Plenty of big names had big games to push themselves to the top of the single-season rushing list for each NFL teams. You will recognize a lot of the seasons immediately. There are, however, some performances that will surprise you as the best of the best.
Arizona Cardinals: Ottis Anderson
A Super Bowl MVP has the best season for a Cardinal running back by yardage. Oh, it wasn’t for the Cardinals. In 1979, Ottis Anderson rushed for 1,605 yards. The Giants’ Super Bowl MVP in XXV, has the top four seasons by yardage for Cardinals RB.
Atlanta Falcons: Jamal Anderson
Jamal Anderson rushed for 1,846 yards in 1998. The Dirty Bird averaged 4.5 yards per carry and scored 14 TDs.
Baltimore Ravens: Jamal Lewis
Jamal Lewis is one of the RBs in the 2,000 club. He rushed for 2,066 yards in 2003. Lewis averaged an astounding 5.3 yards per carry.
Buffalo Bills
The top rushing season by a Bill is O.J. Simpson with 2,003 in 1973. And we will leave it at that.
Carolina Panthers: DeAngelo Williams
DeAngelo Williams rushed for 1,515 yards in 2008. Williams scored 18 TDs and gained an averaged of 5.5 yards per carry. As a team, the Panthers have only had six seasons where an RB has cracked the four-figure plateau.
Chicago Bears
Absolutely no surprise that Walter Payton is the Bears’ leading rusher. “Sweetness” rushed for 1,852 yards in 1977. He has the top eight seasons for Chicago. Payton had a long run of 73 yards in ’77 and scored 14 TDs.
Cincinnati Bengals: Rudi Johnson
Rudi Johnson rushed for 1,458 yards in 2005, He also led the Bengals’ ground game in 2004. Johnson and Corey Dillon split the top six spots on the Cincinnati rushing list.
Cleveland Browns: Jim Brown
The top six seasonal performances by a Cleveland Brown belong tot he legendary Jim Brown. His best season by yardage was 1963 when he rushed for 1,863 yards.
Dallas Cowboys: DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray is the top rusher by yardage for a Cowboy. He rushed for 1,845 yardage in 2014. Pretty amazing when you consider the team has had the likes of Tony Dorsett, Emmitt Smith, Ezekiel Elliott and Herschel Walker at one time or another.
Denver Broncos
Terrell Davis has the top two slots for the Denver Broncos. His best was 2,008 in 1998, which followed a 1,750-yard season in 1997.
Detroit Lions: Barry Sanders
The legendary Barry Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997. He has nine of the top 10 seasons by a Detroit RB. The only person keeping Sanders from all 10 is Billy Sims, who gained 1,352 yards on the ground in 1981.
Green Bay Packers: Ahman Green
Ahman Green has the perfect last name to be a Packer. The RB holds the record for the best season with 1,883 in 2003. Next up? You have to go all the way to Jim Taylor in 1962 with 1,474 yards.
Houston Texans: Arian Foster
Arian Foster has four of the five best seasons by a Houston Texans RB. He has the top two and then Steve Slaton steps onto the list before Foster comes back with another pair. The Tennessee star leads the way with 1,616 in 2010.
Indianapolis Colts: Edgerrin James
Edgerrin James has four of the top five seasons by a Colts RB. His 1,709 yards in 2000 tops Eric Dickerson’s 1998 output.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurcie Jones-Drew rushed for 1,606 yards in 2011. MJD has three of the top five rushing seasons by a Jaguar. The other two belong to Fred Taylor.
Kansas City Chiefs: Larry Johnson
The Chiefs have had their share of great RBs. The top two seasons belong to Larry Johnson, who rushed for 1,789 yards in 2006. In all, Chiefs rushers have had 18 1,000-yard seasons.
Los Angeles Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson
Another Hall of Famer, LaDainian Tomlinson has the top five, six of seven and seven of nine of the best rushing seasons by a Charger. His 1,815 in 2006 is tops. Tomlinson averaged 5.2 ypc and scored 28 TDs that season.
Los Angeles Rams: Eric Dickerson
The great Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984 and holds the top three slots for a Rams RB.
Miami Dolphins: Ricky Williams
Ricky Williams always kept things interesting. He rushed for 1,853 yards in 2002, a Miami mark. The Dolphins have had 14 1,000-yard seasons, and Williams has the top two.
Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson is still running. When he was in Minnesota, he topped the charts six out of seven times, inlcuding the top two with 2,097 yards in 2012 the bar.
New England Patriots: Corey Dillon
Corey Dillon had a much better career than most people remember. He starred for the Bengals and rushed for 1,635 yards in New England in 2004. The Patriots’ top eight rushing seasons are all by different backs.
New Orleans Saints: George Rogers
The Saints drafted George Rogers before the Giants took Lawrence Taylor. Rogers’ career was checkered, but he did set a team mark with 1,674 yards in 1981.
New York Giants: Tiki Barber
Tiki Barber has the top three seasons by a New York Giant and four of the best five. He rushed for a team record 1,860 yards in 2005.
New York Jets: Curtis Martin
Curtis Martin is a Hall of Famer. His 1,697 yards in 2004 set the mark for Gang Green.
Oakland Raiders: Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen is one of the best RBs in NFL history The former USC great rushed for 1,759 yards in 1985 to set a franchise mark for the Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles: LeSean McCoy
LeSean McCoy flew for 1,607 yards in 2013 to set the mark for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Barry Foster
This would have been a tough one to guess. Barry Foster holds the Steelers’ single-season mark with 1,690 yards in 1992. Jerome Bettis came close with 1,665 yards in 1997.
San Francisco 49ers: Frank Gore
Frank Gore keeps on going and going and … In 2006, the former Miami great had 1,695 yards rushing. That bettered the mark of 1,570 Garrison Hearst posted in 1998.
Seattle Seahawks: Shaun Alexander
Shaun Alexander was a force with the Seahawks. He leads the way with an 1,880-yard season in 2005, and has the top two slots for the team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: James Wilder
You have to go back 35 years to find the best season by a Tampa Bay RB. James Wilder ran up 1,544 yards in 1984. How long has it been? His son, James Jr. is a veteran in the CFL and recently had a tryout with the WWE.
Tennessee Titans: Chris Johnson
Another person in the 2,000-club is Chris Johnson, who went for 2,006 yards in 2009. Too bad he didn’t pick up another three yards as 2,009 in 2,009 would have had a nice synergy.
Washington Redskins: Alfred Morris
The Washington Redskins’ top RB by season is a mild surprise. Alfred Morris had a career year in 2012, rushing for 1,613 yards. That better the mark set by Clinton Portis in 2005 by 97 yards.
