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Santa Clara, CA – While Sunday’s Super Bowl LX made headlines off the field, Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth “K9” Walker III delivered a remarkable MVP performance.

On a quiet night for both teams’ signal-callers, Walker saw his opportunity and ran with it, literally. The 25-year-old amassed 135 rushing yards in the Seahawks’ 29-13 win over the New England Patriots, becoming the first running back to win Super Bowl MVP since 1998, as per theScore.com’s Matthew Washington.

Walker’s effort was especially impressive given the performances of other MVP contenders. Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was held to just four catches for 27 yards, while Patriots receiver Mack Hollins led all receivers with 78 yards and a touchdown—both underwhelming stat lines compared to what we have seen in years past.

Perhaps the biggest threat to K9’s MVP chances came from Seahawks kicker Jason Myers, whose five field goals and two extra points accounted for 17 of the Seahawks’ 29 points. However, Myers’ longest kick came from just 41 yards, a modest distance for any NFL kicker.

Walker’s shining moment also came in the absence of third-year running back Zach Charbonnet, who led the Seahawks in rushing touchdowns this season with 12.

Charbonnet suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Seahawks’ divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, as per ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson.

Before the injury, Charbonnet and Walker had been splitting backfield opportunities all year, with Walker primarily handling the early downs and Charbonnet subbing in on red-zone drives.

With Charbonnet out, questions arose about whether Walker would pick up the slack.

“I think Ken has done a heck of a job,” insisted Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, when asked about Walker taking on a larger role in the playoffs. “I think you’re seeing the results in the past X amount of weeks now of stacking all those reps. I thought this was the most decisive he’s run up to this point.”

Walker’s playoff run concluded with a historic 313 rushing yards—just five yards under Marshawn Lynch’s postseason franchise rushing record from 2014, according to ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner.

With his rookie contract expiring, Walker is set to become a free agent this offseason, unless the Seahawks use the franchise tag before the March deadline.

If they do not, multiple teams are expected to be interested in the Super Bowl MVP.