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NFL 2,000-Yard Rushers

Only 8 players have rushed for at least 2,000 yards during a regular NFL season. Can you name them all?
All-time record indicated with a yellow box
Quiz by LtHurwitz
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Last updated: January 3, 2021
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First submittedJuly 22, 2014
Times taken14,835
Average score62.5%
Rating4.16
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Yards
Year
Player
2027
2020
Derrick Henry
2097
2012
Adrian Peterson
2006
2009
Chris Johnson
2066
2003
Jamal Lewis
2008
1998
Terrell Davis
2053
1997
Barry Sanders
2105
1984
Eric Dickerson
2003
1973
O. J. Simpson
+3
Level 75
Dec 2, 2019
Anyone else find it rather odd that four of the last names end with "son" and all seven have generic-ish last names?
+9
Level 84
Dec 25, 2019
That's cuz they're all Swedish.
+1
Level 73
Jan 4, 2021
LOL
+1
Level 75
Jan 4, 2021
slavery.
+1
Level 84
Jan 9, 2021
?????
+2
Level 46
Jan 11, 2021
They took on the names of the enslavers.
+1
Level 73
Dec 4, 2019
With the move toward more passing-centric offenses, one wonders if, or when, there will ever be another 2,000 yard rusher.

I feel it would have to be done by someone with an astronomical YPC since backs just don't get the handoffs they used to.

Larry Johnson's 416 carries in a year may be safe forever if current trends continue, but, you never know.

+2
Level 75
Dec 25, 2019
Ah yes, the year that Herm Edwards decided that the high-octane, ultra-efficient Chiefs' offence needed to be slowed down so that it wouldn't score too quickly. Seriously, this is what he thought. If Dick Vermeil had been dead he would have rolled over in his grave.
+2
Level 67
Dec 25, 2019
Teams are also investing more in multiple running backs because the position is so bruising that it's really difficult to plan on having your back healthy all season. So they're spreading around the carries, which makes it harder for one guy to amass big numbers. Unless you have an All-Pro talent like Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley, teams would rather just pay two decent running backs to split time, rather than spend a high draft pick and a ton of money on a guy who has a 50/50 shot of playing the entire season.
+1
Level 65
Dec 25, 2019
If anyone does it, it'll be Saquon Barkley. That dude in an absolute tank.
+1
Level 75
Dec 25, 2019
For sure. It also helps to have a terrible passing game. Like with McCaffrey though, his chances might actually be hurt by how many balls he catches coming out of the backfield (given their workload management).
+1
Level 61
Dec 26, 2019
The same is true for Barkley. In fact most top backs these days are good pass catchers.
+1
Level 23
Apr 18, 2020
Or Zeke
+7
Level 68
Jan 4, 2021
Welp Saquon tore his ACL so Derrick Henry decided that he would just do it instead
+10
Level 84
Jan 4, 2021
And thirteen months after markthoma's comment, we have a new 2,000-yard rusher. It wasn't even an unreasonable comment, but is shows how unknowable the future is.
+3
Level 67
Dec 25, 2019
2,000 yards is about 1.125 miles. In the best individual seasons in history, these guys ran a little over a mile, spread across sixteen weeks. 1,000 yards rushing is considered a solid season, which means that you're doing a good job as a running back if you run a little over half a mile in sixteen weeks combined. Really puts into perspective how hard it is to gain yardage in the NFL. (And yes, I know they run a lot without the ball, plus block and catch passes. I'm just musing a little.)
+1
Level 61
Dec 26, 2019
OJ was so amazing that 1973 wasn't even his best all around season.
+1
Level 88
Dec 30, 2019
Plus he was the only one to do it in a 14-game season; the rest had 16 games. A shame that it is sullied by his post-football life.
+1
Level 23
Mar 10, 2020
I did the math. He would have beat the record by around 184 yards if it had been a 16 game season. Also yes, it is a shame
+4
Level ∞
Jan 4, 2021
Apparently, you can predict a running back's performance in the NFL to a decent degree of accuracy using their Speed Score which is defined as (Weight * 200)/(40 time^4).

Derrick Henry had a ridiculously high speed score of 116.3.

My personal opinion is that you could modify this further by giving players a boost for being shorter. Some of the best speed scores of all time have been recorded by receivers like D.K. Metcalf who are tool tall to be effective running backs.

+1
Level 75
Jan 4, 2021
That's actually quite interesting that that works
+2
Level 73
Jan 4, 2021
DERRICK HENRY BABY!!!!!!!!!!
+1
Level 95
Jan 5, 2021
wtf I just spent only 13 seconds to solve this one
+1
Level 67
Jan 6, 2021
I got the first seven in a flash, then had to think a little before getting Terrell Davis, in part because his yard tally is 2008, which I kept thinking was the year of the accomplishment. I got there though.