Factoid
O.J. Simpson. Barry Sanders. Chris Johnson? The Tennessee running back is on pace to become just the third guy ever to run for over 1,000 yards and average 6-plus yards per carry.
Halfway through the season, Johnson is way up at 6.7 yards per carry. That’s a yard more than every back ever expect Simpson and Sanders. Both of those running backs reach the figure during that seasons with over 2,000 yards. Johnson right now is only 41 yards short of being on 2,000-yard pace; if he’s as good this weekend as we think he’ll be against Buffalo’s league-worst run defense, you may hear talk in the upcoming weeks about Johnson going for 2,000.
Simpson and Sanders, by the way, were consensus top running backs when they entered the draft. Simpson won the Heisman and was the No. 1 pick overall by the Bills in 1969. The Lions selected Barry Sanders No. 3 in 1989, behind Troy Aikman and Tony Mandarich. Johnson, on the other hand, was just the fifth running back selected in 2008, behind Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Felix Jones and Rashard Mendenhall.
1,000-YARD RUSHERS WITH HIGH AVERAGES
Below is the list of runners, since the 1970 merger, who have averaged at least 5.5 yards per carry while finishing with over 1,000 rushing yards. Chris Johnson of Tennessee is currently averaging 6.7 yards per attempt.
Att Yds Avg Year
335 2053 6.1 1997 Barry Sanders, Det.
332 2003 6.0 1973 O.J. Simpson, Buff.
331 1883 5.7 1994 Barry Sanders, Det.
188 1055 5.6 1972 Franco Harris, Pitt.
221 1239 5.6 1989 James Brooks, Cin.
238 1341 5.6 2007 Adrian Peterson, Minn.
182 1025 5.6 2008 Derrick Ward, NYG
379 2105 5.6 1984 Eric Dickerson, Rams
273 1508 5.5 2002 Clinton Portis, Den.
329 1817 5.5 1975 O.J. Simpson, Buff.
273 1515 5.5 2008 DeAngelo Williams, Car.
183 1006 5.5 1985 Stump Mitchell, St.L.
290 1591 5.5 2003 Clinton Portis, Den.
339 1852 5.5 1977 Walter Payton, Chi.
253 1381 5.5 1999 Marshall Faulk, St.L.
232 1266 5.5 1997 Robert Smith, Minn.
—Ian Allan
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
