Let’s not underestimate the potential of Hue Jackson, who’s now calling the shots in Cleveland. Yes, that is a historically awful team, but Jackson has shown some ability to put together good running games. He did it in Oakland (2010 and 2011), and he did it the last two years in Cincinnati.
And Jackson loves him some running game near the goal line. He likes to keep it on the ground in that part of the field, pounding it in. That’s why Jeremy Hill, despite having a generally lousy year, still led the league in rushing touchdowns last year.
Jackson’s last four offenses, in fact, have scored 72 rushing touchdowns. In those same four seasons, that’s more than any of the 32 franchises.
| RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | '10 | '11 | '14 | '15 | Total |
| Hue Jackson | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 72 |
| Philadelphia | 18 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 69 |
| Minnesota | 16 | 18 | 12 | 18 | 64 |
| New England | 19 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 64 |
| Carolina | 7 | 26 | 10 | 19 | 62 |
| Seattle | 13 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 58 |
| New Orleans | 9 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 57 |
| Houston | 20 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 57 |
| Kansas City | 13 | 5 | 18 | 19 | 55 |
| Cincinnati | 8 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 55 |
| Pittsburgh | 15 | 13 | 10 | 16 | 54 |
| Denver | 13 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 52 |
| Atlanta | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 52 |
| NY Giants | 17 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 52 |
| Baltimore | 11 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 50 |
| NY Jets | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 50 |
| Oakland | 19 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 46 |
| Green Bay | 11 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 45 |
| Buffalo | 6 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 44 |
| San Diego | 18 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 44 |
| St. Louis | 9 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 43 |
| Arizona | 9 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 43 |
| Miami | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 42 |
| Chicago | 10 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 41 |
| San Francisco | 10 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| Washington | 9 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 41 |
| Dallas | 10 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 39 |
| Cleveland | 13 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 39 |
| Detroit | 11 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 38 |
| Tampa Bay | 9 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 37 |
| Tennessee | 13 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 37 |
| Jacksonville | 14 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 37 |
| Indianapolis | 13 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 36 |
And it’s similar with rushing yards. In Jackson’s last four years, only one team has run for more yards (the Panthers), and they’ve done so with the help of one of the best running quarterbacks in the history of the league.
| RUSHING YARDS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | '10 | '11 | '14 | '15 | Total |
| Carolina | 115 | 151 | 127 | 143 | 134 |
| Hue Jackson | 156 | 132 | 134 | 113 | 134 |
| Kansas City | 164 | 118 | 120 | 128 | 133 |
| Houston | 128 | 153 | 135 | 108 | 131 |
| Philadelphia | 145 | 142 | 125 | 109 | 130 |
| Minnesota | 121 | 145 | 113 | 138 | 129 |
| NY Jets | 148 | 106 | 143 | 117 | 128 |
| Seattle | 89 | 110 | 173 | 142 | 128 |
| Dallas | 112 | 113 | 147 | 118 | 122 |
| Denver | 97 | 165 | 112 | 107 | 120 |
| Buffalo | 108 | 120 | 93 | 152 | 118 |
| Jacksonville | 150 | 123 | 102 | 92 | 117 |
| San Francisco | 104 | 128 | 136 | 97 | 116 |
| Baltimore | 114 | 125 | 126 | 92 | 114 |
| Pittsburgh | 120 | 119 | 110 | 108 | 114 |
| Oakland | 156 | 132 | 78 | 91 | 114 |
| Cincinnati | 95 | 111 | 134 | 113 | 113 |
| Miami | 103 | 124 | 117 | 94 | 109 |
| Tampa Bay | 125 | 91 | 86 | 135 | 109 |
| New Orleans | 95 | 133 | 114 | 93 | 109 |
| Green Bay | 100 | 97 | 120 | 116 | 108 |
| Chicago | 101 | 126 | 90 | 116 | 108 |
| New England | 123 | 110 | 108 | 88 | 107 |
| NY Giants | 138 | 89 | 100 | 101 | 107 |
| St. Louis | 99 | 104 | 102 | 122 | 107 |
| Atlanta | 118 | 115 | 94 | 100 | 107 |
| Cleveland | 103 | 96 | 108 | 96 | 101 |
| San Diego | 113 | 117 | 85 | 85 | 100 |
| Washington | 91 | 101 | 106 | 98 | 99 |
| Arizona | 87 | 102 | 82 | 120 | 97 |
| Indianapolis | 93 | 100 | 101 | 90 | 96 |
| Tennessee | 108 | 90 | 90 | 93 | 95 |
| Detroit | 101 | 95 | 89 | 83 | 92 |
—Ian Allan