Terrell Davis was a lot of things for the Denver Broncos. He was the best running back in team history. He was a Super Bowl MVP. His story of going from nothing to something ranks up there with the best in league history.
But his best personal accomplishment was winning the league MVP award in 1998. That was fueled by the fact that he eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark in rushing yards.
To that point, only three players in NFL history had reached 2,000 yards rushing in a single season. Davis ran for 1,750 yards the year before and he cracked 1,500 the year before that.
But the 1998 season was different.
The Broncos started that season 13-0 en route to their second straight Super Bowl win. Davis and his ability to pile up yards on the ground was the main catalyst for that.
Looking at Davis’ game log that season, he was actually held under 100 yards in five different games, including just 29 yards in Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins. That left him 170 yards away from the mark heading into the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks, but the Broncos made sure he got it that day.
He rushed for 178 yards on 29 carries against the Seahawks.
It was significant because he would rush for a total of just 1,194 yards over the next three seasons before his career ended prematurely due to injuries. Without that 2,000 yard season, would Davis have gotten elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
That’s a fair question to ask.
To this day, the NFL has had a 2,000-yard rusher just seven times. Davis’ name will always be on that list.
