Checkdowns: Career rushing stats in wins and losses

by Chase Stuart on December 30, 2012

Trent Richardson thinks this guy was an average running back in losses.

Yesterday, I noted that Adrian Peterson is averaging nearly two more yards per rush in losses than wins. He’s also averaging a nearly identical number of rushing yards per game in wins and losses.

As you’re about to see, that’s pretty rare. We all know that wins are correlated with rushing yards, so it should come as no surprise that running backs generally gain more rushing yards in wins than in losses.

I looked at all games, including playoffs, from 1960 to 2011, for all players with at least 3,000 rushing yards over that time period. The table below lists the following information for each player:

— His first year (or 1960, if he played before 1960) and his last year (or 2011, if still active)
— All the franchises he played for (which you can search for in the search box)
— His number of career wins, and his career rush attempts, rushing yards, rushing yards per carry, and rushing yards per game in wins
— His number of career losses, and his career rush attempts, rushing yards, rushing yards per carry, and rushing yards per game in losses

The table is sorted by rushing yards per game in wins. Again, for players like Jim Brown or Peterson, they are included but only their stats from 1960 to 2011 are shown. The table only shows the top 50 players, but the search feature works for the entire table, which includes 281 players. In addition, you can click on the drop arrow and change the number of rows shown.

As always, the table is fully sortable. If you click twice on the far right column, you see the career leaders in rushing yards per game in losses. You probably aren’t surprised to see Barry Sanders at the top, but the presence of the running back formerly known as Dom Davis up there is a bit surprising. Steven Jackson is one of the few players who have averaged over 70 rushing yards per game in losses, which jives with the sixth post in Football Perspective history. In addition, Jackson (at least through 2011) and LaDainian Tomlinson form an interesting example of Simpson’s Paradox: Jackson has a higher career rushing yards per game average in both wins (93.9 to 89.9) and losses (71.1 to 63.2), while Tomlinson has the higher career average overall (78.6 to 78.3).

entries per page

Search:

Rk	Player	Years	Teams	Pos	W	Rsh_W	Yd_W	YPC_W	Yd/G_W	L	Rsh_L	Yd_L	YPC_L	Yd/G_L
1	Jim Brown	1960--1965	cle	FB	55	1176	6590	5.6	119.8	25	384	1706	4.44	68.2
2	Terrell Davis	1995--2001	den	RB	58	1415	6867	4.85	118.4	28	444	1880	4.23	67.1
3	Barry Sanders	1989--1998	det	RB	75	1670	8526	5.11	113.7	84	1483	7129	4.81	84.9
4	Eric Dickerson	1983--1993	ram-clt-rai-atl	RB	74	1776	8411	4.74	113.7	78	1368	5572	4.07	71.4
5	O.J. Simpson	1969--1979	buf-sfo	RB	43	950	4818	5.07	112	92	1442	6351	4.4	69
6	Earl Campbell	1978--1985	oti-nor	RB	50	1209	5409	4.47	108.2	70	1113	4418	3.97	63.1
7	Adrian Peterson	2007--2011	min	RB	38	792	4002	5.05	105.3	38	685	3018	4.41	79.4
8	Chris Johnson	2008--2011	oti	RB	36	772	3776	4.89	104.9	28	426	1941	4.56	69.3
9	Clinton Portis	2002--2010	den-was	RB	58	1281	6051	4.72	104.3	59	1019	4086	4.01	69.3
10	Arian Foster	2009--2011	htx	RB	20	428	2077	4.85	103.9	16	282	1305	4.63	81.6
11	Emmitt Smith	1990--2004	dal-crd	RB	135	3036	13198	4.35	97.8	108	1722	6743	3.92	62.4
12	Jamal Lewis	2000--2009	rav-cle	RB	74	1653	7193	4.35	97.2	63	1019	3840	3.77	61
13	Walter Payton	1975--1987	chi	RB	113	2460	10975	4.46	97.1	86	1558	6383	4.1	74.2
14	Larry Johnson	2003--2011	kan-cin-was-mia	RB	40	813	3842	4.73	96.1	43	627	2413	3.85	56.1
15	Edgerrin James	1999--2009	clt-crd-sea	RB	99	2251	9469	4.21	95.6	62	995	3629	3.65	58.5
16	Billy Sims	1980--1984	det	RB	30	603	2861	4.74	95.4	32	554	2378	4.29	74.3
17	Curtis Martin	1995--2005	nwe-nyj	RB	96	2235	9134	4.09	95.1	82	1465	5762	3.93	70.3
18	Frank Gore	2005--2011	sfo	RB	47	939	4422	4.71	94.1	55	743	3366	4.53	61.2
19	Jamaal Charles	2008--2011	kan	RB	16	218	1504	6.9	94	34	290	1605	5.53	47.2
20	Steven Jackson	2004--2011	ram	RB	37	769	3473	4.52	93.9	80	1388	5688	4.1	71.1
21	Shaun Alexander	2000--2008	sea-was	RB	73	1506	6607	4.39	90.5	59	850	3410	4.01	57.8
22	LaDainian Tomlinson	2001--2011	sdg-nyj	RB	104	2048	9346	4.56	89.9	76	1257	4806	3.82	63.2
23	Corey Dillon	1997--2006	cin-nwe	RB	72	1391	6460	4.64	89.7	86	1347	5289	3.93	61.5
24	Rudi Johnson	2001--2008	cin-det	RB	41	901	3672	4.08	89.6	52	629	2363	3.76	45.4
25	Eddie George	1996--2004	oti-dal	RB	90	2094	7863	3.76	87.4	60	977	3354	3.43	55.9
26	Wilbert Montgomery	1977--1985	phi-det	RB	55	1016	4766	4.69	86.7	54	652	2513	3.85	46.5
27	Fred Taylor	1998--2010	jax-nwe	RB	89	1588	7674	4.83	86.2	72	1075	4634	4.31	64.4
28	Jamal Anderson	1994--2001	atl	RB	37	767	3189	4.16	86.2	47	632	2423	3.83	51.6
29	Gale Sayers	1965--1971	chi	RB	29	426	2492	5.85	85.9	36	510	2122	4.16	58.9
30	Barry Foster	1990--1994	pit	RB	35	704	2997	4.26	85.6	23	275	1230	4.47	53.5
31	Curt Warner	1983--1990	sea-ram	RB	55	1133	4704	4.15	85.5	48	636	2389	3.76	49.8
32	Matt Forte	2008--2011	chi	RB	35	661	2985	4.52	85.3	27	395	1398	3.54	51.8
33	Cookie Gilchrist	1962--1967	buf-den-mia	FB	34	625	2871	4.59	84.4	31	372	1381	3.71	44.5
34	William Andrews	1979--1986	atl	RB	43	749	3609	4.82	83.9	42	586	2439	4.16	58.1
35	Marshall Faulk	1994--2005	clt-ram	RB	99	1774	8307	4.68	83.9	89	1227	4574	3.73	51.4
36	John Henry Johnson	1960--1966	pit-oti	FB-HB	32	589	2682	4.55	83.8	38	435	1718	3.95	45.2
37	Tony Dorsett	1977--1988	dal-den	RB	121	2237	10137	4.53	83.8	68	1001	3985	3.98	58.6
38	Jerome Bettis	1993--2005	ram-pit	RB	111	2333	9274	3.98	83.5	93	1345	5062	3.76	54.4
39	Priest Holmes	1997--2007	rav-kan	RB	61	1093	5077	4.65	83.2	49	729	3316	4.55	67.7
40	Ricky Watters	1992--2001	sfo-phi-sea	RB	91	1823	7552	4.14	83	63	963	3720	3.86	59
41	Jim Nance	1965--1973	nwe-nyj	RB	30	571	2455	4.3	81.8	62	680	2585	3.8	41.7
42	Robert Smith	1993--2000	min	RB	63	1039	5146	4.95	81.7	41	517	2262	4.38	55.2
43	George Rogers	1981--1987	nor-was	RB	53	1009	4326	4.29	81.6	45	772	3128	4.05	69.5
44	Jim Taylor	1960--1967	gnb-nor	FB	81	1468	6576	4.48	81.2	31	401	1582	3.95	51
45	Travis Henry	2001--2007	buf-oti-den	RB	36	672	2906	4.32	80.7	52	816	3180	3.9	61.2
46	Willie Parker	2004--2009	pit	RB	55	977	4436	4.54	80.7	27	403	1413	3.51	52.3
47	Ray Rice	2008--2011	rav	RB	45	792	3627	4.58	80.6	22	274	1194	4.36	54.3
48	Maurice Jones-Drew	2006--2011	jax	RB	45	776	3616	4.66	80.4	50	722	3286	4.55	65.7
49	Deuce McAllister	2001--2008	nor	RB	50	913	4017	4.4	80.3	47	543	2240	4.13	47.7
50	Thurman Thomas	1988--2000	buf-mia	RB	130	2373	10378	4.37	79.8	71	843	3138	3.72	44.2

Of course, the really cool thing to do with this data is to see the difference in production in wins and losses. Because of space concerns, I couldn’t put all the information I wanted in the above table, hence the need for the next table, which shows the same biographical information and then also displays the player’s career totals (subject to the same caveats) in rushing yards, yards per game, and yards per carry. The next four columns reproduce the information above, showing each player’s yards per carry and yards per game in wins and losses. To make things easier for you, I’ve highlighted the two win columns in light blue and the two loss columns in light red.

The final two columns show the differences in each player’s yards per carry and yards per game in wins and losses. It is sorted by the differential in yards per game.

Gerald Riggs comes in with the most impressive differential in yards per game in losses rather than wins. Part of that is due to Riggs’ final season in Washington, where he rarely carried the ball but the team went 17-2. Still, even during Riggs’ prime, his numbers in wins and losses were pretty similar.

entries per page

Search:

Rk	Player	Years	Teams	Pos	CarYd	CarYd/G	CarYPC	YPC_W	Yd/G_W	YPC_L	Yd/G_L	YPC_Diff	Yd/G_Diff
1	Gerald Riggs	1982--1991	atl-was	RB	8308	61.5	4.09	3.96	57.2	4.23	65.1	0.26	8
2	Domanick Williams	2003--2005	htx	RB	3195	79.9	4.15	3.97	74.8	4.22	82	0.25	7.2
3	Bobby Humphrey	1989--1992	den-mia	RB	3119	56.7	4.08	4.22	54	3.91	60.8	-0.31	6.8
4	Randall Cunningham	1985--2001	phi-min-dal-rav	QB	5201	30.2	6.31	5.56	27.6	7.41	33.9	1.85	6.3
5	Don Woods	1974--1980	sdg-sfo	RB	3087	44.7	4.05	3.57	41.6	4.43	47.1	0.86	5.5
6	Donny Anderson	1966--1974	gnb-crd	RB	4861	37.1	3.9	3.95	34.5	3.83	39.6	-0.12	5
7	Chris Brown	2003--2009	oti-htx	RB	3133	44.8	4.21	4.48	42.3	4.03	46.9	-0.45	4.6
8	Timmy Brown	1960--1968	phi-clt	RB	3880	35.9	4.34	4.42	33.8	4.33	37.8	-0.09	4
9	Don Perkins	1961--1968	dal	FB-HB	6501	59.1	4.15	4.1	56.5	4.08	60.4	-0.02	3.9
10	Carl Garrett	1969--1977	nwe-chi-nyj-rai	RB	4230	37.1	4.07	4.03	35	4.1	38.7	0.08	3.7
11	Fran Tarkenton	1961--1978	min-nyg	QB	3744	14.7	5.35	4.38	13.1	6.62	16.5	2.24	3.5
12	Stump Mitchell	1981--1989	crd	RB	4670	39.9	4.7	4.31	37.1	5.01	40.2	0.7	3.1
13	John Elway	1983--1998	den	QB	3868	15.1	4.46	3.81	14	5.84	16.9	2.03	2.9
14	Preston Pearson	1968--1980	clt-pit-dal	RB	3758	21.1	3.79	3.92	20.2	3.53	22.9	-0.39	2.8
15	Kevin Faulk	1999--2011	nwe	RB	4032	22.5	4.24	4.2	21.9	4.31	23.9	0.11	1.9
16	Willie Ellison	1967--1974	ram-kan	RB	3448	39.6	4.28	4.21	37.5	4.1	39.1	-0.11	1.6
17	Curtis Dickey	1980--1986	clt-cle	RB	4051	49.4	4.28	3.83	48.9	4.6	49.9	0.77	1
18	Steve Young	1985--1999	tam-sfo	QB	4833	26.1	5.91	5.88	25.9	5.96	26.6	0.08	0.7
19	Greg Pruitt	1973--1984	cle-rai	RB	5729	35.6	4.73	5.01	35	4.36	35.5	-0.65	0.5
20	Erric Pegram	1991--1997	atl-pit-sdg-nyg	RB	3520	35.2	3.94	3.66	35.6	4.43	35.4	0.77	-0.3
21	Earl Gros	1962--1970	gnb-phi-pit-nor	FB	3157	31.9	3.85	4.14	32.8	3.68	32.2	-0.46	-0.6
22	Bill Brown	1961--1974	chi-min	RB	5977	33.2	3.53	3.51	32.7	3.47	32	-0.04	-0.7
23	Tommy Mason	1961--1971	min-ram-was	RB	4218	34.3	4.04	3.86	34.5	4.38	33.7	0.51	-0.7
24	Keith Byars	1986--1998	phi-mia-nwe-nyj	FB-TE	3174	15.9	3.61	3.53	15.9	3.63	14.6	0.1	-1.3
25	Dominic Rhodes	2001--2010	clt-rai	RB	3693	33.6	4.05	4.13	34.1	3.91	32.7	-0.22	-1.5
26	Donovan McNabb	1999--2011	phi-was-min	QB	3881	21.4	5.64	5.22	22.6	6.5	20.1	1.28	-2.4
27	James Stewart	1995--2002	jax-det	RB	6003	56.1	3.98	3.75	57.6	4.25	54.6	0.5	-2.9
28	Reggie Bush	2006--2011	nor-mia	RB	3376	41.7	4.34	4.52	43.1	4.12	39.9	-0.4	-3.1
29	Doug Kotar	1974--1981	nyg	RB	3380	38	3.76	3.87	40.4	3.69	36.7	-0.17	-3.7
30	Dick Hoak	1961--1970	pit	RB-WR	3965	31	3.5	3.44	33	3.62	29.2	0.18	-3.8
31	Tony Galbreath	1976--1987	nor-min-nyg	RB	4145	24.5	3.96	4.21	26.9	3.72	22.5	-0.5	-4.4
32	Michael Bennett	2001--2010	min-kan-tam-sdg-rai	RB	3796	35.5	4.39	4.22	38	4.56	33.5	0.35	-4.6
33	Steve McNair	1995--2007	oti-rav	QB	3945	22.9	5.45	5.19	24.9	5.95	20.2	0.75	-4.6
34	Kordell Stewart	1995--2005	pit-chi-rav	QB	3156	24.3	5.14	4.86	26.2	5.71	21.6	0.85	-4.7
35	Lenny Moore	1960--1967	clt	RB-WR	3090	32.9	4.22	4.31	34.7	3.99	29.9	-0.31	-4.8
36	Reuben Droughns	2001--2008	det-den-cle-nyg	RB	3631	37.4	3.88	4.17	39.9	3.57	34.9	-0.6	-5
37	Wilbur Jackson	1974--1982	sfo-was	RB	3879	40.4	3.96	4.24	43.7	3.79	38.4	-0.45	-5.3
38	Cid Edwards	1968--1975	crd-sdg-chi	RB	3006	36.7	4.31	4.86	39.4	4	34.1	-0.87	-5.3
39	Norm Bulaich	1970--1979	clt-phi-mia	RB	3577	29.8	4.06	4.12	31.6	3.98	26	-0.14	-5.6
40	Jess Phillips	1968--1977	cin-nor-rai-nwe	RB	3609	29.1	3.99	4.46	31.9	3.55	26.2	-0.91	-5.7
41	Jim Kiick	1968--1977	mia-den	RB	4160	35.6	3.64	3.76	37.2	3.37	31.1	-0.38	-6.1
42	Ronnie Bull	1962--1971	chi-phi	RB	3264	28.4	3.65	3.65	31.6	3.82	25.5	0.17	-6.1
43	Curtis McClinton	1962--1968	kan	FB-TE	3248	34.2	4.05	4.13	36.8	4.04	30.6	-0.09	-6.2
44	Julius Jones	2004--2010	dal-sea-nor	RB	5247	54.7	3.98	4.06	57.8	3.89	51.5	-0.17	-6.3
45	Ronnie Brown	2005--2011	mia-phi	RB	4970	53.4	4.2	4.11	56.9	4.3	50.4	0.2	-6.5
46	Chester Taylor	2002--2011	rav-min-chi-crd	RB	4885	31.3	4.08	4.07	34.3	4.11	27.6	0.04	-6.7
47	Harold Green	1990--1998	cin-ram-atl	RB	4420	35.4	3.8	4.22	39.7	3.55	32.7	-0.67	-7
48	Delvin Williams	1974--1980	sfo-mia	RB	5640	57.6	4.23	4.18	61.1	4.29	53.7	0.11	-7.4
49	John Fuqua	1969--1976	nyg-pit	RB	3194	33.6	4.18	4.01	36.9	4.55	29.4	0.54	-7.5
50	Maurice Morris	2002--2011	sea-det	RB	3769	24.8	4.15	4.05	28.5	4.28	21.1	0.22	-7.5

One other interesting note: if you sorted the table in reverse order, you would have noticed that Jim Brown has the largest differential in rushing yards per game in wins versus losses. While part of that is due to Brown’s dominance in wins — he does have the highest average in wins — he ranks “only” 14th in yards per game in losses. His yards per carry average was over a yard lower in losses relative to wins.

This isn’t all that surprising to me, but that’s only because I remember this great post by Jason Lisk. During Brown’s era, the schedules were extremely unbalanced between the two divisions, and Brown played his entire career in a relatively weak division. As a result, if you ignore strength of schedule, the difference between Jim Brown and say, Jim Taylor, appears much larger than it probably was in reality. For what it’s worth, if you throw out Taylor’s final seasons with the Saints, his differentials drop to -0.23 in yards per carry and -20.3 in yards per game. While that wouldn’t vault him to the top of the list, it would place him roughly in the middle, as opposed to where he currently resides. Looking at wins and losses is hardly a perfect proxy for strength of schedule, but at least in Brown’s case, it does seem to reinforce Lisk’s point.

Tagged as: Adrian Peterson, Jim Brown, Simpson’s Paradox, Steven Jackson, Terrell Davis

{ 4 comments }