Here’s a look at the other eight:
O.J. Simpson | Buffalo Bills | 1973
The former Heisman winner got 1973 off to a hot start with 250 yards and two scores against the New England Patriots in Week 1. He’d go on to rush for over 100 yards eight times that year with a pair of 200-yard games to end the 14-game regular season with 2,003 yards. His average of 143.07 yards per game remains an NFL record.
Eric Dickerson | Los Angeles Rams | 1984
Dickerson set the NFL’s single-season rushing record with 2,105 yards in 1984 and nearly hit the mark the year before with 1,808 yards and 18 touchdowns as a rookie out of Southern Methodist University. He played 11 years for the Rams, Colts, Raiders and Falcons, finishing his career with 13,259 yards, ninth-most in NFL history.
Barry Sanders | Detroit Lions | 1997
Sanders joined the Lions as the third-overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft and spent his entire 10-year career with Detroit. Unlike Simpson, Sanders’ career got off to a slow start with just 53 yards in his first two starts and no touchdowns in his first six games. He made up for it with 2,053 yards in 1997 and, despite his relatively short career, he’s still the NFL’s all-time fourth-leading rusher with 15,269 yards.
Terrell Davis | Denver Broncos | 1998
One year after being named MVP of Super Bowl XXXII and setting a postseason record with eight rushing touchdowns, Davis outdid himself by running for 2,008 yards en route to a second-straight Super Bowl title in 1998. Unfortunately, a knee injury limited the Hall of Famer to just 17 games over the next three seasons before retiring in 2002.
Jamal Lewis | Baltimore Ravens | 2003
Not only did Lewis break the NFL’s single-game rushing record with 295 yards against the Browns in Week 2 of the 2003 season, he finished the year with 2,066 yards. Lewis had 7,801 yards and 45 touchdowns in six years with the Ravens and remains Baltimore’s all-time rushing leader over Ray Rice (6,180), who also played six years for the team.
