Greatest Rushing performances of all time

0:00It's Mike's show and the bulldog. Alright, what's the report from outside? I was outside for maybe three minutes, accounted eight Q-tips. It's got to be one person that just throws their Q-tips out the window when they're done using them in their cars. It's Mike's show. One person? More than one person using Q-tips and throwing them outside? I don't think I use Q-tips in a year. I think I've never used Q-tips and the bulldog. How is going out there? I don't think I want to work in a place where people like roll their windows down if you're using Q-tips for lard knows what and just throw them on the ground. Well you do. What is it the 70s? Oh that's not very nice. It's Mike's show and the bulldog. Driving on the highway 65 miles an hour. You're going to get a little luck in my soda from the fast food drive the window and that was the 70s and gives an F about anything. No burrito. Nothing matters. 2025. What are you doing? I'm WGR. Rowan Q-tips out of your car. It's for its radio 550.

1:00Just thought of how yesterday or maybe Wednesday was Sal, we didn't talk to Sal yesterday, do we? It was must have been Wednesday. The game, the bills played last year against Carolina came up and how James Cook like the big runs. Yeah we're talking about his big blows of plays. And I or you, one of us sort of threw in like he could have gone for the record that day but they got way ahead. You did mention that. Yeah. They won that game 40 to 9. It was 40 to 3 at the end of the third quarter. So yeah, you know, take him out. Right. Start rusting people. But he went for 216 yards from rushing alone. He didn't catch a pass in that game. 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. And I don't remember exactly when he came out but you know, he had a two yard, I'm looking now at the play-by-play at a two yard run to start a drive in the third quarter.

2:04Davis came in, Alan scored and then I think maybe they all came out after that. So he didn't play in the fourth quarter. I think that's safe to say. Did we ever talk about whether they should have gone for it? Like did anybody, I know that this is sort of like not what you're thinking about as you're driving home for the holiday weekend right now. But did we ever like, would it have been nuts to you seem like the sort to at least want to poke at that a little bit. But I don't remember it being hotly debated. It seems like what I don't mean this as a criticism of you. But like it seems to kind of think I on a birthday after a 40 to 9 game. Right. Like what are we doing? Yeah, Bill's getting pomp up. Nobody's calling. There's nothing to be mad about. The 40 to 9 is like a walk through. So what do we usually do? Like we'll find something that might move the neat little bit. That would have been a thing. And I don't know if I just said, yeah, sure, but no.

3:05I don't remember thinking it though. Yeah, I don't either. I don't think I would have. I don't know that it came up. I'm just saying it's the kind of thing that talk show might bring up. Like, did you have gone for the record? I'm not somebody who gets upset when you sit your stars in a blowout. Like, I have had a stretch in my life where I took exception to teams sitting their stars for entire games because they didn't need the game. At the end, yeah, right? Because people buy tickets and like, I think a paid manning for this. Like, you're just going to not play them. I mean, can I get my money back then? But nobody gives you your money back. No, that sounds like what works. I would never have thought like they should have left James Cook on the field. But I think if they had, we would have been screaming about that. If they, well, maybe, right? How long plays them all? He just plays the one play in week 18. He started in the preseason. It's always sort of a case by case, you know, with these and Cook 216 yards. It was just like knife through butter in that game.

4:08You know what the record is? The all time NFL record? 272, 296. 296. Adrian Peterson. If you like 272 is Jamal Lewis's number before Peterson, if he broke that record, I feel like Jamal Lewis had 272. Maybe. That's what I have in my head for some reason. Oh, that might be an O.J. number and Detroit on Thanksgiving. There was also Chris Johnson a long time ago. So I might be conflating different things. But two, what did you say? The number is 296. 296 is the NFL record. There's also Chris Johnson for Tennessee. You had a famous game. Like it could have happened. Sure. Yeah, that's that's that's one more that's one more big run and then like a couple of 12 yarders. Right. And then you're in you there. I think 296. Bet online, set out an email today with all the records. Passing, receiving, rushing, single game and how, you know, this is, I think this is

5:08intuitive that nothing is like favored to be broken. Peyton Manning throwing for 55 touchdown passes. Will that record be broken this year? No. I mean, minus 2000. No. Nothing's favored to actually be broken. Of the big records, the closest is receiving yards because this has been close. I mean, Tyree Killgot right there. A couple of years ago, three years ago, the record is 1,964 receiving yards. Calvin Johnson in 2012 plus 550 that that record will be broken. But now we're back in the ground and pound era. Right. So three tight ends. Three tight ends, baby. Maybe it's tight and should break that record. Cook could have done it that day. 296. He had 216 and on 19 carries. You know what the best one on here is for me. This, so this was when, believe it or not, there was a day where I disliked the idea of

6:14playing fantasy football. I wanted nothing to do with it. I just did not play at all. I played as a kid. What? You were here. I was probably your influence on me because you didn't know. Oh, my God. I feel like I steered you away from it. Well, I got out of it. Your true is calling. I was taking you away from it. I can't say I grew out of it. I more grew into it. Right. Because when you mature, maybe it's the kind of thing you grow out of, but I went the other way. I played as a kid. You know, USA Today box scores. The show has never sounded older, sending out results in the mail. You know, people having to call me with their line-ups. The mail. The good old days. The mail. Well, we still have the mail. But then when I was working here for the first few years, I didn't play at all. And had I, this would be indelible to me, but it isn't because I didn't care about this kind of thing through fantasy, through stats. Ladinian Tomlinson 2006. Ladinian Tomlinson had 28 rushing touchdowns.

7:19What did Cook lead the league with? Good Lord. He shared the league 16 more games. Yeah. Not only did Tomlinson rush for 28 touchdowns in 2006. In a span of eight games, he ran for 21 of his 26 in eight games. And he had five zeros that year. So in five of his 60 played in every game, five of his 16 games, he did not rush for a touchdown. In the other 11, he ran for 28. And in a span of eight, including a game at the bills in late November, early December, my wife went with her brother to see San Diego and the bills lost, but it was kind of close. He ran for two 21 rushing touchdowns in an eight game span. That seems all time incredible. It is. It's just like record stuff.

8:19Yeah. Tomlinson. Yeah. He's in the Hall of Fame. He's in a record in Batrac, but just to fill it in, he said Peterson's 296. He got Lewis by a yard. Yeah. My memory is off. The 272 is that OJ game from the Silver Dome. I'm thinking that's giving. And I'm pretty sure that number is 272. Now I'm going to check that too. But 295 was Jamal Lewis's number from September of 2003. Ravens against Browns, 30 carries, 9.8 yards per carry in Cleveland. 295. And then he went and played for Cleveland. Right. They had to have him. You see what that guy did to us? But I wonder how, like, I don't remember the Peterson situation. Right? Like, did he have to keep playing? Did it matter? Were they out of it? Anyways, I just played, played my best guy. But like to get the record by a yard seems like there's like we got to get one more yard. Right?

9:20I'm thinking of the guys in the booth in 73 counting down. There's four more for OJ trying to be Jim Brown's record. You know, different situation, single game versus season, but still same kind of thing. And Peterson just gets a, I wonder if Jamal Lewis was somewhere sweating. That like watching the gig. Oh, come on. Make a play. Make a tackle. What are you guys doing? Was he with Minnesota at the time? Peterson? I got it right. I can't imagine he had that good a game somewhere else. I know he played, you know, you know, Pat way past his prime, I guess I'd say that's not very kind, but I think it's true. Now he played for New Orleans. Yeah. Maybe Arizona had to be Minnesota, I think it did. How important is Cook? Everybody seems to know if Josh Allen were to break, we would all break. Like that would be it. We all think that. Yes. Is Cook? What is Cook? I think because you have Josh Allen, you can offset it.

10:24I think you just, just like we talked about when we got into this conversation the other day that actually generated this conversation. See how it works, everyone? Easy game. You lose explosiveness. You're losing house calls. I don't think Ray Davis, I like Ray Davis as, I think he's a talented guy. I don't think he has that gear. I didn't think Cook had that gear before a couple of years ago, but he clearly does. He does have like sales said, like he sees guys out of his ear hole somehow, like his vision is incredible. And that is what helps you, you know, you're not always just overpowering or out maneuvering. Well, you're out maneuvering. I mean, you know where people are at and if you can see it, then you have a better chance at making more guys miss and make a house call. I don't think they have another, I think that's a, that's a big part of Cook's appeal. I think so you'd lose that, but I don't know in the end how, how impactful does that end up being because of Alan, whereas if you lose Alan, you're like, okay, well, I was already

11:30going to give the ball to Cook 20 times. Want to give it to him 30? I don't think it's going to work, right? I need Alan. And I think Alan does, look, this might not be right, but I feel like he could over come a number one running back being injured, whereas I don't think a number one running back at all can help you overcome your monster rock star Robocop quarterback going down. I agree. I agree. Sorry, not trying to be cute with the language there, but cooked anyway. Oh, James Cook. Yeah, I see. No, I agree. I have to capitulate on how good he's been these last two years. I never was really on board with it that the bills themselves, I use this against them, the bills themselves, Brandon being himself called him a sub back when they drafted him, like he was meant as a compliment to who, who were, Latavius Murray, whoever else they

12:31had at the time, you know, Damien Harris, I don't know, whoever it was. And it just gave me the impression that they didn't ever think this these last two years were really the plan at all. But you know, some of that is circumstances and he's held up. I mean, just say the least. He's generally missed a game really well. Yeah, we talked about this with Jim Coventry. Jim Coventry. Today. Yeah, I even made the point like, you know, it's not how germane it was to the conversation, but he, I feel like you can count on him to stay healthy. He's not someone that I see get hit a lot. I mean, that doesn't mean he's not going to turn in me or something, right? I mean, anything can happen. It's football. But he's not a guy that I worry, he's not, he's not camp scatable. He's not looking to, he's not, he's not craving contact. His vision and his agility allows him to avoid a lot of that, I think. So he's, he's really turned into an impressive player that I don't, I don't think, I don't

13:34think a lot of us saw it coming, especially those in the running backs, you know, don't matter, camp, and don't pay these guys and whatever. I mean, he's the country that they have him on right now. We'll wait and see what happens next off season because he, I think if he has another, you know, whatever, lead the league or not, 14, 1500 yards, the receiving goes up 10 touchdowns, whatever, he has the year he's had without necessarily leading the league in anything. If I'm him, I'm making a call at early March. Like, hey, what are you going to do for my guy? Because I mean, I don't, I don't want that to come to pass, but it feels like it would be kind of nuts if it didn't because of what happened this off season with the running back all the contracts. I mean, everything's going crazy, right? I mean, you got a situation now where, right, CJ Stroud is saying, yeah, 50 million a year, we talked to Wilk Honkel about this early in the week. 50 million years, not really.

14:35Continue, 70 is more in line with the percentage of the cap that the big guys are now. So you got to kind of get there. And so the same thing is going to happen in all the other positions. And this off season, I think tells you that the league because of more running three tight ends, whatever the factors are, just more money overall that running back salaries are sort of going up. Yeah, yeah. You know, as the record for most rushing yards into game against the bills, we were there. And we were not at John and then Taylor. So it's not John and then Taylor. No, I wasn't. Okay, we were working. Yep. Okay, then it's not Ricky Williams and 02. No, as soon as you say that, I'm going, yep, I remember that, but I don't have it. I never would have got it. I mean, the famous player, I never would have thought of this game as like the all time.

15:35I'm sure once that I knew this, but I would never have remembered it as the record game for rushing yards by a player against the bills. Levy on Bell for Pittsburgh Rex's last game. He's fired after this game. And then the bills won the game, didn't they? No, they didn't. I'm sorry, I don't remember the Steelers. Kind of a little bit snowy. Yeah, yeah, I remember. I can see the day. I just 2016. Okay. 38 for 236 and three with was Levy on Bell that game. What's the great, if I ask you, he parlayed that into. A jet ski. A jet ski. He bought a jet ski. Basically, he just chose to end his career. Yeah, I mean, it's not brand and I you close close. Right. He did get a contract from the jets. Yes, he did. And he basically that ended quickly. Yes, it did. Another great idea for a terrible team that's always terrible. Go out and get the running back. You got to do it. You got to go get the running back that is almost retired and pay him whatever he wants.

16:39Right. You got to do it. That's good planning. Good process there. So that is. If I ask you, and I don't know that I have, I don't have an answer for myself at the ready. The greatest game you've ever seen a running back play. Would this be an OJ game? Um, is that Detroit? I mean, I didn't watch. Yeah. I mean, I think it's a three is the game in Detroit. God, I get that wrong all across the board. Close though. Um, and that was the record at the time. Right. And it lasted a year. Yeah. Walter Peyton broke it the next year. Uh, most rushing yards in a game. If you're looking at that list right now, does he have a like a 220 something in New England? He's a 250 250 opening day of that year. Okay. All right. I can see a run from watching all those highlights around the right end. Yes. It's sort of, it's incredible. Yeah. His highlights are non-parell. Oh, Jason. I'm saying, like just it doesn't even look real.

17:41That run against New England opening day 73. It's, is it a pitch or it's a handoff around the right end? And he gets to the sideline and like it's, he's gone. And he's gone. Nobody. No, people have the angle on them and they just can't get there. Yeah. I can highlight to be false down and get some. Yes. There's a rainy as a rainy as a rainy game at the old stadium where he slides on the turf and gets up and then continues the run. Yeah. Like he goes to stop and loses his footing and everybody else keeps going to. Right. And he gets up and just runs in its video games. Yeah. Yeah. Pittsburgh 75 and Pittsburgh. Yeah. Around the right side. It's like the same run on the other side. Well, it's the same run, but the bills are going the other direction. Right. But around the right end and just like it's over. Now, Reggie or Jodie out there pulling, leading the way. Yeah. Kind of like Derek Henry a little bit. When that happens, like we've seen it him do this against the bills where it gets, it gets second level. It's happened last year in the opener.

18:43Like it's just over. Like the running Baltimore, the Sunday night in Baltimore where he goes. Is that the first play the game? First play of the game. It was like 80? Yeah. Just like, okay. Poof. Yeah. Like, you know what? Because OJ, OJ was big. Like, OJ, I was six, two, maybe like he was not a small. Oh, yeah. He was fast. And always I think sort of not given credit for how powerful he could be. Because he was a big guy. But he made some of the people miss and the speed was the calling card and all these famous runs we're talking about. You don't have, you don't have some version of Earl Campbell runs with OJ. He just, he's going out of bounds. Yeah, that's time for, he's like, yeah, I'm good. I'm good. I don't need to put my head down. Well, that was who? That was Franco. Harris, frankly, because Jim Brown used to mock him for doing that. Right. Is that what it was? Like Franco was coming up on his record for career yards, which he got.

19:43And Brown would make fun of them for going out of bounds. Yes. They're both, they're both dead. But I don't have you. They're still arguing about it. The reason I mentioned that New England game is, you know, road game, the game for not on TV, the home games. So anything he really did at home, I almost never saw any of it, except for that one Bengal game in 73 that I was at. But that was a pretty non-descript game. I think like 16 for 96 and a touchdown, which, you know, it's a fine day. But like in a year where you go for 2003, it's kind of like, I got the dud. Right. So you open a pack of cards. So I, you get Mike Easler. Right. Sorry, Mike. So I saw, I sat as a kid and watched all those, but I don't, you know, as a kid, I just don't have like the recall to tell you, like, oh, yeah, I remember, I'm sure they were incredible. And as if we watched them again now, it'd be really impressive. So I don't, I don't want to strike him from like the answer here as like the most impressive

20:47running back game I ever saw. So there's a famous Emmett Smith game with Dallas. I think it's at the giants in the Super Bowl years. Like they needed the game for division of the field. And maybe he had a broken arm and he played and he had a huge game for Dallas. Is that the sounds this is ringing bells? I mean, I didn't, I don't think I watched that game, but I probably have since and feel like I can hear some are all maddened just being in awe of Emmett Smith, which I never was in awe of Emmett Smith. No, me either. Like he, he went, he did that game. He talked about with OJ like every week, 18 for 96, like every week. Just a score or two. Yeah, he's fine. Yep. Wasn't Barry Sanders. No, not at all. Like he was of those, is it right to call them the big three of that like Barry Sanders, Thurman and and Emmett, thank you. Like Emmett by a mile was the most boring of the three guys.

21:50Yeah, I mean Sanders was a highlight reel. Thurman was a pass catcher. Like he was the all purpose yards guy. And Emmett was just sort of the workman like, this plow horse kind of on the perfect team with Larry Allen and the perfect line. Just sort of easy game, Irvin and Elvin Harper and whatever. Yeah. I think Jay Nova, check. Jay Nova, check. Welcome back to the show. There he is. You're back. Any game that would rate as the one I would pick for this is the most impressive running back performance I've ever seen would have to be high volume. It would have to be a game where like Earl Campbell, if I rolled her and watched had access to more of his games, he might have been the winner. Like just a game where you can't believe they're still getting up like a boxer or something like a fighter that you're just taking a beating. But they keep getting up and they keep coming. Yeah. And that's like that's quintessentially Campbell. Campbell, by the way, has that run against Miami like that OJ run around the right where

22:53he just may he just goes all our co sells freaking out. Like that's an amazing highlight too. That's a Monday night game in Houston in Houston. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That might be the night that I fell in love with the Oilers. Yeah. Like that I can see the intro to Monday night football and the pom-poms and the song playing and the whole thing and just like. And wow, this is so cool. Look at these guys. Yeah. Campbell had that walking back to the whole J was famous. And Jim Brown might have been the first guy that I remember hearing about doing this. And mostly I heard that because OJ did it. And the commentators would say, you know Jim Brown used to do this like walk back to the huddle like they got you beat. Right. Just a dragon back and OJ had that and Campbell had that like a lot of the greats would sort of like, oh, is he going to make it all the way to the huddle and then he's back to come out of the huddle and he's.

23:53Get down in the stance and all the whole thing just looks or he's going to put his hands on his thigh pads and he's just standing there and he looks completely exhausted and then they give him the ball again and he runs for 20 yards. They bend down. They bend down to get into their stance for the play. Like I do when I've dropped something and I don't get up right away. Yeah. And I'm just looking. I'm just trying to. Oh, and we make and we make the Uncle Richie noise. You're. Oh, oh, oh, oh, maybe they did too. Yeah, maybe you're a camel. You're a camel behind Dan Pesner going, this has hurt so much. Why did I dockle into agriculture? Right. I had a farming family. I could have. I could have been a banker. I could have been driving. I could have been. Whatever. I could have been a latex salesman. What am I doing out? Oh, yeah, right. Like they would say that about Jim Brown.

24:55It looked like he was always about to die after after he got tackled and then he just sort of get on like I do when I get up. You get on the one knee and then you just push yourself up. Not just sort of step off or stand up. You sort of get on the one knee first and then push your arm down, hand in the ground if you will and just push yourself, push yourself to back into a standing position. Anyone in my family or a standing family is listening. I mean the Uncle Richie thing as a tribute to him. I adored that man and like I'm not interested. He was the first person I remember that like getting into a chair or out of a chair there was always a noise. I thought this was a reference to the bear. No, this is an actual family. No, I got to, my, my, my, my, my, my aunt, my mom's sister's husband, Uncle Richie. Yeah, great. Interesting. Super good dude. Your mom's sister's husband. Yeah, okay. That's Uncle Richie. Uncle Richie. Yep. Love it. Mike's open the bulldog here, 803-0550 to join us.

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