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Super Bowl: Top 10 Running Backs with the Most Rushing Yards in a Single Super Bowl
Who Had for the Most Rushing Yards in a Super Bowl? This Guy.
Who ran for the most yards in a single Super Bowl?
Tough question.
The answer is the Washington Redskins‘ Timmy Smith – the only running back in Super Bowl history to rush for over 200 yards. Smith played in just seven games that season, his first in the NFL. He went on to play 15 more games in his career and that was a wrap.
Until Smith took over the top spot, the record holder was Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, who fell nine yards short of 200 in Super Bowl XVIII.
Another Redskin, John Riggins, finishes out the top three.
Here are the top 10 running backs with the most rushing yards in a single Super Bowl.
There are some classic names from the 1970s on the list: Franco Harris, Larry Csonka and Clarence Davis. Remember those guys?
It sure seems like this top 10 is going to be easy to crack. Somewhere along the line an RB (and certainly more than one) will rush for more than 124 yards.
Another “almost” certainty…if your running back runs for 120 yards or so in the Super Bowl, expect to win the game. The only loser on this list is Thurman Thomas, and really, the Buffalo Bills had their shot at the end of Super Bowl XXV and should have won it (remember Scott Norwood?).
Follow @VinGetz| RB | TEAM | YDS | TD | SB | SEASON | W/L | RESULT | |
| 1. | Timmy Smith | Wahington Redskins | 204 | 2 | XXII | 1987 | W | Redskins 42 – Broncos 10 |
| 2. | Marcus Allen | L.A. Raiders | 191 | 2 | XVIII | 1983 | W | L.A. Raiders 38 – Redskins 9 |
| 3. | John Riggins | Washington Redskins | 166 | 1 | XVII | 1982 | W | Redskins 27 – Dolphins 17 |
| 4. | Franco Harris | Pittsburgh Steelers | 158 | 1 | IX | 1974 | W | Steelers 16 – Vikings 6 |
| 5. | Terrell Davis | Denver Broncos | 157 | 3 | XXXII | 1997 | W | Broncos 31 – Packers 24 |
| 6. | Larry Csonka | Miami Dolphins | 145 | 2 | VIII | 1973 | W | Dolphins 24 – Vikings 7 |
| 7. | Clarence Davis | Oakland Raiders | 137 | 0 | XI | 1976 | W | Oakland Raiders 32 – Vikings 14 |
| 8. | Thurman Thomas | Buffalo Bills | 135 | 1 | XXV | 1990 | L | Giants 20 – Bills 19 |
| 9. | Emmitt Smith | Dallas Cowboys | 132 | 2 | XXVIII | 1993 | W | Cowboys 30 – Bills 13 |
| 10. | Michael Pittman | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 124 | 0 | XXXVII | 2002 | W | Buccaneers 48 – Oakland Raiders 21 |
Thanks to football-reference.com!
Photo: coedmagazine.com
Cam Newton, RG III, Andrew Luck and the Most Rushing Touchdowns by a Rookie Quarterback
Running Rookie Quarterbacks: Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck
Rookie quarterbacks have been running wild lately.
Take a look at today’s list, inspired by Andrew Luck‘s two rushing touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night, Cam Newton‘s ridiculous rookie season last year and Robert Griffin III‘s march up the rookie TD chart in 2012.
These are the top 20 quarterbacks with the most rushing touchdowns in a rookie season.
The Carolina Panthers‘ Cam Newton set the record last year, eclipsing the San Francisco 49ers‘ Billy Kilmer by an additional four.
But hold on. Washington Redskins‘ rookie quarterback, RG III, is making a bid to break Newton’s record. He’s already got six rushing TDs with seven games to go.
And what about the Indianapolis Colts‘ Andrew Luck? He’s got five himself.
Thanks to my source, pro-football-reference.com, where I used the play index to track down every rookie quarterback with at least two rushing TDs.
Follow @VinGetz| QB | TD | YEAR | AGE | TEAM | |
| 1. | Cam Newton | 14 | 2011 | 22 | Carolina Panthers |
| 2. | Billy Kilmer | 10 | 1961 | 22 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 3. | Dutch Clark | 9 | 1931 | 25 | Portsmouth Spartans |
| 4. | Jack Storer | 7 | 1924 | 24 | Frankford Yellow Jackets |
| 4. | Vince Young | 7 | 2006 | 23 | Tennessee Titans |
| 6. | Robert Griffin III | 6 | 2012 | 22 | Washington Redskins |
| 6. | Spec Sanders* | 6 | 1946 | 28 | New York Yankees |
| 6. | Tim Tebow | 6 | 2010 | 23 | Denver Broncos |
| 6. | Chris Weinke | 6 | 2001 | 29 | Carolina Panthers |
| 10. | Chuck Bennett | 5 | 1930 | 23 | Portsmouth Spartans |
| 10. | Charlie Conerly | 5 | 1948 | 27 | New York Giants |
| 10. | Bill Dudley | 5 | 1942 | 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 10. | Hoot Flanagan | 5 | 1925 | 24 | Pottsville Maroons |
| 10. | Joe Geri | 5 | 1949 | 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 10. | Andrew Luck | 5 | 2012 | 23 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 10. | George Sullivan | 5 | 1924 | 27 | Frankford Yellow Jackets |
| 10. | George Taliaferro* | 5 | 1949 | 22 | Los Angeles Dons |
| 10. | Fran Tarkenton | 5 | 1961 | 21 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 10. | Jack Thompson | 5 | 1979 | 23 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 10. | Bob Waterfield | 5 | 1945 | 25 | Cleveland Rams |
* AAFC (All-America Football Conference)
Photo: al.com / bleacherreport.com / sbnation.com
The Top 20 Running Backs with the Most Rushing Yards in a Season
Eric Dickerson Holds the NFL’s Single-Season Rushing Record
In the history of the NFL, only six (now seven with AP in 2012) running backs have breached the 2,000-yard mark in a single campaign. They are led by Eric Dickerson, who ran for 2,105 yards in 1984.
Dickerson also appears three times in today’s list, the top 20 rushers with the most yards on the ground in a single season, and holds the single-game playoff rushing yards record.
Is Eric Dickerson the best running back of all time? You can make a case.
It looks like ages 24-27 are peak times for running backs. That age group makes up 14 of the top 20. Six of the running backs below did it at age 26, the most. Fantasy football players may want to take note.
Update Dec. 30, 2012: Adrian Peterson finished with 2,096 yards, nine shy of the all-time record.
Follow @VinGetz| RUNNING BACK | YARDS | AGE | YEAR | TEAM | |
| 1. | Eric Dickerson | 2,105 | 24 | 1984 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2. | Adrian Peterson | 2,096 | 27 | 2012 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 3. | Jamal Lewis | 2,066 | 24 | 2003 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 4. | Barry Sanders | 2,053 | 29 | 1997 | Detroit Lions |
| 5. | Terrell Davis | 2,008 | 26 | 1998 | Denver Broncos |
| 6. | Chris Johnson | 2,006 | 24 | 2009 | Tennessee Titans |
| 7. | O.J. Simpson | 2,003 | 26 | 1973 | Buffalo Bills |
| 8. | Earl Campbell | 1,934 | 25 | 1980 | Houston Oilers |
| 9. | Ahman Green | 1,883 | 26 | 2003 | Green Bay Packers |
| 9. | Barry Sanders | 1,883 | 26 | 1994 | Detroit Lions |
| 11. | Shaun Alexander | 1,880 | 28 | 2005 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 12. | Jim Brown | 1,863 | 27 | 1963 | Cleveland Browns |
| 13. | Tiki Barber | 1,860 | 30 | 2005 | New York Giants |
| 14. | Ricky Williams | 1,853 | 25 | 2002 | Miami Dolphins |
| 15. | Walter Payton | 1,852 | 23 | 1977 | Chicago Bears |
| 16. | Jamal Anderson | 1,846 | 26 | 1998 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 17. | Eric Dickerson | 1,821 | 26 | 1986 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 18. | O.J. Simpson | 1,817 | 28 | 1975 | Buffalo Bills |
| 19. | LaDainian Tomlinson | 1,815 | 27 | 2006 | San Diego Chargers |
| 20. | Eric Dickerson | 1,808 | 23 | 1983 | Los Angeles Rams |
Photo: bleacherreport.com
