The Only 8 Players To Ever Rush For 2,000+ Yards In A Season

the running back position has quickly become one of the most overlooked in all of football especially with some of the top stars in the league at the position struggling to get lucrative second contracts that they believe they deserve this mainly comes as a result of the relatively short shelf life of a running back compared to most other positions today we're going to take a look at some of the best running backs who have achieved arguably the most difficult feat at the position rushing for over 2,000 Y in a single season throughout the history of the NFL only eight running backs have ever pulled this off with nobody being able to do it more than once let's start with the first player today to ever reach 2000 OJ Simpson while OJ Simpson is well known for his Infamous criminal case during his time on the football field he was one of the most talented running backs that the game had ever seen Simpson was a very unique Runner while some backs try and make plays as soon as they touch the ball OJ was a much more patient rusher letting the play develop and come to him very similar to Le'Veon Bell decades later don't get it twisted though once Simpson found the hole he was a player that no Defender wanted to tackle one-on-one he stood at 6' 2 in tall and weighed in at 212 lbs along with this the Hall of Fame running backs that preceded OJ were much smaller making him something that the game just hadn't seen before he entered the league Simpson was much more than just a simple PowerBack though was also very Shifty had blazing speed and was even an elite Sprinter during his time in college at USC narrowly losing a 100 100 meter race to British record holder menes Campbell in the 1973 season OJ put all these generational traits to work and was in a world of his own at the running back position Simpson kicked off the year at an elite Pace with what was potentially his best rushing performance of the entire season taking place in week one when the bills took on the Patriots Simpson torched the Patriots for 250 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rushing attempts and was the key to Buffalo's 31-13 win by the time the season came to an end OJ totaled three games rushing for over 200 yards and 11 games for over a 100 he finished the season with 332 carries for 2,3 yards 12 touchdowns his longest Rush of the Year being 80 yards and averaging 143.5 per game on the ground to make these numbers even more ridiculous he led the league in each of these categories while these numbers may not seem too crazy compared to the others that we're going to talk about in this video it is very important to note that OJ achieved all of this in just 14 games it still holds the record for most rushing yards per game over the course of a season in NFL history he swept the 1973 Awards earning himself a spot in the Pro Bowl and the All Pro first team and won both the offensive player of the year and and MVP awards however in front of every Elite running back is a very talented offensive line and the front five for the bills was no exception it's very rare that offensive linemen get too much attention but Buffalo's group that year earned the title of the electric company and featured a big three of Dave Foley a one-time pro bowler at left tackle Reggie McKenzie a three-time allpro at left guard and Joe dealore a six-time pro bowler seven time all proo and Hol Famer at Right Guard while Simpsons off the field controversy has gone on to overshadow his on the field accomplishments it should not be forgotten that in 1973 he put on arguably the best season a running back has ever had was one of the most talented backs that the league had ever seen he finished his career as a six-time pro bowler a five-time member of the all proo first team led the league in rushing yards four times one MVP award one offensive player of the year award made the Hall of Fame all 1970s team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 it took over a decade for another running back to crack 2,000 rushing yards in a single season this player was Eric Dickerson in 1984 he was only in his second year in the league and had already established himself as the most talented running back that the NFL had to offer leading all rushers in carries and yardage in his rookie season while very few people might have seen it coming at the time Dickerson had another gear that he hit during his second year he was a very unique back who had an extremely well-rounded style of running while he was able to run through Defenders if the situation called for it with his 6'3 220 lb frame he was also more than capable of out running even some of the fastest defenders that the other teams threw at him during the Hall of Fame introduction speech of Dickerson Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jackie Slater talked about his time playing alongside him saying I blocked for 37 different running backs they had a gift that kept them in the league it could have been their quickness their power or their speed but in my opinion Eric Dickerson was the original freak in that he possessed all of these no team really had any chance of stopping Dickerson on the ground this season he rushed for over 200 yards in two games and over 100 yards in 12 games during that season arguably the best game of the season came in week 13 when the Rams took on the bucks he finished the contest with an elite 191 1 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries the Rams needed every yard that they got out of their Workhorse running back this game narly escaping with a onepoint win 34-33 the following week he made history when the Rams took on the Saints after finishing this contest with 149 yards and a touchdown and a 34-21 win Dickerson tied OJ Simpson's record for the most games rushing for 100 or more yards in a single season then the next week against the Oilers he broke that record Dickerson went on to have a historic season rushing for 2,15 yards and 14 touchdowns averaging 131.5 rushing yards per game leading the league in each of these statistical categories this earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl and on the all proo first team but despite setting the record for most single season rushing yards in NFL history Dickerson came in second in both the MVP and offensive player of the year award voting losing both Awards to Dan Marino even though he was snub from winning either of those Awards Dickerson still went on to have an elite career retiring with six Pro Bowl appearances five allp proo first team appearances one offensive player of the year award the 1983 offensive Rookie of the Year award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 still there has been no running back that has touched Dickerson's single season record of 2,15 yard record that has stood now for 4 decades but the way that the game is being played in this era there is a strong chance that until the NFL further expands the regular season which I don't know if they'll even do that this is a record that's going to stand the test of time I think no running back these days is getting 30 carries per game or even close to it now it took over a decade once again before another running back surpassed the 2,000 yard mark this time Barry Sanders did it in 1997 while many of the backs on this list did this early on in their careers or even during in their Prime Sanders achieved this feat just one year prior to his retirement heading into the 1997 season Sanders had already established himself as one of the greatest players at the running back position that the game will ever see his style of running relied heavily on his generational quickness Sharp Cuts and great vision his 1997 campaign got off to an extremely slow start though week number one when his Lions took on the Falcons he finished the contest with just 33 yards on 15 carries despite this game to Forget by Sanders Detroit still came out with a win 28-17 things somehow got even worse though for Sanders on the ground in the following week against the Bucks in his 10 carries Sanders only was able to pick up a measly 20 yards in Sanders defense he played a major role as a pass catcher in this game pulling in eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown however his Elite game as a receiver was not enough for Detroit to come out with a win following by a final score of 24 to7 it that he was finally past his Prime and over the hill at 29 years old however as we now know he went on to totally flip the script later on in the year or else he wouldn't even be on this list his best game of that 1997 season took place in week 13 when the Lions took on the Colts Sanders finished that contest with 216 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries playing a huge part in Detroit's dominant 32-10 victory in this game he became the first running back back in history have 10 straight games of 100 plus yards on the ground along with this he had a nearly identical performance in week number seven once again taking on the Buccaneers while Sanders was only able to pick up 20 yards in the Lions first meeting against Tampa Bay he got his revenge in this one rushing for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries along with hauling in a receiving touchdown leading the Lions to a dominant 27 to9 win by the time the regular season came to an end Sanders had two games rushing for over 200 yards and 14 games rushing for over 100 he ended the year with 253 rushing yards 11 rushing touchdowns and averaged 128.3 yards per game on the ground leading the league in rushing yards and rushing yards per game this earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl and on the All Pro first team along with this he took home the offensive player of the year and MVP awards doing all of this at the age of 29 speaks to the elite longevity that Sanders possessed making him the oldest player in NFL history to ever finish a season with 2,000 rushing yards while the Lions had a rough time trying to put an elite roster around Sanders during his prime it would be unfair to say that they didn't give him a solid offensive line with him giving his front five credit for that 2,000 yard season shockingly he retired after just one more season following this historic season he finished his career with 10 Pro Bowl appearances being one of the few players in history to make the Pro Bowl every single season that he played in the league along with this Sanders won Rookie of the Year made the all proo first team six times the allp pro second team four times won one MVP award two offensive Player of the Year Awards made the Hall of Fame all 1990s team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 Terrell Davis is arguably the most improbable player to end up on this list while all the other players in the 2000 rushing yard Club were either a first or second round pick they slid all the way to the sixth round however with 3 years under his belt heading into the 1998 season he had gone from a backup who many didn't know if he would remain on the roster after he was drafted being one of the most talented running backs that the game had to offer in the previous season he had led the league with 15 rushing touchdowns but he had much more in store for 1998 the thing that made Davis unique compared to other backs was his generational Vision as a ball carrier when talking about his Elite Vision Davis stated I could see the whole opening as fast as anybody I could see the big picture along with this he was a furious PowerBack with Elite Speed while he had a relatively short Peak when compared to the other running backs on this list in his prime Davis was one of the most talented rushers Davis got his 1998 campaign off to a slow start in terms of yardage in the Broncos opening game against the Patriots while he finished the contest with two touchdowns he was unable to put many chunk plays together only picking up 75 yards on 22 attempts despite this his two touchdowns were the deciding factor with Denver narrowly escaping with a 27 to 21 win now it didn't take him long though to get back on track and begin what would go on to be one of the best seasons in history from a running back in the Broncos week 2 match up against the Cowboys he rushed for a crazy 191 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries once again Davis's knack for finding the end zone was the deciding factor with Denver taking this game by a final score of 42 to2 three when the regular season came to an end Davis finished the year with one game rushing for over 200 yards and 11 games rushing for over 100 in total he accumulated 2,8 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns averaging 1252 yards per game on the ground and 5.1 yards per carry leading the league in all four categories this earned him a spot in the Pro Bowl and on the all proo first team along with this he was named the League's offensive player of the year and the MVP the best part of his Elite year is that it didn't come to an end in the regular season he rushed for 100 yards or more in all three playoff games that the Broncos participated in during that postseason his best game came in the divisional round against the Dolphins where he absolutely took over the matchup rushing for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries shockingly this was the final season of Davis's career in which he rushed for more than 800 yards with injuries unfortunately going on to completely derail his career following his 2,000 yard campaign despite him only having a short 4-year Prime he still ended his time in the league with three Pro Bowl appearances three all proo first team selections two Super Bowl wins a Super Bowl MVP two offensive Player of the Year Awards One MVP made the Hall of Fame all 1990s team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017 only half a decade later another running back added their name to the 2000 Club Jamal Lewis might be the most shocking name that we say on this list this 2,000-yard rushing season was the only time that he made the all proo first team and even made a pro bowl during his decade long career in the league however during the 2003 season he was playing some of the best football that we have ever seen from a player at the running back position Lewis had a very unique style of running while being an elite PowerBack who could run through almost any Defender that stood in front of him his running form was also very one-of a kind while he had the ball in his hands he had a very choppy style while this seems very unorthodox from an outside point of view there is a very good reason for it when Lewis was playing football growing up the field that he played on the most was covered in glass leading to him never wanting to be tackled he either had to outrun his opponents or straight up run them over his 2003 season got off to a bit of a slow start in the Ravens opening game against the Steelers Lewis finished the game with 69 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries while this was still a solid performance it didn't hold weight to what he had in in store throughout the remainder of the year the following week when they took on the Browns Lewis gave everybody a sneak peek at what was to come for the rest of the season finishing that game with 295 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries this set the record for most single game rushing yards in NFL history that was later broken by Adrien Peterson in 2007 when the regular season came to a close Lewis totaled two games rushing over 200 yards and 12 games rushing over 100 he ended the season with 2, 66 rushing yards 14 touchdowns and average 129. one yard per game this earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl and on the allp proo first team along with this he took home the offensive player of the year award and shockingly came in fourth in the MVP voting finishing behind Payton Manning Steve McNair and Tom Brady despite Lewis being a very solid running back throughout his remaining six years in the league he never really came close to having another year like 2003 he ended his career with one Pro Bowl appearing one all pro appearance won a Super Bowl One offensive player of the year award and was named to the Hall of Fame all 2000s team in his rookie season Johnson burst onto the scene with a pro bowl season for the Titans and many looked at him as being one of the faces of the future for the position and there were extremely high hopes for him heading into the 2009 season however even the biggest Optimist couldn't see what Johnson had in store he was a very unique running back who could affect the game in multiple ways he possessed generational speed clocking a 4.24 second 40 yard dash time at the Combine this speed made him one of the most difficult players to stop during his prime along with this he was extremely agile able to make Sharp Cuts and stop on a dime Not only was Johnson an incredible rusher he also created huge plays as a pass catcher out of the back field he started the year off with a quiet game against the Steelers in the opening week where he finished that contest with only 57 yards on 15 carries and Tennessee fell by a final score of 13 to10 but when he got things back on track the following week against the Texans he rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries while pulling in nine passes for 87 yards and an additional touchdown his three touchdown effort was still not enough for the Titans to pull up a win with them Falling by a final score of 34-31 Johnson's best game of that season came in week number eight in another divisional matchup this time against the Jaguars while he had a quiet day as a pass catcher he more than made up for it with his effort on the ground rushing for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries this time Tennessee came out on top in dominant fashion winning by a final score of 30-13 when the regular season came to an end Johnson had totaled one game over 200 yards and 12 games rushing for over 100 he finished the 2009 campaign with 358 carries for 2,6 yds and 14 touchdowns averaging 125 4 yards per game and the longest Rush of the Season being 91 yards leading the league in all of these categories outside of rushing touchdown along with this he picked up an additional 503 receiving yards for a grand total of 259 yard from scrimmage this broke Marshall Faulk record for most single season yards from scrimmage in NFL history a record that still stands to this day Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl the all proo first team and won the offensive player of the year award surprisingly he didn't even finish in the top four for MVP voting with Payton Manning Drew Brees Philip Rivers and Brett Favre occupying the top four Johnson went on to have a great career though and his remaining eight years in the league however he struggled to come anywhere close to the elite year that he had in 2009 Johnson ended his time in the league with three Pro Bowl appearances one allp pro first team selection and one offensive player of the year award Adrien Peterson was one of the greatest running backs of the modern era he was everything that you could ask for when looking for a franchise player at the position the 6'1 220lb frame made him an incredibly tough player to tackle in one-on-one situations but he was also extremely quick and agile able to outrun almost anybody on the field he set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game in the 2007 season running for 296 yards as a rookie shockingly he didn't join the 2,000 yard Club in that season though instead he had his 2,000 yard year in 2012 heading into the 2012 season many didn't know what to expect from Peterson as he was only 8 months removed from tearing both his AC and MCL he did get his season off to a hot start though when the Vikings took on the Jaguars while he only picked up 84 yards on the ground he was able to find the end zone two times playing a major role in the Vikings three-point win 26 to 23 arguably the best game of the year came in week 15 when Minnesota took on the Rams Peterson could not be stopped in this one rushing for 212 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries the Vikings took this game with ease by a final score of 36 to 22 due to their dominance on the ground after an 86-yard performance the following week against the Texans Peterson entered the final week of the Season leaving 208 yards to break Eric Dickerson's single season record while this would have been a tough task for even the best backs that the league had to offer many believed that Peterson was up for the challenge late in the fourth quarter he broke off a crazy 26 ydd run that left him only 9 yd away from history however this run also put the Vikings in field goal range and they chose to take the three points to win the game by a final score of 37-34 with Peterson ending the day with 199 yards despite coming just short of breaking Dickerson's record he still finished the regular season with an elite 2,97 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground averaging 131.8 yard per game leading the league in both rushing yards and rushing yards per game this earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl on the All Pro first team and he won both the offensive player of the year and MVP awards Peterson continued performing at an elite level into his 30s and displayed Elite longevity remaining in the league until he was 36 years old something that is almost unheard of at the running back position he ended his career with seven proo appearances four All Pro first team selections three All Pro second team nods won one MVP award one offensive player of the year award the 2007 offensive Rookie of the Year award made the Hall of Fame all 2010's team and without a doubt will be a first ballot Hall of Famer once he becomes eligible and finally the most recent running back to join the 2,000 yard Club is Derek Henry doing so in 2020 Henry is the definition of a PowerBack standing at 6' 3 in and weighing in at 247 lb he is built more like a linebacker than a running back pairing his Elite size and strength with his respectable speed he has gone on to be one of the most talented running backs of the late 2010s and early 2020s Henry got his 2020 campaign started off on the right foot when the Titans took on the Broncos while he was unable to find the end zone in this one he still picked up a very respectable 116 yards on 31 carries Henry was Unstoppable throughout the 2020 season and was one of the few things keeping the Titans offense afloat heading into the final week of the regular season it appeared that he was going to come just short of hitting the 2,000 yd Mark needing 220 23 yards against the Texans luckily with the Titans already locking up a playoff spot they made it their mission to make sure that their star running back made history he finished that contest with 250 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on a ridiculous 34 carries Tennessee needed every yard that they got from him in this one as well narrowly escaping with a 41- 38 win Henry ended that year with 378 carries for 2,27 yards and 17 touchdowns averaging 26.7 yard per game leading the league in each of these statistical categories this earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl on the All Pro first team and he took home the offensive player of the year award thus far throughout his career Henry has four Pro Bowls one all pro first team selection one all pro second team selection and an offensive player of the year award to his name with him joining the Ravens in this off season and playing alongside reigning MVP Lamar Jackson Baltimore could very well have the scariest rushing offense in the league during the 2024 season season now if you guys have any other suggestions on videos that you want to see in the future let me know in the comment section down below I'm already looking to do some wide receiver videos for those of you asking and I appreciate it if you guys could just drop a thumbs up on this video I will catch you in the next one see you later

Channel: Fantasy Phenoms

Views: 8,658

Keywords: nfl, running backs, nfl running backs, 2000 yard season, nfl 2000 yard rushing seasons, 2000 yard rushing seasons, 2k rushing seasons, 2k yard rushing seasons, 2k yard rushers, 2000 yards, 2k yards, best running backs of all time, best running backs, greatest running backs of all time, greatest running backs, best running back seasons, best running back highlights, 2k yard running back seasons, 2000 yards running back seasons, fantasy phenoms, football, nfl rbs, rbs

Id: Gdo72ObetsU

Length: 23min 46sec (1426 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 24 2024