Both Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry ran for over 1,900 yards in the regular season, a level reached only nine other times in league history. But the postseason hasn’t tended to be kind to these kind of backs.
Of the other nine backs to run for over 1,900 yards (including Earl Campbell and eight who went over 2,000), only one made it to a Super Bowl. That would be Terrell Davis. None of the other eight made it to even the conference championship game.
And the numbers, remarkably, haven’t been much different for the 14 other running backs who’ve gone over 1,800 yards. Two made it to Super Bowls on teams that lost (Jamal Anderson, Shaun Alexander) but none of the others made it to a conference championship.
Five players have run for over 1,800 yards without even making it to the playoffs, with O.J. Simpson remarkably doing it twice (in those seasons, only four of 13 in each conference were making the playoffs.)
Two of the big-time runners on the list below went out after being bottled up to levels that could hardly be believed – Barry Sanders held to minus-1 yard at Lambeau, and Eric Dickerson held to 16 yards on 10 carries at Washington. Four other backs ran for 41 yards or less.
Barkley and Henry are on the docket today, with a chance to buck the trend. The Eagles are favored by 6, while the Ravens are favored by 1 to win at Buffalo.
| 1,800-YARD RUSHERS IN THE POSTSEASON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Yards | Rd | Opp | Result | Rushing |
| 1984 | Eric Dickerson, LAR | 2,105 | WC | NYG | L 13-16 | 23-107-1 |
| 2012 | Adrian Peterson, Min. | 2,097 | WC | at G.B. | L 10-24 | 22-99-0 |
| 2003 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | 2,066 | Div | Ten. | L 17-20 | 14-35-0 |
| 1997 | Barry Sanders, Det. | 2,053 | WC | at T.B. | L 10-20 | 18-65-0 |
| 2020 | Derrick Henry, Ten. | 2,027 | WC | Balt. | L 13-20 | 18-40-0 |
| 1998 | • Terrell Davis, Den. | 2,008 | SB | v. Atl. | W 34-19 | 25-102-0 |
| 2009 | Chris Johnson, Ten. | 2,006 | Div | Balt. | L 10-13 | 11-72-1 |
| 2024 | Saquon Barkley, Phil. | 2,005 | Div | LAR | ? | ? |
| 1973 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | 2,003 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1980 | Earl Campbell, Hou. | 1,934 | WC | at Oak. | L 7-27 | 27-91-1 |
| 2024 | Derrick Henry, Balt. | 1,921 | Div | at Buff. | ? | ? |
| 2003 | Ahman Green, G.B. | 1,883 | WC | Atl. | L 7-27 | 11-34-0 |
| 1994 | Barry Sanders, Det. | 1,883 | WC | at G.B. | L 12-16 | 13-(-1)-0 |
| 2005 | • Shaun Alexander, Sea. | 1,880 | SB | v. Pitt. | L 10-21 | 20-95-0 |
| 1963 | Jim Brown, Cle. | 1,863 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2005 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 1,860 | Div | Car. | L 0-23 | 13-41-0 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 1,853 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1977 | Walter Payton, Chi. | 1,852 | WC | at Dall. | L 7-37 | 19-60-0 |
| 1998 | • Jamal Anderson, Atl. | 1,846 | SB | v. Den. | L 19-34 | 18-96-0 |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray, Dall. | 1,845 | Div | at G.B. | L 21-26 | 25-123-1 |
| 1986 | Eric Dickerson, LAR | 1,821 | WC | at Was. | L 7-19 | 26-158-0 |
| 1975 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | 1,817 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 1,815 | Div | N.E. | L 21-24 | 23-123-2 |
| 2021 | Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 1,811 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1983 | Eric Dickerson, LAR | 1,808 | Div | at Was. | L 7-51 | 10-16-0 |
—Ian Allan