Adrian
Peterson fell nine yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s 28-year-old single
season rushing record in the Vikings playoff-clinching win over the Packers
last Sunday. Because of Peterson’s recovery from severe injury (torn ACL and
MCL last season) and the margin by which he led the league in yards (484), some
have claimed that this may be the best single-season performance ever by a
running back. Is this really true or are we prisoners of the moment?
As
has been stated far too many times this week, Peterson is the seventh player to
ever rush for 2000 yards. Throw in three other players who had historical
rushing performances without reaching the mark and you have all the ingredients
for a top-10 list!
You’ll
notice I took the running back’s impact on the passing game into account; it
matters. So, here we are: the ten best single-season performances by running
backs.
10. 1980 Earl Campbell 373 Car.
1934 Yds. 13Td. 5.2 YAC 11 Rec 47 Yds.
For those of you who don’t watch
copious amounts of NFL Network documentaries, Earl Campbell was possibly the
largest, most intimidating running backs in NFL history. He was capable of
running away from a defender but he was more than happy to run through them for
the most part. Campbell was the catalyst of the offense of an 11-5 playoff team
but, sadly, fell short of the 2000-yard mark.
9. 2003 Jamal Lewis 387 Car. 2066 Yds. 14 TD 5.3
YAC 26 Rec. 205 Yds.
Lewis was so good in 2003 that he
carried a team with Anthony Wright at quarterback to the playoffs. However, his
2066-yard resume seems less impressive when you consider he ran for 500 of
those yards in two games against a putrid Browns team. Without those games
against a creampuff defense, Lewis would have had just another very good
season.
8. 1998 Terrell Davis 392 Car. 2008
Yds. 23 TD 5.1 YAC 25 Rec. 247 Yds.
Davis is the only member of the
2000-yard club to accomplish the feat while playing for a Super Bowl team. While
he gets credit for being the focal point of one of the league’s best offenses, he appears less important when
you consider his teammates. John Elway, Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith were more
than capable of carrying the Denver offense. His 2008 yards and 23 touchdowns
were impressive, but not as impressive as some of the other performances on this
list.
7. 2009 Chris Johnson 358 Car. 2006
Yds. 16 TD 5.6 YAC 50 Rec. 503 Yds.
The forgotten season. Chris Johnson
came on late in 2009 to carry the Titans to …an 8-8 record and no playoffs. Johnson’s
effort may have gone for naught, but what an effort it was. The second-year
running back set the record for all-purpose yards in a season when he ran for
2006 yards and caught 50 passes. This type of dual-threat performance would warrant
a higher spot on this list if the Titan’s 0-6 start didn’t prevent him from
making the playoffs. On that note…
6. 1999 Marshall Faulk 253 Car.
1381 Yds. 12 TD 5.5 YAC 87 Rec. 1048 Yds.
One of two Super Bowl winners on
this list, Faulk redefined what it meant to be a dual threat. Faulk ran for an
incredible 5.5 yards per carry while becoming the second player (Roger Craig)
to gain 1000 yards rushing and receiving. Faulk was such a threat in the passing
game that he was split out wide on a few occasions AND beat a cornerback. He
did all this while leading the NFL in yard per carry. Most importantly, he was
the key to the most exciting (third-best in my opinion) offense in NFL history.
The “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams scored over 500 points, won 13 regular-season
games and then, won the Super Bowl. None of this would have been possible
without Faulk’s contribution.
5. 1984 Eric Dickerson 379 Car.
2105 Yds. 14 TD. 5.6 YAC 21 Rec. 139 Yds.
Pretty simple here: In an era when
running backs were still the focal points of most teams, Dickerson ran for more
yards than anyone, before or since, has run in a season. Every time a running
back has a special season, Dickerson is who they get compared too.
4. 2012 Adrian Peterson 348 Car.
2097 Yds. 13 TD 6.0 YAC 40 Rec. 217 Yds.
The season we just witnessed was
incredible for a number of reasons. First off, as you’ve no doubt heard,
Peterson tore both his MCL and ACL last Christmas Eve. Secondly, Peterson
carried a team whose quarterback was playing horribly down the stretch to the
playoffs. His late-season performances were the stuff of legend as he put a beleaguered
Minnesota on his back as they fought through the toughest part of their
schedule to make the playoffs at 10-6. Oh, and he ran the ball 348 times and
still averaged six yards per carry. This was a truly incredible season.
3. 1997 Barry Sanders 335 Car. 2053 Yds. 14 TD 6.1 YAC 33 Rec. 305
Yds.
Much like Peterson and Lewis,
Sanders carried a below average Lions team to the playoffs in 1997. What was
really incredible, however, was that Sanders was able to attain the 2000-yard
mark in less than 330 carries (he finished with the numbers above, though). In
addition, Sanders was the biggest threat in the passing game of any of the
2000-yard rushers. Barry would have had the record and then some if he were
handed the ball as often as Dickerson was. Unfortunately, much like the career
yards mark, Sanders fell just short.
2. 1973 OJ Simpson 332 Car. 2003
Yds. 12 TD 6.0 YAC 6 Rec 70 Yds.
OJ’s 2003 yards don’t seem
outrageous until you remember that he only played a 14-game season. That’s
right Simpson accomplished what only six other have done in 35 years of a
16-game schedule, in 14 games. Simpson was the Bills offense in 1973 as he
rushed for 141 yards per game, 10 more than Dickerson’s average per game. The
only two knocks against Simpson were that he wasn’t a factor in the passing
game and he couldn’t lead the Bills to the playoffs.
Neither of these are concerns for the man who
had the most impressive season ever by a running back :
1.1963 Jim Brown
291 Car. 1863 Yds. 15 Td 6.4 YAC 24 Rec. 268 Yds.
This is the greatest season by a
running back of all time for a litany of reasons. First off Brown ran for 1863
yards on LESS THAN 300 CARRIES. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry for an entire
season, that’s incredible. Also, he was more dominant than it would originally
appear. You thought Peterson leading the league in rushing by nearly 500 yards
was impressive? Brown was one of two players to rush for 1000 yards in 1963.
The other, Jim Taylor, ran for 1018. Yes, Jim Brown led the league in rushing
by 845 yards; he nearly doubled the second best player’s production. He outran
the league’s third-best rusher (Tim Brown 841 yards) by over 1000 yards. He
tripled the production of the league’s 10th-best rusher (Don
Perkins). He ran for 55 more yards per game than anyone in the league. All hail
Jim Brown, he is still the King of running backs, he may always be.
Stay Hungry, My Friends.
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