The 5 Most Efficient Red-Zone Rushers in 2017

The difference between winning and losing in the NFL can sometimes be traced back to a team's performance in the red zone. It's where offenses can turn a good drive into a great one, and it's where defenses can save precious points by forcing field-goal tries rather than giving up touchdowns.

An efficient rusher can be the difference between a touchdown or settling for a field goal.

Which rushers were the best in this area of the field in 2017? We can figure that out by using our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric -- specifically Rushing NEP per carry.

NEP is what we use to track the efficiency of both teams and players with the team side being adjusted for strength of opponent. A three-yard conversion on 3rd and 2 is wildly different than a three-yard conversion on 3rd and 4, and NEP helps account for that by tracking the expected points players add to their team's total over the course of a season. You can learn more about NEP in our glossary.

To qualify for consideration, players needed to have had at least 20 red-zone rushing attempts in 2017.