Who Has The Most Yards Per Carry In NFL History?
Contents
Who Has The Most Yards Per Carry In NFL History?
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for thirteen seasons and retired as the league’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. He is also the only running back to have won a Super Bowl MVP award.
His career
As a rookie in 1990, Emmitt Smith was the NFL’s leading rusher. He continued to lead the league in that category for each of his first four seasons. In 1992, he helped the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowl XXVII. The following year, he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. In 1995, he helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XXX. Smith retired from the NFL in 2004 as its all-time leading rusher.
His best season
Emmitt Smith’s best season was in 1995, when he rushed for 1,773 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also had 62 receptions for 615 yards and 4 touchdowns that year. Smith was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders was a running back for the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1998. He is considered one of the greatest running backs of all time. Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He was known for his quickness and elusiveness.
His career
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former professional American football player who was a running back for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A pro-bowler in each of his 10 NFL seasons and twice named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and amassed 15,269 total rushing yards from 1989 to 1998. He is considered one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
During his career, Sanders had at least 1,100 rushing yards in each season. He also had over 200 rushing yards in seven different games, and ran for over 300 yards in three different games. In 1997, he broke the 2,000-yard barrier with his 2,053-yard season. That year he also became only the third player to have more than 2,000 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards in the same season.
In 1999, Sanders retired from football after just 10 seasons. At the time of his retirement, he was only 1,457 yards shy of Walter Payton’s all-time NFL rushing record. His sudden retirement surprised many because he had shown no signs of declining performance and was still in his physical prime.
His best season
In 1997, Sanders had what many consider the greatest single-season rushing performance in NFL history. He gained 2,053 yards, caught 31 passes for 322 yards, and scored 11 touchdowns. He also broke his own NFL record for most yards gained in a season, despite playing in only 14 games.
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.
His career
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, and was drafted by the Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Peterson set an NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in a game against the San Diego Chargers in 2007. In 2012, he became the only running back to average over six yards per carry in a single season, and he also set the NFL single-season rushing record that year with 2,097 yards. Peterson was named the NFL MVP for 2012 and is a six-time Pro Bowl selection. Peterson has been ranked as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history by numerous analysts and coaches.
His best season
In 2012, Adrian Peterson had one of the best seasons for a running back in NFL history. He rushed for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.0 yards per carry. He also had eight 100-yard rushing games and was named the NFL MVP. Peterson’s performance helped the Vikings reach the playoffs, where they lost to the Packers in the Wild Card round.