 213 yards in the third quarter.

It's certainly not worth the $53.5 million the Titans paid him last summer, but it shows he's not quitting at the end of the game.

Johnson is also averaging seven yards per carry after his 20th attempt of a game. That's best in the league and a big reason why Tennessee is still alive in the AFC playoff race.

LeSean McCoy

The Philadelphia Eagles may be 5-8 and out of the playoff race, but that has nothing to do with LeSean McCoy and how good he's been this year.

His 5.4 yards per carry was second in the league for the fourth quarter and he had more receptions (14) in the fourth quarter than any other time of the game.

The rest of the Eagles had a nightmare of a season, but McCoy is one of the best in the league—especially in the fourth quarter.

Michael Turner

His total yards or average per carry aren't the greatest in the fourth quarter, but there's one thing Michael Turner has done more than other running back in the NFC in the last 15 minutes—touch the ball.

In the final quarter of games this season, Turner has run the ball 55 times. That's the best in the NFC and second best in the league (behind Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew).

Even with the Atlanta Falcons struggling for a wild-card spot and with Matt Ryan behind center, Turner is still being counted on to move the chains.

Arian Foster and Ben Tate

There's a reason the Texans are having their best season since they played in Dallas and their names are Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

As of the end of Week 14, neither of these running backs topped 1,000 yards, but combine their stats and they're the best one-two punch in the league.

Foster and Tate have rushed the ball 385 times for 1,777 yards and 11 touchdowns. That's a lot of production.

But when you look at what they've done together in the fourth quarter, you start to see why Houston was able to take advantage of a weak AFC South. Together, they have 109 rushes for 430 yards and five touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone.

That's more rushes, more yards and more touchdowns than any other quarter.

Kendall Hunter

The San Francisco 49ers clinched their division, will host their first playoff game in a decade and have the league's seventh-best rushing attack, led by Frank Gore who is one of the best running backs in the NFL.

So why Kendall Hunter?

Because he's been exponentially better than Gore in the fourth quarter and is the reason why San Francisco has been able to sit on leads late in the game.

Gore has rushed 48 times for 170 yards in the fourth quarter—an average of 3.5 yards per carry. Hunter, who has 44 of his 82 rushes in the fourth quarter, has 164 yards in the last 15 minutes and a strong 4.8 yards per carry.

Hunter is the 49ers' fourth-quarter running back and a big reason why Gore is so good in the first 45 minutes.