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What if I told you there is a running back out there who played in just eight playoff games in his career, yet rushed for 1140 yards and 12 touchdowns? That’s a 2280 yard and 24 touchdown sixteen game season, yet Hall of Fame voters seem to think playoff dominance isn’t all that important compared to regular season stats.
In a three years span, Terrell Davis ran wild against the NFL’s best teams. The Denver Broncos rode his production to back-to-back Super Bowl championships. In fact, the one time the Broncos didn’t stick to their Davis formula they lost 30-27 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, Davis still had 91 yards rushing on just 14 carries and added another seven catches for 24 yards. If only they had stuck to their winning game plan that day.
| Year | Opp | Result | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Result | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Pts |
| 1996 | JAX | L 27-30 | 14 | 91 | 6.5 | 1 | 7 | 24 | 3.43 | 0 | 8 |
| 1997 | JAX | W 42-17 | 31 | 184 | 5.94 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 2.75 | 0 | 12 |
| 1997 | KAN | W 14-10 | 25 | 101 | 4.04 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 12 |
| 1997 | PIT | W 24-21 | 26 | 139 | 5.35 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 1997 | GNB | W 31-24 | 30 | 157 | 5.23 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| 1998 | MIA | W 38-3 | 21 | 199 | 9.48 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| 1998 | NYJ | W 23-10 | 32 | 167 | 5.22 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
| 1998 | ATL | W 34-19 | 25 | 102 | 4.08 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 204 | 1140 | 5.59 | 12 | 19 | 131 | 6.89 | 0 | 74 |
To average 142.5 yards per game in the postseason is just ridiculous. You are supposed to be facing the best of the best in the post season and that shows when you look at the postseason averages from other Hall of Fame running backs.
| Player | Y/G | Years | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Y/G | Years | Teams |
| Terrell Davis | 142.5 | 1995-2001 | den |
| John Riggins | 110.7 | 1971-1985 | was |
| Eric Dickerson | 103.4 | 1983-1993 | 2TM |
| Emmitt Smith | 93.3 | 1990-2004 | dal |
| Steve Van Buren | 91.3 | 1944-1951 | phi |
| Marcus Allen | 84.2 | 1982-1997 | 2TM |
| Franco Harris | 81.9 | 1972-1984 | pit |
| Tony Dorsett | 81.4 | 1977-1988 | dal |
| Dutch Clark | 80 | 1931-1938 | det |
| Curtis Martin | 79.5 | 1995-2005 | 2TM |
| Larry Csonka | 74.3 | 1968-1979 | mia |
Look at that. There is only word to describe it: ridiculous.
No one questions John Riggins being in the Hall of Fame. No one questions Eric Dickerson being in the Hall of Fame. No one questions Marcus Allen or Franco Harris being in the Hall of Fame.
Enough with the damn questions, Terrell Davis is the greatest playoff running back in NFL history and it’s not even close. That alone should be enough to earn him the gold jacket, but he also has two championships, a 2000 yard season, a Super Bowl MVP, and an NFL MVP.
The time has come.