Terrell Davis’ rushing records may be eclipsed this weekend. And if not, possibly in Super Bowl LIX in 16 days.
Back in the late 90s, Davis put together historical rushing campaigns in back-to-back years. All as the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls.
But now, the Hall of Fame legend’s numbers could fall due to the fantastic season Saquon Barkley is having.
Terrell Davis’ rushing records may fall this weekend or in the Super Bowl
Rewind 28 years and the Denver Broncos hadn’t won a Super Bowl yet. 37 years into their existence–and 14 years into John Elway’s career–and many wondered if the Broncos would ever win the big one.
Elway had been to three Super Bowls himself, in the 80s, and the Broncos lost all of them. They were also defeated by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII way back in 1977.
But Mike “The Mastermind” Shanahan came up with the perfect scheme to help Elway and the Broncos franchise over the hump. He utilized the then-revolutionary zone blocking scheme, having lighter and quicker linemen move in unison and pick up any defender in their “zone.”
And Davis was the perfect back for the scheme because of his downhill running style and fearlessness when busting through a hole. After breaking out in that 1995 season, and winning Offensive Player of the Year in 1996, he continued a meteoric rise in 1997.
That year, Davis rushed for 1,750 yards and an NFL-leading 15 touchdowns in the regular season. He was a true workhorse back, touching the ball an NFL-high 411 times that year. That postseason was something spectacular for Davis.
He ran for 581 yards and 8 touchdowns in four games and was unstoppable. He bruised opponents, wore them down, and then hit big, gash runs. Davis didn’t usually have the speed to run away from defenders to the house. But he did enjoy 27-plus yard runs in every game. Including a 59-yarder against Jacksonville.
When it was all said and done, TD scored 3 TDs against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII and Denver was finally a Super Bowl champion. Plus, Davis won Super Bowl MVP.
Davis won NFL MVP in 1998, his greatest season in the NFL. He led the league in yards (2,008), touchdowns (21), yards per carry (5.1) and yards per game (125.5). Not only did he magically run past the 2,000-yard mark–galloping for 178 yards in the final game–but he went off in the playoffs again. And the Broncos won the Super Bowl again, though Shanahan used him as a decoy in the biggest game of the year.
Terrell Davis’ rushing records are from those two seasons. He has the most rushing yards ever when combining regular season and playoffs with 2,331 in 1997, and then 2,476 in 1998.
Davis was the greatest running back in Denver Broncos history. And that’s no disrespect to Floyd Little, Sammy Winder, Otis Armstong, or anyone else. Enjoy this short highlight tape celebrating TD’s career.
Saquon Barkley is likely to move into second, could take the all-time record for yards in a season including postseason
27 years after Davis’ magical 2,000-yard season and Saquon Barkley just put up his own 2,000-yard season. He’s only the ninth back to eclipse the mark.
Barkley has been flat-out incredible this year, his first with the Eagles after spending six with the perennially awful New York Giants.
Unlike Davis, Barkley is a homerun threat whenever he has the ball in his hands. Last week in the win over the LA Rams in the snow, Barkley enjoyed a 62-yard run to the house in which he celebrated by smacking his own helmet multiple times in the field of play. That was his fifth 60-yard TD run this year, a new NFL record.
This Sunday, Barkley and the Eagles face the upstart Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. He’s already played the intradivisional Commanders twice this year, with games of 146 and 150 yards and two touchdowns each.
And as of today, Barkley needs only three yards to pass Davis for second-most in a single season including the playoffs.
Terrell Davis still holds the two records, but will they both fall this year?
So, there’s little doubt he will do just that.
However, will Barkley take both of Terrell Davis rushing records?
To do so, he needs 148 yards.
Considering his success against the Commanders defense this year–and the fact the Eagles have seemingly forgotten how to pass the ball–Barkley could become the all-time leader this weekend. Philly threw for a net 65 yards against the Rams, the least in a playoff game in a decade.
If he doesn’t get the record this week, Davis’ record depends on the outcome of the game. If the Commanders win, and Barkley doesn’t get 148 yards, Davis’ record remains his. If the Eagles win, it may come down to Super Bowl LIX. And depending on how good a game Barkley has this Sunday, Davis’ record could fall early in that game.
So, do Broncos fans now root for the Commanders to keep Davis’ record intact? Or is it more entertaining to root for one of the greatest running back seasons in NFL history by Barkley and the Eagles?
Washington (14-5) and Philadelphia (16-3) face each other at 1 p.m. MT on Sunday, Jan 26 on FOX.
