Two weeks ago, I looked at the longest streaks where a team failed to have a player rush for 100 yards. Richie asked me if I could run the numbers on the longest streaks without a 1,000-yard rusher. The longest active streak in the NFL belongs to the Detroit Lions, who have not boasted a 1,000-yard rusher since Kevin Jones rushed for 1,133 yards as a rookie in 2004. Will Reggie Bush or Mikel Leshoure end that streak in 2013? Probably not.
It’s hard to look at these streaks across NFL history. For example, New York entered the NFL in 1925 and no Giant rushed for 1,000 yards until Ron A. Johnson in 1970. The Lions didn’t have a 1,000-yard rushing in their first 41 years, either. But we can look at the longest streaks that starter after the AFL-NFL merger. The modern Lions are the 12th team to go eight straight years without a 1,000 yard rusher over the last 43 years. As the longest streak? Well now we know why Miami drafted three running backs in consecutive rounds in 1996.
Team | First Yr | Last Yr | Yrs | Streak Breaker |
---|---|---|---|---|
MIA | 1979 | 1995 | 17 | Karim Abdul-Jabbar |
CLE | 1986 | 2004 | 16 | Reuben Droughns |
GNB | 1979 | 1994 | 16 | Edgar Bennett |
NYG | 1973 | 1984 | 12 | Joe Morris |
MIN | 1982 | 1991 | 10 | Terry Allen |
NOR | 1990 | 1999 | 10 | Ricky Williams |
NYJ | 1986 | 1995 | 10 | Adrian Murrell |
KAN | 1992 | 2000 | 9 | Priest Holmes |
RAI | 1986 | 1994 | 9 | Harvey Williams |
DET | 2005 | 2012 | 8 | -- |
DET | 1972 | 1979 | 8 | Billy Sims |
NYJ | 1976 | 1983 | 8 | Freeman McNeil |
PIT | 1984 | 1991 | 8 | Barry Foster |
Insert obligatory Dan Marino comment here.