2012 turned out to be a record breaking year for some while some came oh so close to breaking other records. While Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson passed Jerry Rice as the single-season receiving yards leader, but narrowly missed becoming the first ever to get 2,000 receiving yards, coming up short by just 36-yards.
Meanwhile Adrian Peterson became the seventh running back to rush for over 2,000-yards while coming up 9-yards short of surpassing Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 single season rushing mark.
And so after the game the comparisons started, who was truly better. Both Dickerson and Peterson played in a 16-game season and played all 16-games, but Dickerson had 31 more rushing attempts to get his record. One more run for Peterson and he would have gotten the record.
But what about O.J. Simpson?
He was the only running back to rush for 2,000-yards in a 14-game season. What if Simpson had played in a 16-game season, what would the single-season rushing record look like? What if Jim Brown had a crack at it?
So let’s have some fun and look at the top single-season rushing leaders along with a few other running backs who played in 12 and 14-game seasons.
Best Rushing Single Season (Regardless of Games Played)
Rank Player Year Team Games Att Yards Y/A TD Y/G
- Eric Dickerson 1984 Rams 16 379 2105 5.55 14 131.6
- Adrian Peterson 2012 Vikings 16 348 2097 6.03 12 131.1
- Jamal Lewis 2003 Ravens 16 387 2066 5.34 14 129.1
- Barry Sanders 1997 Lions 16 335 2053 6.13 11 128.3
- Terrell Davis 1998 Broncos 16 392 2008 5.12 21 125.5
- Chris Johnson 2009 Titans 16 358 2006 5.60 14 125.4
- O.J. Simpson 1973 Bills 14 332 2003 6.03 12 143.1
- Earl Campbell 1980 Oilers 15 373 1934 5.18 13 128.9
- Jim Brown 1963 Browns 14 291 1863 6.40 12 133.1
- Walter Payton 1977 Bears 14 339 1852 5.46 14 132.3
- O.J. Simpson 1975 Bills 14 329 1817 5.52 16 129.8
- Jim Brown 1958 Browns 12 257 1527 5.94 17 127.3
Now let’s look at what the Single Season Rushing Leader would look like if they all played a 16-game season. How did I come up with the numbers? Took the average yards-per-game and multiplied it by 16. Therefore the Attempts, Yards-Per-Rush Average and Touchdowns are taken off the equation.
Best Rushing Single Season (If All the Top Running Backs Played the Same 16-Game Season)
Rank Player Year Team Games Yards Y/G
- O.J. Simpson 1973 Bills 16 2290 143.1
- Jim Brown 1963 Browns 16 2130 133.1
- Walter Payton 1977 Bears 16 2117 132.3
- Eric Dickerson 1984 Rams 16 2105 131.6
- Adrian Peterson 2012 Vikings 16 2097 131.1
- O.J. Simpson 1975 Bills 16 2077 129.8
- Jamal Lewis 2003 Ravens 16 2066 129.1
- Earl Campbell 1980 Oilers 16 2062 128.9
- Barry Sanders 1997 Lions 16 2053 128.3
- Jim Brown 1958 Browns 16 2037 127.3
- Terrell Davis 1998 Broncos 16 2008 125.5
- Chris Johnson 2009 Titans 16 2006 125.4
Let’s look at the Single-Season Receiving Yards in a season leaders. The majority of them played in 16-game seasons so I took the top three and then found the best 12 and 14-game seasons by some of the NFL’s greatest receivers to see how they measure up with the leaders of today.
Best Single-Season Receiving Yards in a Season (Regardless of Games Played)
Rank Player Year Team Games Rec Yards Y/R TD Y/G
- Calvin Johnson 2012 Lions 16 122 1,964 16.1 5 122.8
- Jerry Rice 1995 49ers 16 122 1,848 15.1 15 115.5
- Isaac Bruce 1995 Rams 16 119 1,781 15.0 13 111.3
- Charley Hennigan 1961 Oilers 14 82 1,746 21.3 12 124.7
- Lance Alworth 1965 Chargers 14 69 1,602 23.2 14 114.4
- Elroy Hirsch 1951 Rams 12 66 1,495 22.7 17 124.6
- Don Mayard 1967 Jets 14 71 1,434 20.2 10 102.4
- Don Hutson 1942 Packers 12 74 1,211 16.4 17 110.1
Now let’s look at what the Single Season Receiving Leaders would look like if they all played a 16-game season. How did I come up with the numbers? Took the average yards-per-game and multiplied it by 16. Therefore the Receptions, Yards-Per-Reception Average and Touchdowns are taken off the equation.
Best Single-Season Receiving Yards in a Season (If All the Top Wide Receivers Played the Same 16-Game Season)
Rank Player Year Team Games Yards Y/G
- Charley Hennigan 1961 Oilers 16 1,995 124.7
- Elroy Hirsch 1951 Rams 16 1,994 124.6
- Calvin Johnson 2012 Lions 16 1,964 122.8
- Jerry Rice 1995 49ers 16 1,848 115.5
- Lance Alworth 1965 Chargers 16 1,830 114.4
- Isaac Bruce 1995 Rams 16 1,781 111.3
- Don Hutson 1942 Packers 16 1,762 110.1
- Don Mayard 1967 Jets 16 1,638 102.4
Ever thought who would be the career rushing leader had Jim Brown played in full 16-game seasons instead of 12 and 14 game seasons? Or what if Barry Sanders never walked away from the game, would he be the career rushing leader?
Career NFL Rushing Leaders
Rank Player Team Years Games Yards Y/A Y/G
- Emmitt Smith Cowboys 15 226 18,355 4.2 81.2
- Walter Payton Bears 13 190 16,726 4.4 88.0
- Barry Sanders Lions 10 153 15,269 5.0 99.8
- Jim Brown Browns 9 118 12,312 5.2 104.3
So let’s put all the running backs on the same level playing field. All things being equal, let’s say all four running back all played the highest number of years as Emmitt Smith, which is 15 seasons, then let’s say they all played those 15 seasons in 16-game seasons, never missing a game due to injury. Using their average-yard-per game over 240 games in the course of a 15 year career, what would the career rushing leaders look like?
Career NFL Rushing Leaders Now
Rank Player Team Years Games Yards Y/A Y/G
- Jim Brown Browns 15 240 25,032 5.2 104.3
- Barry Sanders Lions 15 240 23,952 5.0 99.8
- Walter Payton Bears 15 240 21,120 4.4 88.0
- Emmitt Smith Cowboys 15 240 19,488 4.2 81.2
This is a fun attempt to see how things might look differently if they too had the benefit of a 16-game season. So let the debating begin, the minds think and wonder the “what-if” of what the NFL Record Book might look like today.
