THE NEVER SAY NEVER MOMENT OF THE WEEK
THURSDAYS 6PM/ET ON
ALL JAMAAL
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles has accounted for a league-high 35% of his team’s yards from scrimmage (through Week 11), nearly 5% more than anyone else. We turned to ESPN Sport Science to find out what makes the workhorse run.
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4
Number of g’s Charles experiences exploding out of a cut. The average RB cuts with about 3 g’s, equivalent to what astronauts experience during shuttle launches.
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Peak power, in watts, Charles can generate in a single burst. That’s enough wattage to power a lighthouse.
2,000
Speed, in mph, Charles can reach on the field. By comparison, Sport Science tracked Adrian Peterson at a top speed of 21.8 mph this year.
630,000 Estimated cumulative pounds of force Charles will feel while being tackled this season, based on a conservative estimate of 350 tackles at 1,800 pounds of force per tackle. That’s comparable to being kicked by a horse more than 200 times.
Seconds it took Charles to complete the Game Changer Test, requiring three sharp cuts as fast as possible. He’s the fastest-cutting athlete Sport Science has ever tested.
1.2
70+
Estimated percentage of fast-twitch muscles in Charles’ body. The average human has a fast-twitch percentage of 50.
photograph by CHIP LITHERLAND