Eric Dickerson: Rushing Milestone

Eric Dickerson: Rushing Milestone

[paypal_donation_button]Eric Dickerson: Rushing Milestone

The professional football career path for running back Eric Dickerson initially wasn’t so clear. After enjoying a successful stint in college football playing for the “Pony Express” Southern Methodist University Mustangs teams of the early 1980’s, Dickerson once considered playing in the United States Football League, and specifically for the Los Angeles Express. After considering all his options, Dickerson chose to enter the National Football League instead, and this turned out to be the right decision as he became the #2 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Dickerson still got to go to Los Angeles after all, but as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

Debuting in the NFL in 1983, Dickerson immediately became a success story as he emerged as one of the game’s best running backs. In his rookie season Dickerson had 1,808 rushing yards off 390 total rushing attempts, scoring 18 rushing touchdowns along the way while averaging 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 113 rushing yards per game. Dickerson fared well in the receiving game as well as he had 51 receptions for 404 yards, catching 2 touchdown passes.

What ultimately set Dickerson apart from other stud running backs would be his unbelievable run into the record books in 1984. Though he had fewer rushing attempts with 379, Dickerson had 2,105 rushing yards, scoring 14 rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per rushing attempt and 131.6 rushing yards per game. When evaluating his game by game approach to capturing the single season record for most rushing yards, it will become clear as to how gifted and resilient Dickerson had to be in order to make the 2,000-yard rushing club.

In Week 1 on September 3 in a 20-13 loss against the Dallas Cowboys Dickerson had 21 carries for 138 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per rush. In Week 2 on September 9 in a 20-17 win over the Cleveland Browns Dickerson had 27 carries for 102 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per rush. Losing 24-14 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 on September 16 Dickerson had 23 carries for 49 yards, averaging only 2.1 yards per rush. The Rams rebounded to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 on September 23 24-14, and Dickerson had 22 carries for 89 yards, averaging 4 yards per rush. In Week 5 on September 30 the Rams beat the New York Giants 33-12, and Dickerson had 22 carries for 120 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per rush.

In Week 6 on October 7 in a close 30-28 loss against the Atlanta Falcons Dickerson had 19 carries for 107 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per rush. In a 28-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 on October 14 Dickerson had 20 carries for 175 yards, averaging 8.8 yards per rush. The Rams got their payback on the Falcons in Week 8 on October 22 as they won 24-10, and Dickerson had 24 carries for 145 yards, averaging 6 yards per rush.

The San Francisco 49ers, led by quarterback Joe Montana, had their way with the Rams as they won in a 33-0 shutout in Week 9 on October 28, and Dickerson was kept in check to just 38 yards off 13 carries, averaging only 2.9 yards per rush. In Week 11 on November 4 the Rams bounced back to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 16-13, and Dickerson had 21 carries for 208 yards, averaging 9.9 yards per rush. In Week 11 on November 11 the Rams faced a team that was just 1 year away from realizing their true Super Bowl Shuffling potential in the Chicago Bears, and the Rams triumphed by the score of 29-13. Dickerson had 28 carries for 149 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per rush.

In Week 12 on November 18 the Green Bay Packers beat the Rams 31-6, but Dickerson did have a good game as he had 25 carries for 132 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per rush. In Week 13 on November 25 the Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-33, and Dickerson had 28 carries for 191 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per rush. In Week 14 on December 2 the Rams beat the Saints 34-21, and Dickerson had 33 carries for 149 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per rush. In Week 15 on December 9 the Rams beat the Houston Oilers 27-16, and Dickerson had 27 carries for 215 yards, averaging 8 yards per rush. The game against the Oilers marked the moment when Dickerson passed former Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson’s single season record of 2,003 rushing yards. Finally on on Week 16 on December 14 in a 19-16 loss to the 49ers Dickerson had 26 carries and 98 yards to finish his historic regular season, averaging 3.8 yards per rush.

Well after his amazing 1984 season Eric Dickerson continued to impress football fans across America, and though he would change scenery a few times, being traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Indianapolis Colts, and later on in his career to the Los Angeles Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons, Dickerson remained an intimidating force in the offensive backfield.

The aggressive style of running that Dickerson possessed was nearly unmatched by other running backs of his day. There wouldn’t be legitimate threats to Dickerson’s 1984 record until the likes of Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans in 2009 (2,006 yards), Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos in 1998 (2,008), Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions in 1997 (2,053), Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens in 2003 (2,066), and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings in 2012 (2,097) came around.