It was once the glamour position in the NFL. There have been some memorable single-season performances by running backs during the league’s long history.
The position was back when it came to NFL offenses this past season. A total of 14 running backs ran for 1,000-plus yards in 2022, led by the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs (1,653). Only seven running backs reached the 1,000-yard mark the previous season.
Jacobs was also one of three backs (along with Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard) to get the “franchise” tag this offseason. On the first night of the 2023 NFL Draft, running backs Bijan Robinson (Falcons) and Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions) were both early first-round selections.
There’s already been a look at the 20 best seasons by a quarterback in league annals. So why not give some equal time to the men who carry and catch the rock? None of the aforementioned players made this list, but the enclosed submission features some memorable single-season performances.
Best running back seasons in NFL history
20. Jamal Anderson, Falcons (1998)
The team seemingly came out of nowhere. Dan Reeves inherited a 3-13 Atlanta Falcons squad and led them to a 7-9 finish in his first season in 1997. His second campaign with the club saw the Falcons double their victory total via a surprising 14-2 showing.
The main cog in the Atlanta offense was running back Jamal Anderson. A seventh-round selection in 1994, he was coming off a pair of 1,000-yard seasons on the ground. His fifth year in the NFL saw him rack up a league-high 410 carries for 1,846 yards and 14 scores. The former University of Utah product finished ‘98 with 2,165 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns.
Anderson wasn’t done. He ran for 113 yards and two scores in a 20-18 win over the 49ers in the divisional round. He came up with 100 total yards from scrimmage, including a TD reception, in the Falcons’ 30-27 overtime win at Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game. He also ran for 96 yards in Super Bowl XXXIII but did lose a fumble in the 34-19 setback. This “Dirty Bird” was filthy good that season.
19. Paul Hornung, Packers (1960)
Vince Lombardi was hired to be the Green Bay Packers head coach in 1959. In nine years with the franchise, he never suffered a losing season and forged an impressive 9-1 postseason record.
His first playoff appearance came in 1960 as his team faced the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL championship. The Pack came up short, 17-13, at Philadelphia, but the club was just getting warmed up. Green Bay would win five league championships in a seven-year span from 1961-67. That included three straight from 1965-67, including the first two Super Bowls.
Back to 1960, when Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung had quite the 1960 season for Lombardi’s club. He set an NFL record for points scored (176), a mark that stood until 2006 when Chargers’ running back LaDainian Tomlinson totaled 186 points via 31 touchdowns.
That season, Hornung ran for 671 yards and 13 TDs in 12 contests. He caught 28 passes for 257 yards and two more trips to the end zone. He connected on all 41 PAT attempts and hit on 15 of his 28 field goal attempts. Do the math. That’s 78 plus 12, plus 41, plus 45 and you get 176. By the way, Hornung also threw two TD passes that season (which doesn’t figure into his points total).
18. Shaun Alexander, Seahawks (2005)
He was the team’s first-round draft choice in 2000. Former University of Alabama running back Shawn Alexander was the 19th overall selection that year. His rookie campaign was less than spectacular as he played in all 16 games. However, he made only one start and totaled only 64 carries for just 313 yards and two touchdowns.
The former Crimson Tide standout would get untracked in his second season and begin a run of five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaigns. In 2005, the workhorse led the NFL in carries (370) and rushing yards (1,880), to go along with 27 scores on the ground. Alexander caught only 15 passes for 78 yards, but one was for a touchdown. All told, his 28 total TDs led the league that season, and he would be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
In the NFC Divisional Playoffs vs. Washington, Alexander left the game with a concussion after totaling just nine yards on six carries. He more than made up for it vs. the Panthers in the NFC title game, running 34 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-14 victory.
In the Seahawks’ first Super Bowl appearance, Alexander ran for 95 yards on 20 carries in the team’s 21-10 loss to the Steelers at Ford Field in Detroit.
17. Adrian Peterson, Vikings (2012)
Make it 10 consecutive seasons (and counting) that a quarterback earned the NFL’s MVP award. Since 2013, the list reads Denver’s Peyton Manning (2013), Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (2014, 2020 and 2021), Carolina’s Cam Newton (2015), Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (2016), New England’s Tom Brady (2017), Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (2018 and 2022), and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (2019)
In 2012, Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson was coming off a season in which he played in a career-low 12 games and ran for fewer than 1,000 yards (970) for the first time in his six-year stay in the NFL. Season seven for the 2007 first-round draft pick got off to a slow start. Peterson totaled only 113 carries for 499 yards and two scores in the team’s first six games. He ran for 100-plus yards just once over that span.
Then came the final 10 outings of 2012. A total of 235 attempts for 1,598 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 100 or more yards rushing in nine contests. It would all add up to 2,097 yards on the ground, the second-highest single-season total in league annals.
Peterson was named the league’s MVP and the Vikings were playoff bound. The team was a bit undermanned against the Packers, but the star runner came up with 99 yards rushing on 22 carries in a 24-10 loss.
16. Derrick Henry, Titans (2019)
It was similar to riding a hot goalie in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Tennessee Titans did not reach Super Bowl LIV in 2019. However. They gave it one helluva shot thanks to a relentless running back that got hot at the right time.
Derrick Henry was a second-round pick in 2016 by the Tennessee Titans. The 2015 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Alabama shared time in the backfield during his first two NFL seasons. It wasn’t long before he became the focus of the club’s ground attack.
In 2020, he became the eighth player in league annals to run for 2,000-plus yards in a season. However, it was the previous season that saw him help get the Titans within one victory of the franchise’s second Super Bowl appearance.
In his final six regular-season appearances (he missed a Week 16 meeting with the Saints), Henry ran for a combined 896 yards and 10 scores. Tennessee won five of its last seven games after a 4-5 start.
Henry really turned it on during the postseason. He rushed for 182 yards and one TD as Tennessee dethroned the then-defending Super Bowl champion Patriots. A week later at Baltimore, Henry ran for 199 yards and threw a TD pass as his club bounced the top-seed Ravens. Henry ran for 69 yards and a score in the AFC title game at Kansas City in a losing effort.
15. Roger Craig, 49ers (1988)
It was in 1985 that running back Roger Craig became the first player in league history to gain at least 1,000 yards as a runner (1,050) and a pass-catcher (1,015). He finished with 2,066 yards from scrimmage and 15 scores on his way to his first Pro Bowl.
However, it was the versatile performer’s 1988 campaign that has gone a bit under the radar because of his accomplishments three years earlier. The hard-charging runner led the NFL with 2,036 yards and posted career-highs in rushing attempts (310) and rushing yardage (1,502). He also managed a team-best 76 receptions.
It was the postseason in which Craig came up huge, totaling 434 yards from scrimmage in three contests. In a 34-9 win over the Vikings, Craig totaled 21 carries for 135 yards and two scores. A week later in frigid Chicago, there were 21 touches and 101 yards from scrimmage. Two weeks later in South Florida, the Niners would come from behind to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.
Teammate Jerry Rice would be named the game’s MVP and wide receiver John Taylor caught the game-winning TD pass with 34 seconds to play. Craig (who did lose a fumble in the game) had an enormous outing. He ran 17 times for 71 yards and totaled eight receptions for 101 yards in the 20-16 triumph.
14. Barry Sanders, Lions (1997)
The Detroit Lions made Oklahoma State University star and 1988 Heisman Trophy-winning running back Barry Sanders the third overall pick in 1989. He rewarded the Motor City with 10 years of excellence. He never ran for fewer than 1,100 yards in any season. Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl each of those 10 seasons. He earned All-Pro honors six times and led the NFL in rushing yards in 1990, 1994, 1996, and ’97.
That final year mentioned saw the first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer run for 2,053 yards. It remains the fourth-highest single-season total in NFL annals. He would share league Most Valuable Player honors with Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
What made this performance somewhat unique was just how slow Sanders was out of the gate in the season’s first two weeks. In a 28-17 win vs. Atlanta, he totaled 15 carries for 33 yards. A week later in a 24-17 loss to the Buccaneers, Sanders ran 10 times for 20 yards. It added up to a combined total of 53 rushing yards on 25 attempts.
So, in the final 14 games, the explosive performer ran for exactly 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns on 310 carries. He closed out the season with an NFL-record 14 consecutive games of 100-plus rushing yards. However, he was held to a modest 53 yards on 18 attempts in a playoff loss at Tampa Bay.
13. Marshall Faulk, Rams (1999)
He was the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft behind Ohio State defensive tackle Dan “Big Daddy’ Wilkinson. To call San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk explosive was an understatement. He immediately had an impact on the Indianapolis Colts, gaining 1,804 yards from scrimmage and scoring 10 touchdowns. The Colts were a playoff team in 1995 and ’96 but Faulk was limited in the 1995 postseason.
General manager Bill Polian opted to deal the five-year pro to the Rams on the eve of the 1999 NFL Draft. The Colts would use the fourth overall pick on University of Miami star Edgerrin James. As for Faulk, he excelled during his seven-year stay with the club and was huge during the franchise’s first Super Bowl-winning campaign in 1999.
That year, he joined San Francisco’s Roger Craig (1985) as the only other player to finish with at least 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He rolled up a league-high 2,429 yards from scrimmage and scored a dozen touchdowns. Faulk finished second in the NFL MVP voting to teammate Kurt Warner.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer didn’t roll up huge numbers in the team’s Super Bowl XXXIV title run. He actually finished with more receiving yards (175) than rushing yards (82), His two touchdowns came in the team’s 49-37 win over the Vikings in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
12. Walter Payton, Bears (1977)
He was one of the game’s most magnificent performers. Running back Walter Payton led the Chicago Bears in rushing yards (679) during his rookie season and also saw his share of action on kickoff returns. That team made him the fourth overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft.
The following season, he led the league with 311 rushing attempts and ran for 1,390 yards and 13 scores during an All-Pro campaign. However, the third year proved to be pretty charming for the Jackson State product. Payton would lead the NFL in carries (339), rushing yards (1,852), total yards from scrimmage (2,121), and total touchdowns (16).
Those are pretty impressive numbers in 14 games as the NFL would move to a 16-game schedule in 1978, The Windy City legend would be named the league’s Most Valuable Player as well as the Offensive Player of the Year. He set a then-NFL record for rushing yards in a game when he gashed the rival Vikings for 275 yards. That mark remains amongst the best in league history, ranking fifth all-time.
Perhaps the most significant note was that Payton’s performance was the key to the Bears reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1963.
11. Earl Campbell, Oilers (1979)
He dominated from the moment he entered the NFL as the first overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft. It’s somewhat difficult to sort out just which one of University of Texas running back Earl Campbell’s first three seasons in the league was his best. That’s because you could make a very good case for any of the three being on this list. After all, he led the league in rushing yards in each of his first three NFL campaigns.
The call here was his 1979 showing thanks mainly to a second-half surge that saw him put together quite the seven-game run. That Houston Oilers’ team was arguably the second-best team in the league that year and proved in the playoffs they could win a big game without several of their offensive stars – including the “Tyler Rose.”
That season, Campbell carried 368 times for 1,697 yards and 19 touchdowns. He reached the century mark 11 times in 16 outings, including the final seven games to close out the season. Campbell was not only the NFL Offensive Player of the Year but the league’s MVP.
In 1980, the Pro Football Hall of Famer had more attempts (373) and more rushing yards (1,934) than the previous year. However, Campbell ran 187 times for 885 yards and seven TDs to close out his impressive ’79 showing.
10. Chuck Foreman, Vikings (1975)
It is fascinating to note that the Minnesota Vikings went to three Super Bowls in a four-year span from 1973-76. They were stifled by the Miami Dolphins, 24-7, at Rice Stadium (VIII), shut down by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 16-6, at Tulane Stadium (IX), and humbled by the Oakland Raiders, 32-14, at the Rose Bowl (XI).
However, you could argue the team’s best club during that decade was the 1975 edition of the Purple Gang. That year, the team got off to a 10-0 start and one of the offensive catalysts for Bud Grant’s club was third-year running back Chuck Foreman.
The season, the former University of Miami product and 1973 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year ran for 1,070 yards and 13 touchdowns. Foreman also led the league with 73 receptions, nine of those for scores. When it was all said and done, he finished the year with 1,761 yards from scrimmage and 22 total touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro honors. However, it was teammate and quarterback Fran Tarkenton that was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
The Vikings were one of three teams that season to finish with the NFL’s best record (12-2). However, they were stunned at home in the playoffs when Cowboys’ quarterback Roger Staubach saw his “Hail Mary” answered by wide receiver Drew Pearson.
9. Priest Holmes, Chiefs (2003)
The former University of Texas standout was part of a Super Bowl championship club with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 (XXXV). However, he wasn’t much of a factor in the team’s postseason run that year as Brian Billick’s team rode rookie Jamal Lewis in the playoffs.
Running back Priest Holmes signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001 after four seasons with the Ravens. During his first three seasons with Dick Vermeil’s club, he put up some astonishing numbers that resulted in not only three consecutive Pro Bowl invitations, but three straight All-Pro nods as well.
In 46 regular-season contests from 2001-03, Holmes rolled up a combined 6,566 yards and 61 trips to the end zone. In 2003, the Chiefs were back in the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Holmes amassed 1,420 yards on the ground with 27 scores and caught 74 passes for 690 yards. His 27 total touchdowns remain the third-highest single-season total in NFL history.
In a wild playoff clash at Arrowhead Stadium, Holmes came up big in the Chiefs’ 38-31 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in a contest in which neither team punted.
8. Emmitt Smith, Cowboys (1993)
Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys were coming off a sensational 13-3 season in 1992 and an impressive 52-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl. Could the club repeat as NFL champions?
It would not be easy, especially with star running back Emmitt Smith opting to sit out the early part of the season due to a contract dispute. Johnson’s club would get off to a 0-2 start via a Monday night loss at Washington followed by a home loss to the Bills in a Super Bowl rematch.
Smith was back in Week 3, and he would not only run for 100-plus yards in seven of the team’s last 14 contests. He wound up leading the NFL in rushing for the third straight year (1,486 yards). There was that memorable Week 17 clash with the Giants in which he touched the ball 42 times while dealing with a shoulder injury. He would wind up being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Smith added a combined 418 yards from scrimmage and four TDs in the playoff sweep of the Packers, 49ers, and Bills. That included 30 carries for 132 yards and two scores in capturing Super Bowl XXVIII MVP honors in the 30-13 win over Buffalo.
7. O.J. Simpson, Bills (1973)
It was a milestone that would not happen again since 1984. And in NFL history, there have been just eight players to run for at least 2,000 yards in a single season. Of course, the first to do it was the initial selection in the 1969 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
University of Southern California running back O.J. Simpson was a Heisman Trophy winner in 1968, the year before becoming the top pick in the draft. However, his first three seasons in the NFL were far from spectacular. He played in a combined 35 games, totaling 484 carries for 1,927 yards and a dozen touchdowns.
It was in 1972 that Simpson finally came into his own. He would lead the league in rushing in four of the next five years. That first season he totaled a somewhat modest 1,251 yards (6 TDs). Then came 1973 when the future Pro Football Hall of Fame made history.
The final tally would be 332 attempts for 2,003 yards and 12 scores. It started with 250 yards vs. the Patriots in Week 1 and closed with a pair of 200-yard performances vs. New England and the Jets, the latter at Shea Stadium. Simpson was the NFL MVP in 1973 for a Buffalo team that finished 9-5.
6. Terrell Davis, Broncos (1997)
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis was the catalyst of the Denver Broncos back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1997 and ‘98. He was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXII and the following year he not only led the league with 2,008 yards on the ground but was named the NFL MVP. It adds up to a pair of impressive back-to-back seasons.
So why is 1997 the selection here? It has plenty to do with his performance in the postseason. That’s almost splitting hairs considering the former University of Georgia standout had quite the playoff run in 2008 as well.
Head coach Mike Shanahan rode the 1995 sixth-round pick in ’97 and the Broncos reached the playoffs as a wild card. Davis played in 15 regular-season contests and totaled 369 attempts for 1,750 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Then came the postseason and the talented workhorse ran through the Jaguars (184), Chiefs (101), Steelers (139), and Packers (157) for a combined 581 yards and eight TDs.
It’s worth noting that Davis not only cracked the 2,000-yard mark during his NFL MVP but ran for at least 100 yards in each of the club’s three postseason games in their Super Bowl XXXIII title campaign of ’98.
5. Jim Brown, Browns (1963)
Any debate over who is the greatest running back in NFL history usually begins and often ends (not always) with Cleveland Browns’ star Jim Brown. A first-round pick by the franchise in 1957, the former Syracuse University pigskin and lacrosse standout played only nine NFL seasons.
He led the league in rushing eight times, was named to the Pro Bowl every season, and was an eight-time All-Pro. For his career, he averaged 104.3 yards per game on the ground. He also scored 126 total touchdowns in 118 regular-season contests. Do the math!
Narrowing down which one of Brown’s nine seasons was his best is a tall order. In 1964, he totaled 1,786 yards from scrimmage and Cleveland won its last NFL championship. The pick here is the previous year in his seventh year in the league.
He rolled up 1,863 yards on the ground on only 291 attempts, an impressive 6.4 yards per carry. He averaged 133.1 yards per game rushing, totaled 100-plus yards in nine contests, and scored a dozen touchdowns. Brown added 24 catches for 268 yards and three scores, finishing with an NFL-high 15 touchdowns. All of this in 14 games.
There would be no playoffs for the Browns in 1964 despite a 10-4 season. They would more than make up for that one year later.
4. O.J. Simpson, Bills (1975)
Two years earlier, the sensational running back had set a new NFL record with 2,003 yards on the ground (in just 14 games) on his way to being named the MVP of the National Football League. O.J. Simpson and the Buffalo Bills finished 9-5 in both 1973 and ’74, that second year resulting in a playoff appearance. The team would get off to an impressive start in 1975 behind their star runner.
Buffalo won its first four games and scored 30-plus points in each contest. Simpson totaled a combined 118 carries for a whopping 697 yards and five scores in those victories. That included a stunning 227 yards rushing in a Week 2 win at Three Rivers Stadium over the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers.
However, the Bills would lose six of their final 10 games and miss the playoffs. Meanwhile, Simpson still had his moments running the ball and expanded his act in regard to the passing game. He not only finished with 1,817 yards rushing and 16 scores but caught 28 passes for 426 yards and seven touchdowns. It added up to a league-best 2,243 yards from scrimmage and 23 total TDs, both NFL records at the time.
3. Eric Dickerson, Rams (1984)
It remains the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season. One of the things that made Eric Dickerson’s performance in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams so very impressive was that it came in only his second season in the league. Add to that what he did during his rookie campaign, and it may be even more startling when you consider the workload.
The former SMU standout was the second overall pick in the 1983 draft, and he took the game by storm. He led the league in carries (390) and rushing yards (1,808). He ran for 18 touchdowns and also added 404 yards on 51 catches (2 TDs) on his way to being named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. That’s a total of 441 touches in 16 regular-season games and he added 41 more touches in two playoff games.
Dickerson followed that up with fewer rushing attempts and receptions in ’84. However, he still ran 379 times for a league-record 2,105 yards, to go along with 14 scores. The big-play performer averaged an impressive 131.6 yards per game on the ground in 16 contests, running for 100-plus yards in 12 games.
The Hall of Fame running back also came up with 107 yards rushing and one TD on 23 carries in a wild-card loss to the Giants.
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers (2006)
There wasn’t a lot that the member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017 didn’t do during his sixth season in the NFL. Former TCU star LaDainian Tomlinson was the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the then-San Diego Chargers. The team originally owned the first overall pick that year, but the Atlanta Falcons traded for the top spot (selecting quarterback Michael Vick) and the Bolts would grab Tomlinson.
In each of his first eight seasons, he totaled at least 1,000 yards on the ground and ran for at least 10 touchdowns. In 2003, he led the league in total yards from scrimmage (2,370), running from 1,645 yards while catching 100 passes. However, his 2006 campaign was off the charts.
Tomlinson ran for a league-high 1,815 yards and totaled 28 touchdowns on the ground. He caught 56 passes for 508 yards and three scores. His 28 rushing TDs, 31 total trips to the end zone, and 186 points scored remain NFL single-season records. For good measure, Tomlinson threw a pair of touchdown passes.
The 14-2 Chargers would claim the NFL’s best record and the AFC’s top playoff seed. Tomlinson would run for 123 yards and two scores, plus catch two passes for 64 yards vs. the Patriots in the divisional round in what was a stinging 24-21 loss.
1. Gale Sayers, Bears (1965)
Can you imagine how different football history would have been if the “Kansas Comet” had signed with the rival American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs instead of the Chicago Bears?
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers was the fourth overall pick in the NFL draft and the fifth overall selection in the AFL draft. Obviously, he would choose the former and enjoy a brief but Hall of Fame career in the Windy City.
To say Sayers’ initial campaign for George Halas’ club was spectacular may be considered an understatement. Keep in mind that in his second season in the league, he led the league in rushing yards (1,231) as well as total combined yards (2,440). However, the fact that he found the end zone nearly twice as many times during his rookie year compared to 1966 is the difference here.
So, it is back to 1965. Sayers scored 22 total touchdowns in 14 games. That mark remains an NFL record for a rookie season. Those scores came via the ground (14), as a pass-catcher (6), and on punt (1) and kickoff returns (1). He finished with 2,272 total combined yards that year. Against the 49ers at Wrigley Field that year, he tied the NFL record for most touchdowns in a game (6), a mark that still stands.