Atlanta Falcons halfback Warrick Dunn recorded 1,140 rushing yards in 2006, the second most yards of any member of a 1,000-yard rushing duo and the most by a halfback.

In American football, running (also referred to as rushing) is, along with passing, one of the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field.[1] A running play generally occurs when the quarterback hands or tosses the ball backwards to the running back,[2] but other players, such as the quarterback, can run with the ball.[1] In the National Football League (NFL), there have been seven pairs of teammates that have each recorded 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Five of these duos consisted of running backs, and two of them consisted of a running back and a quarterback.

The first 1,000-yard duo consisted of fullback Larry Csonka and halfback Mercury Morris. Csonka and Morris accomplished the feat as members of the Miami Dolphins during their 1972 season, when the team finished undefeated and won the Super Bowl. Morris finished with an even 1,000 yards; he had initially been credited with only 991 yards after the end of the regular season due to a statistician's error that incorrectly removed nine yards from his total.[3] The second 1,000-yard tandem occurred four years later in 1976, when fullback Franco Harris and halfback Rocky Bleier both surpassed 1,000 yards playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.[4] Fullback Kevin Mack and halfback Earnest Byner became the third 1,000-yard duo, accomplishing the feat during the 1985 Cleveland Browns season.[5]

In 2006, halfback Warrick Dunn and quarterback Michael Vick became the fourth duo with 1,000 rushing yards in the same season, and the first NFC team with such a duo. Vick also became the first quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season,[6] while Dunn's 1,140 yards are the most by any player in a 1,000-yard duo.[7] Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward of the New York Giants were the fifth duo to accomplish the feat, doing so in 2008.[8] In 2009, Carolina Panthers running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart became the sixth 1,000 yard rushing duo and the first 1,100 yard rushing duo.[7] Quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Mark Ingram II of the Baltimore Ravens are the most recent players to have accomplished the feat, having done so in 2019.[9] Jackson broke Vick's single season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback[10] as well as Dunn's record for the most rushing yards of an member of a 1,000-yard rushing duo.

The 1978 Chicago Bears came the closest to having a 1000 yard duo without succeeding, when Walter Payton finished with 1,305 yards but Roland Harper fell 8 yards short of 1,000 with 992.[11][12] That would have made them the first NFC team with a 1,000 yard rushing duo.[12] The 1973 Cincinnati Bengals came almost as close without having even one 1,000 yard rusher, with Essex Johnson finishing with 997 yards and Boobie Clark finishing with 988 yards.[13][14]

1,000-yard rushing duos

Key
Symbol Meaning
No. nth duo to have 1,000 rushing yards each
Position The player's position
GP Games played
Yds. Rushing yards
Y/A Yards per rushing attempt
TDs Rushing touchdowns
^ Super Bowl champions
† Pro Bowl player
‡ Pro Football Hall of Fame member
* Active NFL player
List of teammates with at least 1,000 rushing yards each
No. Season Team Leading rusher Position Games Yds. Y/A TDs Second-leading rusher Position Games Yds. Y/A TDs Ref(s).
1 1972 Miami Dolphins^ Larry Csonka†‡ Fullback 14 1,117 5.2 6 Mercury Morris† Halfback 14 1,000 5.3 12 [15][16]
2 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers Franco Harris†‡ Fullback 14 1,128 3.9 14 Rocky Bleier Halfback 14 1,036 4.7 5 [17][18]
3 1985 Cleveland Browns Kevin Mack† Fullback 16 1,104 5.0 7 Earnest Byner† Halfback 16 1,002 4.1 8 [19]
4 2006 Atlanta Falcons Warrick Dunn† Halfback 16 1,140 4.0 4 Michael Vick† Quarterback 16 1,039 8.4 2 [20]
5 2008 New York Giants Brandon Jacobs Halfback 13 1,089 5.0 15 Derrick Ward Halfback 16 1,025 5.6 2 [21]
6 2009 Carolina Panthers Jonathan Stewart Halfback 16 1,133 5.1 10 DeAngelo Williams† Halfback 13 1,117 5.2 7 [22]
7 2019 Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson †* Quarterback 15 1,206 6.9 7 Mark Ingram II †* Halfback 15 1,018 5.0 10 [23][24]

References

  1. 1 2 "Beginner's Guide to Football". National Football League. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  2. ↑ "The Run". NFL360.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ↑ "1,000-yard Duo: Csonka and Morris". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  4. ↑ "Harris and Bleier rush for 1,000 yards". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  5. ↑ "Browns' 1,000-yard backs: Mack and Byner". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  6. ↑ "1,000-yard duo". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  7. 1 2 "Panthers could become first team to have two 1,100-yard rushers in same season". The Charlotte Observer. December 31, 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  8. ↑ "Giants 1,000-yard duo: Jacobs and Ward". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  9. ↑ "Ravens' Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram II become seventh pair to rush for 1,000 yards in same season". Baltimore Sun. December 22, 2019. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  10. ↑ "Lamar Jackson breaks single-season QB rushing record". NFL.com. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  11. ↑ "1978 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  12. 1 2 "Bears snuff out Redskins season". News Press. December 17, 1978. p. 51. Retrieved 2019-01-31 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "1973 Cincinnati Bengals". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  14. ↑ "Bengals Earn Title and a Lecture". Dayton Daily News. December 17, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 2019-01-31 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "1972 Miami Dolphins". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Larry Csonka". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  17. ↑ "1976 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Franco Harris". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  19. ↑ "1985 Cleveland Browns". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  20. ↑ "2006 Atlanta Falcons". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  21. ↑ "2008 New York Giants". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  22. ↑ "2009 Carolina Panthers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  23. ↑ "Lamar Jackson Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  24. ↑ "Mark Ingram Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
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