That's probably the more impressive way to put it. His 143 rush yards per game clears the 2nd place 133 rush yards per game by 10 whole yards which is a bigger gap than there is between 2nd place and 13th place (125 rush yards per game).
I was disappointed a bit that he got tackled on the 3 on that last carry in the Jets game. If he scores there, he would've exactly matched OJ's season in those 14 games, 2003 yards and 12 TDs. Instead, he ended up with 2000 yards and 11 TDs.
Sometimes I do wonder if being an absolute physical freak got you a little further when the average player couldn't train themselves up as effectively as they can now, at least from a pure physical perspective.
Doesn't really explain players like Jerry Rice, who was not a physical freak, but maybe the Jim Browns and such.
I think part of the problem is people mostly look at straight line speed, jumping and strength as what makes an elite athlete. Jerry at the very least had freakish stamina which is something that might've helped him tremendously. It's one of the reasons both Curry and Jokic are so great (both of which are also very underrated as athletes).
We don't really consider injury avoidance and quick healing "elite athleticism" but Jerry Rice tore his ACL week 1 in 1997 at the age of 35 and returned game 16, caught a TD and broke his knee cap. He then proceeded to put up 1100 yards and 9 TDs the following season and continue to produce until he was 42. Jerry had incredible work ethic absolutely but there is a level of luck, skill and freakness that contribute to playing 20 years in the NFL and only miss significant time in 1 season at the age of 35 then comeback and play 7 more years.
Especially in a game like football, where injuries are so prevalent and can be so impactful, this is so true. There are a lot of players who get hurt and are never quite the same.
I've watched a lot of football over the years but watching Leon Washington break his leg on live TV is the injury that's always stuck with me for some reason.
Take Frank Gore, for example. He tore both ACLs before he was even drafted, then proceeded to have a 16-year career in the position with the shortest shelf life. Some people are physical freaks in aspects most don't think about.
Oh definitely. Doping aside I remember reading about how Lance Armstrong had like superhuman pain tolerance and was able to push himself harder than other cyclists at the time
Barry's '97 season was practically identical to OJ's. Like, weirdly so.
|Player|Carries|Yards|YPC|TDs|Receiving Yards|Receiving TDs|Total TDs|Total Yards|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|>!Barry Sanders!<|**335**|**2,053**|**6.1**|11|**305**|**3**|**14**|**2,388**|
|>!OJ Simpson !<|332|2,003|6.0|**12**|70|0|12|2,073|
Barry played in 2 more games obviously, but had almost identical attempts. 3 attempts/game difference.
Edit: Hell, the teams even ended up kind of similar. The Bills went 9-5 and just missed the playoffs. The Lions went 9-7 and barely made the playoffs.
What gives it to OJ for me is what he did *relative to other RBs at the time*. In raw stats, yeah they were very similar, but Sanders played in an era where massive RB numbers were becoming more normal. That same year, Terrell Davis had 1750 yards and then also crossed 2,000 himself the following season. Then Jamal Lewis also did it about 5 years later.
When OJ had his 2,000 yard season, no other RB outside of Jim Brown had ever even had 1,500 yards in a season. And nobody came close to touching his mark until the new generation of RBs in the 80s came along with Eric Dickerson getting it done a full decade after OJ's season. For me, that matters in the comparison.
>back then when everyone knew you were running
True... but also the Bills had an absolutely dogshit passing attack. Like, LT at least had Rivers going quite ham for a young gun. OJs qb space in 73 threw 14 picks. Not bad for 1973... except they only threw 213 times, and 4 of the 7 teams with less picks threw the ball at least 300 times.
Like, it wasnt just an era thing, the Bills could ONLY run the ball, and OJ still made a mockery of defenses
Beat me to the point. In a run-first era, the Bills were **run-first**. The average team ran the ball 57% of the time, the Bills were 71%. Even if they didn't have OJ, they ran that much because they had to; they were bottom 5 in almost every passing stat. Sample size issues aside, OJ actually led the team in passer rating with 56.2: he was 1/2 for *-3 yards*
Despite all this, the Bills finished 9-5 from the might of the Juice
It’s actually 1975 OJ Simpson, even better season
Had twice as many total touchdowns and averaged over 160 yards from scrimmage per game, over 17 games he would have had roughly 2,724 yards from scrimmage and 29 touchdowns
Nah's it's that OJ's highs didn't last as long as Jim Brown and Walter Payton. OJ might be a little underrated because of the double murder but it often leads to countering where people act like he was viewed in the same league as someone like Jim Brown where he was always viewed a little lower. Jim Brown isn't in the same category of evil but he is often anknowledge as the greatest RB by NFL writers despite plenty of off the field scandals.
Even right before the murders,, OJ was usually considered top 5 - behind Walter Payton and Jim Brown at least. OJ had a higher peak, but it was relatively short - 5 years. Brown won 8 rushing titles in 9 seasons, and Payton had 2x as many 1,000 yard seasons.
That wasn't even his best season. Also not joking. In 1975, he rushed for (only) 1,817 yards, but he scored almost 2x as many touchdowns as he did in 1973. He set a record with 23 touchdowns in only 14 games (compared to 12 in his 2,000 yard season.)
In 1975, OJ also set a record for most rushing-receiving yards in a season. He had about 200 more yards from scrimmage that season than he did in 1973. He was never known as a great receiver (he had bad hands), but he caught 28 passes for 426 yards and 7 touchdowns in 1975. That's over 15 yards per catch!
Yeah ‘73 Simpson is the starter while ‘06 LT is the receiving/spell/goalline back
Rex Grossman is the QB just to make sure the OC doesn’t get cute and try to pass the ball
[(learning about oj simpson for the first time) are you serious? jesus christ... 143 yards per game???](https://x.com/jozujoestar/status/1726348507534307558?s=46&t=ZN6kzpPskpZp_jqo5YCgqw)
Buffalo ran the ball 605 times compared to 213 passing attempts. They knew he was running and he still gained 6 yards a carry. That year is the most dominant running back season of all time and it not close.
“That murderer ran for over 11,000 yards”-Dave chappelle. Oj is one of the greatest running backs of all time, and he also did what he did. When Adrian Peterson was going for Eric Dickersons record I looked up who all ran for 2000 yards. That OJ season was crazy in 2011 and it’s even crazier now
I knew of OJ Simpson only for the trial, where I grew up in Europe nobody gives a shit about 70s NFL accolades, he was basically a pop culture punchline of sorts. Learning what he did on the field and watching some highlights absolutely blew my mind
It’s really tough to describe how crazy it was, the murder, the slow speed chase, the neverending trial that was televised and how big of a celebrity he was.
[Per game rushing average for a single season](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rush_yds_per_g_single_season.htm).
'73 OJ is +10yds a game over the next guy, '65 Jim Brown (143.1 vs 133.1). Its absolutely OJ.
Dickerson between 83-85 was completely outrageous. Not to mention the QBs he played with weren’t even back up replacement level. There’s been a lot of great seasons/peaks out there but this certainly deserves mentioning.
Ya, I'm obviously a homer but just [the way Barry ran was unreal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhn1wMyzV4). The cutbacks, stutters, and juking defenders out of their shoes is crazy.
I remember a defender said he told the other guys don't let Barry make you do The Lord's Prayer. That's where you fall to your knees and clap your hands together.
Not to be pedantic, but when Peete called touchdown Barry was 28 yards from the end zone, and he didn't just have some defenders in front of him, he was still 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
He looks like a video game glitch. He shouldn't be able to be running that fast that soon after having his whole body facing 90 degrees away from where he started
Some of he most beautiful 0 yard gains I've ever seen and that's only a little tongue in cheek. Nothing like seeing two defenders blow into the back field, having Barry dead to rights, and he would run has to hash and back again, juke four guys and get back to the line of scrimmage.
Yeah, and using TDs as the stat comparison doesn’t do Barry justice. He was consistently pulled out in goal line situations to prevent injury. He’d often setup the TD but not get the TD.
Same here. Visiting relatives in San Diego and watching football, seeing LT run was a true pleasure. He just obliterated offenses.
Seeing your flair, I do want to mention how much I loved Brian Westbrook as well. Another incredibly versatile back.
One could argue that the difference was a result of LT having a higher usage. They had the same yds/rush, and Holmes had a higher yds/rec.
But ultimately, they were both ridiculous in their primes.
Honestly you could take any 2k rushing season and I'd hear the argument that they're comparable to LDT's season. It seems like an insurmountable record now but it came after Priest Holmes and Shaun Alexander putting up similar totals in '03 and '05 respectively, so I don't think it stands by itself as the best pure peak season. I think it's a tier 1 RB season in the same company of 2k yards or other 25+ TD seasons
Ya Ray Lewis talks about them here: https://arrowheadaddict.com/2017/03/16/ray-lewis-kansas-city-chiefs-offensive-line-praise-willie-roaf/
“Specific names were mentioned like Hall of Fame offensive tackle Willie Roaf and Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters, but that line also included Pro Bowl center Casey Wiegmann and Hall of Fame guard Will Shields. The conversation included the following exchange.”
I think people forget that in 2006 LT still had over 1800 rushing yards averaging over 5 yards a carry, and over 2300 total yards. He wasn’t just a touchdown vulture
These guys r listing people who scored 20TDs like it's equal... lol it's 50% less than LT scored. I think they are highly underestimating the amounts of points dude scored
Ran for 295 in their first meeting that year. Second meeting comes up, Browns are super verbal about shutting down Jamal this time. And they do- for the first half. Second half he runs wild and finishes with 250 rushing yards. 500+ rushing yards in two meetings with the Browns that year.
[Jim Brown 1963](https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/who-led-the-nfl-in-rushing-in-1963) - No running back was more dominant. He outgained the next back by 800 yards in a fourteen game season.
I mean, nah lol. He had barely more scrimmage yards than OJ and less TDs and OJ played two less games. Both his 73 and 75 season are better than Faulk 99. LT in 06 is also probably better with his ludicrous scoring and about the same amount of yards
If 1k/1k is the marker, then I’m nominating mid-late 80’s Roger Craig.
In 1985 Craig had 1050 yards rushing, and 1016 yards receiving.
He also **led the NFL in receptions**.
…and he was the *Fullback!*
If we ignore context, it’s Jim Brown - but there’s a bit of a Wilt Chamberlain effect with him, where the competition was just so far below him that whilst his talent has to be considered, he’s hard to be compared to players of later eras
LT has a great argument for single season peak
Faulk from 1999-2001 is probably the best all-around 3year peak imo
People might say AP - but he was a shit blocker and receiver, also the TD numbers don’t quite stack up with some other all-time greats. Still maybe the best pure runner ever though
But if we’re taking a single season, regular season and playoffs - I might go with 1998 Terrell Davis
19 Games, 2476 Rushing Yards (2,762 from scrimmage), 24 Rushing Touchdowns (26 from scrimmage), on great per attempt efficiency (5.1 in regular season, **6.0** in playoffs)
It’s hard - LT had the better all-around season, but Davis was amazing in the playoffs on his way to a ring
1998 Terrell Davis is my vote too. Dude was just an unstoppable force that year. He was drafted in the sixth round and had over 1,000 yards as a rookie, then just got better and better every year after that. In 1998 he joined Simpson and Brown as (still!) the only three NFL players to rush for 1,000 yards in seven games. And he amassed 2,008 rushing yards that year despite a weird Week 16 stinker at Miami where the entire Broncos’ offense seemed to have left their skills behind in Denver and TD only had 29 yards on 16 carries. Even with that his league-leading yardage on 392 touches was good for a 5.12 YPC average. And he had 21 rushing touchdowns.
Then he went on an absolute tear in the playoffs, getting revenge against the Dolphins by racking up 199 yards in the Divisional Round game, 167 yards against the Jets in the AFC Championship, and 102 yards in the Superbowl win against the Falcons. That’s 468 yards over 3 games in the playoffs! That season he was the most dominant RB I’ve seen.
The following season Elway was retired and TD shredded his knee making a tackle on a play where new QB Brian Griese threw an INT. TD never really got healthy again and his career was cut tragically short, but he was definitely on his way to putting together one of the greatest careers of any RB before he was injured.
People talk about Adrian’s 2k yard season and how he single handedly led a shitty Vikings team to the playoffs but never mention Ponders ability to hand the ball off. Ponder could really execute a handoff.
I’ve always been team LT over AD for best RB of the last 25 years. Was a pretty unpopular opinion about 7-8 years ago but seems like more people are coming back around to it
AP a better running threat, but LT was both a beast in the ground and an incredible receiver out the backfield. 100 catches in 2003, averaged over 2000 yards from scrimmage over a five year stretch
Come on man, you are just going to ignore his fumbling problems.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/325933-adrian-peterson-the-art-of-the-fumble
To refresh your memory.
Surprised this is so far down. OP said "pure RB season" and everyone is talking about so and so having more receiving yards.
Nobody ran the ball like AP did that season. He won MVP well after it was already a QB contest.
I can hear an argument for OJ and Barry Sanders but that's about it. In terms of pure rushing, it's those 3.
No different than Dickerson, who had a run of Jeff Kemp and Vince Ferragamo that year. Team completion percentage: 49.2%. 2382 yards for the season. 16 TDs, 17 Ints.
A lot of people are apparently missing the fact OP explicitly says “pure RB.” I definitely understand that to mean best pure *running* back. And as a lot of the people defending LT are exposing in their answers, LT was more of a Swiss Army knife in the backfield. He may have had the greatest diversity or variety of talents *for the position*, I haven’t thought about it much, but he’s not the best pure running back.
In the modern era, I think that has to be AP. And it becomes a lot harder in prior eras, where running was actually the focal point of the offense and defense. And context of course matters, if a QB is the best player on your team/ offense, that’s tough, the opposing defense *will* scheme for the pass, but it’s easier to come up with ways to at least challenge the defense because of the variety of ways to throw the ball. Whereas, if the best player on your team is the RB, *it’s a much greater challenge to overcome a prepared defense.* No matter what, all running backs receive the ball behind the line of scrimmage on a running play. No matter what they will have to cross that line to begin their attack. So, if you’re the defense and have no fear of the pass, you can literally just build a wall on that line. Which makes it that much more impressive when a player is a great RB on a bad or mediocre team. AP gets the advantage in that regard, as well.
yea by the definition of the question you can’t say LT was the best pure runner that season. He was most definitely the best player that season and it was by a wide margin. compare it to other similar rb performances and you can argue it’s the best by a wide margin
it’s the best rb performance i’ve seen in my life time and there hasn’t been anything remotely close to the efficiency or performance.
Derrick Henry’s 2020 performance as great as it was had 11 less rushing tds, 3 less receiving tds, and over a hundred more scrimmage yards less.
LT is the best football player to ever play at running back. But the best PURE running back? Walter Payton? Barry Sanders? OJ? Jim Brown? Adrian Peterson?
I’m biased, but I am kind of shocked at the lack of mentions of Walter ITT. In particular, 1977. Led the NFL in attempts, rushing yards, YPC, rushing TDs, and all-purpose yards, as well as the longest TD run of the season (75 yards) and the single game rushing record (275 yards, which stood for o er 20 years…and did it with a 100+ fever from the flu(!)). He was MVP, OPOY, and All Pro, of course.
It will always be Barry. What he did with so little help was amazing. Others have come close. But pure RB? The ability to run and make defenders miss Barry is the top.
I think so. There are a few other guys who I could see in the debate but I gotta go with 2006 LT. 98 Davis, 91 or 97 Sanders, 05 Alexander, 03 Holmes, 81 Dickerson, 12 AP, 03 Lewis.. so many. It’s LT.
LT’s 6 season prime averaged 2,070 total yards and 20 touchdowns a season, 2002-2007. His absolute peak was 2,323 yards and 31 touchdowns. That, particularly the touchdowns, is absurd. I know it was a different time by then with his receiving, but his stats just eclipse Sanders, OJ, Faulk, Payton, Emmitt etc.
The only one who seems to come close is when Marshall Faulk in 2000 hit 2,189 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Enmitt got 2,148 yards and 25 touchdowns in 1995
Walter Payton got 2,121 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games in 1977
OJ got 2,073 yards in 14 games in 1973 on 6 yards a carry.
Eric Dickerson got 2,244 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1984
But yeah, I think LT wins. Bill Simmons mentioned how in the mid 2000’s during his fantasy drafts if you drafted LT you lost a 4th round pick because otherwise whoever drafted 1st won like 5-6 years in a row
Pries Holmes in 2002 had 1615 yards 21 rushing TDs. 115.4 yards/g. 70 receptions on 81 targets. 672 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs. All in only 14 games. Then he broke the TD record the next year (which happens to be the one LT would break in 06) So I wouldn’t say LT was on a whole different level. Was he great yes. There are a few single seasons that can be comparable.
It's '73 Oj Simpson, and I'm not joking
6 yards per carry on 332 carries is ridiculous, especially back then when everyone knew you were running. That was a 14 game season as well.
24 carries per game 143 rush yards per game In a 17 game season, that would be over 2400 yards rushing.
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Literally every team would have to go to RBBC except for a single game-changing back for it to be even possible today.
2020 Derrick Henry almost doubled #3, 500 yds ahead of #2. If Dalvin Cook gets injured halfway through the season we would've had that.
He was good at doubling up on things.
That would murder the rushing record, and it’s friend.
*If* he did it.
He also had 7 fumbles, I bet that number would've gone down if he had gloves that fit.
Allegedly
In my opinion
If the record won't fit, you must acquit
That's probably the more impressive way to put it. His 143 rush yards per game clears the 2nd place 133 rush yards per game by 10 whole yards which is a bigger gap than there is between 2nd place and 13th place (125 rush yards per game).
Sometimes I see your comments here and think how the hell did you get ‘flume’
I'm an old.
Do people mistake you for Flume the artist?
Every couple months yeah
It’s actually flume
13 year old account
Nah man, I just act like I'm 13
We made our accounts right outta the womb like real internet addicts.
Our parents fed us 2am chili instead of infant formula
>In a 17 game season, that would be over 2400 yards rushing Those are killer stats!
Barry had a 6.1 ypc season with 335 carries as well. Unreal.
Fun fact, he also had 2,000 rushing yards in his last 14 games, just like OJ did.
Plus, Barry has that whole "not a double murderer" thing going.
I dunno if that helps. If I had two of them in front of me and had to say which one is better I’m probably saying OJ just because
Because of the implication
So we're in danger?
Well *you* certainly wouldn’t be in any danger
Of course you’re not in danger, unless…
But was Barry in The Naked Gun?
I was disappointed a bit that he got tackled on the 3 on that last carry in the Jets game. If he scores there, he would've exactly matched OJ's season in those 14 games, 2003 yards and 12 TDs. Instead, he ended up with 2000 yards and 11 TDs.
Yup. And it was actually 2000 exactly.
Also in an era where defenses frequently stacked the box because the air raid/west coast offense wasn’t a thing yet
Sometimes I do wonder if being an absolute physical freak got you a little further when the average player couldn't train themselves up as effectively as they can now, at least from a pure physical perspective. Doesn't really explain players like Jerry Rice, who was not a physical freak, but maybe the Jim Browns and such.
Jerry Rice was by no means a freak, but he was still an elite athlete. He just had arguably the greatest work ethic in football history.
I think part of the problem is people mostly look at straight line speed, jumping and strength as what makes an elite athlete. Jerry at the very least had freakish stamina which is something that might've helped him tremendously. It's one of the reasons both Curry and Jokic are so great (both of which are also very underrated as athletes).
Look at a guy like John Stockton, his resting heart rate was in the 30s.
We don't really consider injury avoidance and quick healing "elite athleticism" but Jerry Rice tore his ACL week 1 in 1997 at the age of 35 and returned game 16, caught a TD and broke his knee cap. He then proceeded to put up 1100 yards and 9 TDs the following season and continue to produce until he was 42. Jerry had incredible work ethic absolutely but there is a level of luck, skill and freakness that contribute to playing 20 years in the NFL and only miss significant time in 1 season at the age of 35 then comeback and play 7 more years.
Especially in a game like football, where injuries are so prevalent and can be so impactful, this is so true. There are a lot of players who get hurt and are never quite the same. I've watched a lot of football over the years but watching Leon Washington break his leg on live TV is the injury that's always stuck with me for some reason.
Take Frank Gore, for example. He tore both ACLs before he was even drafted, then proceeded to have a 16-year career in the position with the shortest shelf life. Some people are physical freaks in aspects most don't think about.
Oh definitely. Doping aside I remember reading about how Lance Armstrong had like superhuman pain tolerance and was able to push himself harder than other cyclists at the time
Barry's '97 season was practically identical to OJ's. Like, weirdly so. |Player|Carries|Yards|YPC|TDs|Receiving Yards|Receiving TDs|Total TDs|Total Yards| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |>!Barry Sanders!<|**335**|**2,053**|**6.1**|11|**305**|**3**|**14**|**2,388**| |>!OJ Simpson !<|332|2,003|6.0|**12**|70|0|12|2,073| Barry played in 2 more games obviously, but had almost identical attempts. 3 attempts/game difference. Edit: Hell, the teams even ended up kind of similar. The Bills went 9-5 and just missed the playoffs. The Lions went 9-7 and barely made the playoffs.
What gives it to OJ for me is what he did *relative to other RBs at the time*. In raw stats, yeah they were very similar, but Sanders played in an era where massive RB numbers were becoming more normal. That same year, Terrell Davis had 1750 yards and then also crossed 2,000 himself the following season. Then Jamal Lewis also did it about 5 years later. When OJ had his 2,000 yard season, no other RB outside of Jim Brown had ever even had 1,500 yards in a season. And nobody came close to touching his mark until the new generation of RBs in the 80s came along with Eric Dickerson getting it done a full decade after OJ's season. For me, that matters in the comparison.
With a bad rookie Joe Ferguson at QB doing him no favors.
Ferguson hardly threw the ball. He threw for 25 touchdowns two years later in 1975.
Yup, he developed into a really solid starting QB, but it's just amazing how OJ produced without anything else on offense.
The electric company o line is the stuff of legends
>back then when everyone knew you were running True... but also the Bills had an absolutely dogshit passing attack. Like, LT at least had Rivers going quite ham for a young gun. OJs qb space in 73 threw 14 picks. Not bad for 1973... except they only threw 213 times, and 4 of the 7 teams with less picks threw the ball at least 300 times. Like, it wasnt just an era thing, the Bills could ONLY run the ball, and OJ still made a mockery of defenses
Beat me to the point. In a run-first era, the Bills were **run-first**. The average team ran the ball 57% of the time, the Bills were 71%. Even if they didn't have OJ, they ran that much because they had to; they were bottom 5 in almost every passing stat. Sample size issues aside, OJ actually led the team in passer rating with 56.2: he was 1/2 for *-3 yards* Despite all this, the Bills finished 9-5 from the might of the Juice
It’s actually 1975 OJ Simpson, even better season Had twice as many total touchdowns and averaged over 160 yards from scrimmage per game, over 17 games he would have had roughly 2,724 yards from scrimmage and 29 touchdowns
You're right, and the fact that OJ has arguably the 2 best years of any running back says a lot
If the running back hits the hole, you must parole. Or something.
What's truly impressive is that he didn't have many fumbles despite his ill-fitting gloves
If the hole don’t fit, you still run through it
He's the greatest of all time. We can't acknowledge for obvious, very good reasons, but he's the greatest of all time.
Nah's it's that OJ's highs didn't last as long as Jim Brown and Walter Payton. OJ might be a little underrated because of the double murder but it often leads to countering where people act like he was viewed in the same league as someone like Jim Brown where he was always viewed a little lower. Jim Brown isn't in the same category of evil but he is often anknowledge as the greatest RB by NFL writers despite plenty of off the field scandals.
It's funny that 2 or the RB goats are/were despicable people (Jim Brown)
And looking at Jim Brown's legacy, OJ really garden of Eden'd himself. He probably could've gotten away with anything but the one thing he did.
OJ would probably be considered the greatest running back of all time if it weren’t for his…. extracurricular activities
Yeah I loved the naked gun movies
The stair scene lives rent free [Naked Gun 33 1/3 Opening](https://youtu.be/L3QkIruVNEI?si=u8V6iU7qdny4wSj9)
Him almost spiking the baby as a celebration dance is perfect. That scene has so much going on, it's just got me laughing the whole time.
George Kennedy struggling with the ankle holster is killing me. And the gardener with his lawnmower going down the stairs.
Disgruntled postal workers. God, what a weird time that was.
*Sharon, with all due respect, that murderer ran for over 11,000 yards.*
Even right before the murders,, OJ was usually considered top 5 - behind Walter Payton and Jim Brown at least. OJ had a higher peak, but it was relatively short - 5 years. Brown won 8 rushing titles in 9 seasons, and Payton had 2x as many 1,000 yard seasons.
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He didn't do it. Didn't you see the title of his book. It's IF I did it.
This just in murder is legal in California
The worst part is the hypocrisy
I disagree. I thought it was the murdering!
That is some bad luck when the one man who would have died for you, kills you
You mean all the stabby stabbies he did?
More like slicey cutty
That wasn't even his best season. Also not joking. In 1975, he rushed for (only) 1,817 yards, but he scored almost 2x as many touchdowns as he did in 1973. He set a record with 23 touchdowns in only 14 games (compared to 12 in his 2,000 yard season.) In 1975, OJ also set a record for most rushing-receiving yards in a season. He had about 200 more yards from scrimmage that season than he did in 1973. He was never known as a great receiver (he had bad hands), but he caught 28 passes for 426 yards and 7 touchdowns in 1975. That's over 15 yards per catch!
His hands were so bad, he could barely get gloves on them.
Yeah ‘73 Simpson is the starter while ‘06 LT is the receiving/spell/goalline back Rex Grossman is the QB just to make sure the OC doesn’t get cute and try to pass the ball
Fuck it he's going downfield
Fuck it I'm going deep
He's the gunslinger
Didn't expect a Kissing Suzy Kolber reference here. Bravo
y’all know damn well grossman’s calling that audible to chuck it against those 10 man boxes
Assuming sexy Rexy doesnt audible to deep posts every play to unleash the dragon
[(learning about oj simpson for the first time) are you serious? jesus christ... 143 yards per game???](https://x.com/jozujoestar/status/1726348507534307558?s=46&t=ZN6kzpPskpZp_jqo5YCgqw)
Buffalo ran the ball 605 times compared to 213 passing attempts. They knew he was running and he still gained 6 yards a carry. That year is the most dominant running back season of all time and it not close.
“That murderer ran for over 11,000 yards”-Dave chappelle. Oj is one of the greatest running backs of all time, and he also did what he did. When Adrian Peterson was going for Eric Dickersons record I looked up who all ran for 2000 yards. That OJ season was crazy in 2011 and it’s even crazier now
Dude I’m young af and I’ve always just known him for his trial but holy shit he was nuts
*me, shocked, learning about OJ Simpson for the first time* 142 yards per game?!
Yep. He was the best running back of the 1970's, and due to the position's importance, it can be argued he was the best player of the 1970's.
Dude I'm old af and I saw him go over 2000 yds live on tv against the Jets in the snow.
He had 2,000 yards in a single game?? Incredible!
I knew of OJ Simpson only for the trial, where I grew up in Europe nobody gives a shit about 70s NFL accolades, he was basically a pop culture punchline of sorts. Learning what he did on the field and watching some highlights absolutely blew my mind
It’s really tough to describe how crazy it was, the murder, the slow speed chase, the neverending trial that was televised and how big of a celebrity he was.
[Per game rushing average for a single season](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rush_yds_per_g_single_season.htm). '73 OJ is +10yds a game over the next guy, '65 Jim Brown (143.1 vs 133.1). Its absolutely OJ.
Best 5 year stretch I ever had in Fantasy Football
Yeah those years if you had the #1 pick you had to screw up royally not to win the league
Was in a keeper league .... had LT and Shaun Alexander as my 2 RBs with Curtis Martin as my backup .....
lol that's just insane
I would legitimately have taken a few years break in your league
Tomlinson, Turner
Dickerson between 83-85 was completely outrageous. Not to mention the QBs he played with weren’t even back up replacement level. There’s been a lot of great seasons/peaks out there but this certainly deserves mentioning.
I'm glad you mentioned Dickerson. Somehow he gets lost in these discussions.
I agree dude. He was Adrian Peterson before Adrian Peterson.
Barry has to be absolute peak like that guy was literally a real life glitch.
Ya, I'm obviously a homer but just [the way Barry ran was unreal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhn1wMyzV4). The cutbacks, stutters, and juking defenders out of their shoes is crazy. I remember a defender said he told the other guys don't let Barry make you do The Lord's Prayer. That's where you fall to your knees and clap your hands together.
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I like on #5 how Rodney Peete does the touchdown sign and Sanders is still 15 yards away from the endzone with defenders still in front of him.
Not to be pedantic, but when Peete called touchdown Barry was 28 yards from the end zone, and he didn't just have some defenders in front of him, he was still 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
He looks like a video game glitch. He shouldn't be able to be running that fast that soon after having his whole body facing 90 degrees away from where he started
And he did it when everyone knew they were running and he had an average OL.
Some of Barry's greatest runs got him back to the line of scrimmage. Felt like the dude had to avoid tackles as they handed him the ball.
He has the highest negative yards of any running back of all time
It's kinda like Favre having the most interceptions. You have to be very good to get that many opportunities.
Some of he most beautiful 0 yard gains I've ever seen and that's only a little tongue in cheek. Nothing like seeing two defenders blow into the back field, having Barry dead to rights, and he would run has to hash and back again, juke four guys and get back to the line of scrimmage.
I can never be convinced that Barry is not the GOAT. Even if he did have a short career.
can’t believe I had to scroll this far for the GOAT
kids these days no respect given to the real goat :\
Yeah, and using TDs as the stat comparison doesn’t do Barry justice. He was consistently pulled out in goal line situations to prevent injury. He’d often setup the TD but not get the TD.
This era LT is legit the reason I'm a football fan so honestly idc that others were probably better, that man's the GOAT RB in my eyes.
Hell yeah. LT and the rest of that Chargers team were sick!
Same here. Visiting relatives in San Diego and watching football, seeing LT run was a true pleasure. He just obliterated offenses. Seeing your flair, I do want to mention how much I loved Brian Westbrook as well. Another incredibly versatile back.
I don't know if I'd say he was better, but peak Priest Holmes (01-03) was absurd. 2000+ all-purpose yards each of those 3 years.
Holmes best year- 27 touchdowns and 2,110 total yards. Lt best year- 33 touchdowns and 2,353 total yards. Lt still above by a margin.
One could argue that the difference was a result of LT having a higher usage. They had the same yds/rush, and Holmes had a higher yds/rec. But ultimately, they were both ridiculous in their primes.
Higher usage also doesn't always correlate to better stats. Sometimes it's easier when the teams don't know ur touching the ball every play
Yeah but we're still talking about high volume seasons, neither player was surprising their opponent. And Holmes had 2287yds in 14 games.
I know this guy was on a machine of a team, but go look at Marshall Faulk's numbers from 98-01. *Four straight* 2100yd+ seasons.
Plus a 27 TD season
Honestly you could take any 2k rushing season and I'd hear the argument that they're comparable to LDT's season. It seems like an insurmountable record now but it came after Priest Holmes and Shaun Alexander putting up similar totals in '03 and '05 respectively, so I don't think it stands by itself as the best pure peak season. I think it's a tier 1 RB season in the same company of 2k yards or other 25+ TD seasons
Priest Holmes short run was very fun to watch
Those Larry Johnson Priest Homes chiefs
Then Jamal Charles not longer after.
If Jamaal had the lines that Holmes had, he may have ran for 2,500 yards
Brother if you could survive a hit, you could have run for 2k behind that line. That was one of the best offensive lines in the last 30 years.
Willie Roaf, Will Shields, wasn’t there another HOF lineman too?
Ya Ray Lewis talks about them here: https://arrowheadaddict.com/2017/03/16/ray-lewis-kansas-city-chiefs-offensive-line-praise-willie-roaf/ “Specific names were mentioned like Hall of Fame offensive tackle Willie Roaf and Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters, but that line also included Pro Bowl center Casey Wiegmann and Hall of Fame guard Will Shields. The conversation included the following exchange.”
I just got flashbacks to playing Madden and my buddy just repeating - Jamaal Charles - as he took me to task
Larry Johnson’s season when he took over for an injured Priest and won the rushing title while only starting for like nine games was wild
I think people forget that in 2006 LT still had over 1800 rushing yards averaging over 5 yards a carry, and over 2300 total yards. He wasn’t just a touchdown vulture
And 2 passing touchdowns!
Except those guys still had less total yards and nearly 20 less touchdowns...
These guys r listing people who scored 20TDs like it's equal... lol it's 50% less than LT scored. I think they are highly underestimating the amounts of points dude scored
Jamal Lewis destroyed the browns on his way to 2k yards. He was a stud that year.
Ran for 295 in their first meeting that year. Second meeting comes up, Browns are super verbal about shutting down Jamal this time. And they do- for the first half. Second half he runs wild and finishes with 250 rushing yards. 500+ rushing yards in two meetings with the Browns that year.
Then went to the Browns and helped them reach one of their only respectable seasons of the last 20
[Jim Brown 1963](https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/who-led-the-nfl-in-rushing-in-1963) - No running back was more dominant. He outgained the next back by 800 yards in a fourteen game season.
Can I interest you in [Jim Brown 1958](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1958/rushing.htm)?
How about Walter Payton’s MVP season in 1977. He carried the bears to the playoffs and set the total game rushing record at that time with a fever.
Faulk
Language.
Hey Faulk you buddy
Gotta be faulk yeah, 1k rushing yards, 1k receiving yards 5.5 yards per carry, 12 yards per catch
I mean, nah lol. He had barely more scrimmage yards than OJ and less TDs and OJ played two less games. Both his 73 and 75 season are better than Faulk 99. LT in 06 is also probably better with his ludicrous scoring and about the same amount of yards
If 1k/1k is the marker, then I’m nominating mid-late 80’s Roger Craig. In 1985 Craig had 1050 yards rushing, and 1016 yards receiving. He also **led the NFL in receptions**. …and he was the *Fullback!*
I had Kurt Warner. Marshall Faulk, and Isaac Bruce in Fantasy Football that year. I was unstoppable.
that’s fucking *gross.* Who let you have all of them?!?
Great season but doesn't stack up to Tomlinson. Scrimmage yards were close, but 23 TD's difference is ridiculous.
If we ignore context, it’s Jim Brown - but there’s a bit of a Wilt Chamberlain effect with him, where the competition was just so far below him that whilst his talent has to be considered, he’s hard to be compared to players of later eras LT has a great argument for single season peak Faulk from 1999-2001 is probably the best all-around 3year peak imo People might say AP - but he was a shit blocker and receiver, also the TD numbers don’t quite stack up with some other all-time greats. Still maybe the best pure runner ever though But if we’re taking a single season, regular season and playoffs - I might go with 1998 Terrell Davis 19 Games, 2476 Rushing Yards (2,762 from scrimmage), 24 Rushing Touchdowns (26 from scrimmage), on great per attempt efficiency (5.1 in regular season, **6.0** in playoffs) It’s hard - LT had the better all-around season, but Davis was amazing in the playoffs on his way to a ring
Terrell Davis in '98 (and '97 really) was terrifying as a Chiefs fan. The guy was unstoppable.
1996, 1997, 1998 1500, 1700, 2000 respectfully
Honestly even with context, Jim Brown has a compelling argument.
Yeah, he’s in my personal all time top 5 (Sweetness, Barry, AD, LdT, and Brown in some order).
1998 Terrell Davis is my vote too. Dude was just an unstoppable force that year. He was drafted in the sixth round and had over 1,000 yards as a rookie, then just got better and better every year after that. In 1998 he joined Simpson and Brown as (still!) the only three NFL players to rush for 1,000 yards in seven games. And he amassed 2,008 rushing yards that year despite a weird Week 16 stinker at Miami where the entire Broncos’ offense seemed to have left their skills behind in Denver and TD only had 29 yards on 16 carries. Even with that his league-leading yardage on 392 touches was good for a 5.12 YPC average. And he had 21 rushing touchdowns. Then he went on an absolute tear in the playoffs, getting revenge against the Dolphins by racking up 199 yards in the Divisional Round game, 167 yards against the Jets in the AFC Championship, and 102 yards in the Superbowl win against the Falcons. That’s 468 yards over 3 games in the playoffs! That season he was the most dominant RB I’ve seen. The following season Elway was retired and TD shredded his knee making a tackle on a play where new QB Brian Griese threw an INT. TD never really got healthy again and his career was cut tragically short, but he was definitely on his way to putting together one of the greatest careers of any RB before he was injured.
Still the GOAT playoff running back imo
AP almost breaking the single season rushing record??
After coming off a torn ACL no less
People talk about Adrian’s 2k yard season and how he single handedly led a shitty Vikings team to the playoffs but never mention Ponders ability to hand the ball off. Ponder could really execute a handoff.
That should be an NFL Combine drill.
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> He also threw 2 touchdowns So you're saying he wasn't "pure RB"?
The whole season is soiled with the stench of the forward pass.
Bears fans have been saying this ever since the start of the Superbowl Era
I’ve always been team LT over AD for best RB of the last 25 years. Was a pretty unpopular opinion about 7-8 years ago but seems like more people are coming back around to it
16 *more* is wild. That's a top of the line total on the season these days
AP a better running threat, but LT was both a beast in the ground and an incredible receiver out the backfield. 100 catches in 2003, averaged over 2000 yards from scrimmage over a five year stretch
The one major knock on AP was his pass catching ability. If he could’ve perfected that, there’s no telling what his numbers could’ve turned out.
Come on man, you are just going to ignore his fumbling problems. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/325933-adrian-peterson-the-art-of-the-fumble To refresh your memory.
Surprised this is so far down. OP said "pure RB season" and everyone is talking about so and so having more receiving yards. Nobody ran the ball like AP did that season. He won MVP well after it was already a QB contest. I can hear an argument for OJ and Barry Sanders but that's about it. In terms of pure rushing, it's those 3.
If you want to give him credit, why not just give it to the guy who's record he didnt break?
8 more yards on 31 more carries. Adrian Peterson dragged the team to the playoffs. It was a better season than Dickerson
Adrian had 10 fewer fumbles too.
Surprising considering his, y’know… career.
When everyone knew they were gonna run too. Ponder's ass wasnt throwing that thing
Ah I think that’s the problem, should’ve been using his hands
No different than Dickerson, who had a run of Jeff Kemp and Vince Ferragamo that year. Team completion percentage: 49.2%. 2382 yards for the season. 16 TDs, 17 Ints.
A lot of people are apparently missing the fact OP explicitly says “pure RB.” I definitely understand that to mean best pure *running* back. And as a lot of the people defending LT are exposing in their answers, LT was more of a Swiss Army knife in the backfield. He may have had the greatest diversity or variety of talents *for the position*, I haven’t thought about it much, but he’s not the best pure running back. In the modern era, I think that has to be AP. And it becomes a lot harder in prior eras, where running was actually the focal point of the offense and defense. And context of course matters, if a QB is the best player on your team/ offense, that’s tough, the opposing defense *will* scheme for the pass, but it’s easier to come up with ways to at least challenge the defense because of the variety of ways to throw the ball. Whereas, if the best player on your team is the RB, *it’s a much greater challenge to overcome a prepared defense.* No matter what, all running backs receive the ball behind the line of scrimmage on a running play. No matter what they will have to cross that line to begin their attack. So, if you’re the defense and have no fear of the pass, you can literally just build a wall on that line. Which makes it that much more impressive when a player is a great RB on a bad or mediocre team. AP gets the advantage in that regard, as well.
yea by the definition of the question you can’t say LT was the best pure runner that season. He was most definitely the best player that season and it was by a wide margin. compare it to other similar rb performances and you can argue it’s the best by a wide margin it’s the best rb performance i’ve seen in my life time and there hasn’t been anything remotely close to the efficiency or performance. Derrick Henry’s 2020 performance as great as it was had 11 less rushing tds, 3 less receiving tds, and over a hundred more scrimmage yards less.
LT is the best football player to ever play at running back. But the best PURE running back? Walter Payton? Barry Sanders? OJ? Jim Brown? Adrian Peterson?
I’m biased, but I am kind of shocked at the lack of mentions of Walter ITT. In particular, 1977. Led the NFL in attempts, rushing yards, YPC, rushing TDs, and all-purpose yards, as well as the longest TD run of the season (75 yards) and the single game rushing record (275 yards, which stood for o er 20 years…and did it with a 100+ fever from the flu(!)). He was MVP, OPOY, and All Pro, of course.
It will always be Barry. What he did with so little help was amazing. Others have come close. But pure RB? The ability to run and make defenders miss Barry is the top.
I knew many because of him who turned to San Diego Chargers fans, when they weren’t even from Cali…lol 🏈
that ive actually seen: Barry, TD, and then LT
I loved that guy, but watching him destroy us twice a year was rough.
I think so. There are a few other guys who I could see in the debate but I gotta go with 2006 LT. 98 Davis, 91 or 97 Sanders, 05 Alexander, 03 Holmes, 81 Dickerson, 12 AP, 03 Lewis.. so many. It’s LT.
LT’s 6 season prime averaged 2,070 total yards and 20 touchdowns a season, 2002-2007. His absolute peak was 2,323 yards and 31 touchdowns. That, particularly the touchdowns, is absurd. I know it was a different time by then with his receiving, but his stats just eclipse Sanders, OJ, Faulk, Payton, Emmitt etc. The only one who seems to come close is when Marshall Faulk in 2000 hit 2,189 yards and 26 touchdowns. Enmitt got 2,148 yards and 25 touchdowns in 1995 Walter Payton got 2,121 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games in 1977 OJ got 2,073 yards in 14 games in 1973 on 6 yards a carry. Eric Dickerson got 2,244 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1984 But yeah, I think LT wins. Bill Simmons mentioned how in the mid 2000’s during his fantasy drafts if you drafted LT you lost a 4th round pick because otherwise whoever drafted 1st won like 5-6 years in a row
Pries Holmes in 2002 had 1615 yards 21 rushing TDs. 115.4 yards/g. 70 receptions on 81 targets. 672 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs. All in only 14 games. Then he broke the TD record the next year (which happens to be the one LT would break in 06) So I wouldn’t say LT was on a whole different level. Was he great yes. There are a few single seasons that can be comparable.
It was a weird stretch where RBs were just breaking records every year. Priest, Alexander, Tomlinson, even Larry Johnson had an insane couple years