The Best Adjusted Rushing Teams of All Time

by Chase Stuart on July 18, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a list of the best rushing teams in 2013 using Adjusted Yards per Carry. That metric, you may recall, is calculated as follows:

Rushing Yards + 20*RushingTDs + 9*RushingFirstDowns

We can use the same formula to grade every team across history. To account for era and quantity (having more above-average rush attempts is better), I calculated each team’s AdjYPC average, subtracted the league-average AdjYPC average, and multiplied that difference by the team’s number of rush attempts.

The top team by this method isn’t even an NFL team: it’s the 1948 San Francisco 49ers. You may recall that the 49ers and Browns staged two epic battles that season, and may have been the best two teams in pro football. That season, San Francisco averaged 6.1 yards per carry and rushed for 35 touchdowns on 600 carries; along with 152 first downs, and the 49ers averaged 9.5 Adjusted yards per Carry. That’s the highest average ever, just narrowly topping the production of the franchise’s Million Dollar Backfield six years later. Joe Perry was on both teams because Joe Perry was the man.

The table below shows the traditional rushing data for the top 200 rushing teams of all time; the VALUE column represents the number of Adjusted Rushing Yards produced above average (i.e., relative to the league average AdjYPC). I’ve also listed the three most prominent rushers on each team.

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Rk	Tm	Year	Rsh	Yds	TD	FD	AdjYPC	VALUE	Runners
1	SFO	1948	603	3663	35	152	9.5	1271	Johnny Strzykalski; Joe Perry; Frankie Albert
2	SFO	1954	442	2498	28	125	9.46	1269	Joe Perry; John Henry Johnson; Hugh McElhenny
3	DET	1936	591	2885	22	170	8.21	1218	Ace Gutowsky; Dutch Clark; Ernie Caddel
4	CHI	1941	495	2156	30	112	7.6	1163	George McAfee; Norm Standlee; Hugh Gallarneau
5	CAR	2011	445	2408	26	139	9.39	1127	Cam Newton; DeAngelo Williams; Jonathan Stewart
6	NWE	1978	671	3165	30	181	8.04	1061	Sam Cunningham; Horace Ivory; Andy Johnson
7	CLE	1963	460	2639	15	135	9.03	1060	Jim Brown; Ernie Green; Frank Ryan
8	BUF	1975	588	2974	26	162	8.42	1031	O.J. Simpson; Jim Braxton; Joe Ferguson
9	DET	1997	447	2464	19	120	8.78	1016	Barry Sanders; Tommy Vardell; Ron Rivers
10	MIN	2007	494	2634	22	131	8.61	1002	Adrian Peterson; Chester Taylor; Tarvaris Jackson
11	MIN	2002	473	2507	26	139	9.04	990	Michael Bennett; Daunte Culpepper; Moe Williams
12	SFO	1949	506	2798	26	117	8.64	980	Joe Perry; Sam Cathcart; Johnny Strzykalski
13	CHI	1939	439	2043	21	148	8.64	964	Bill Osmanski; Joe Maniaci; Ray Nolting
14	KAN	2002	462	2378	26	140	9	946	Priest Holmes; Trent Green; Mike Cloud
15	SDG	2006	522	2578	32	137	8.53	935	LaDainian Tomlinson; Michael Turner; Lorenzo Neal
16	GNB	1962	518	2460	36	145	8.66	934	Jim Taylor; Tom Moore; Paul Hornung
17	SEA	2005	519	2457	29	142	8.31	924	Shaun Alexander; Maurice Morris; Matt Hasselbeck
18	SFO	1953	443	2230	26	128	8.81	919	Joe Perry; Hugh McElhenny; Joe Arenas
19	SFO	1998	491	2544	19	129	8.32	910	Garrison Hearst; Steve Young; Terry Kirby
20	SFO	1993	463	2133	26	134	8.33	895	Ricky Watters; Steve Young; Marc Logan
21	WAS	2012	519	2709	22	144	8.56	894	Alfred Morris; Robert Griffin; Evan Royster
22	CLE	1966	415	2166	18	117	8.62	885	Leroy Kelly; Ernie Green; Frank Ryan
23	CIN	1988	563	2710	27	159	8.31	884	Ickey Woods; James Brooks; Stanley Wilson
24	SDG	1963	395	2201	20	112	9.14	883	Paul Lowe; Keith Lincoln; Gerry McDougall
25	BUF	1973	605	3088	20	152	8.03	873	O.J. Simpson; Jim Braxton; Larry Watkins

Showing 1 to 25 of 200 entries

The 2013 Eagles had a great rushing attack, but only rank 51st on the list. Much higher was Washington’s running game from two years ago, powered by a pair of rookies. And the 2011 Panthers check in at #5, with three players who rushed for at least 700 yards.

As always, the table is fully searchable and sortable. You can type in “nyj” to see all the Jets teams, but alas, none crack the top 200. If you type in ‘nyg’ you will find that the Giants make the top 200 in each year from 2005 to 2008. That’s pretty surprising to me. If you type in ‘cle’ you’ll find a host of Jim Brown Browns teams, but also the Leroy Kelly/Ernie Green Browns in the years immediately after Brown’s retirement.

Type in “Vick” and you’ll see that three of Michael Vick‘s Falcons teams, and three of his Eagles teams, fall in the top 75.

What about the worst 200 rushing teams of all time? It’s pretty easy to create that list, too. Take a look:

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Rk	Tm	Year	Rsh	Yds	TD	FD	AdjYPC	VALUE	Runners
1	BCL	1947	417	1161	7	65	4.52	-988	Bus Mertes; Billy Hillenbrand; Frankie Sinkwich
2	HOU	2002	424	1347	6	59	4.71	-950	Jonathan Wells; James Allen; David Carr
3	PIT	1961	543	1761	10	102	5.3	-919	John Henry Johnson; Tom Tracy; Dick Hoak
4	NYG	1953	398	1049	6	66	4.43	-917	Sonny Grandelius; Eddie Price; Kyle Rote
5	BOS	1944	324	471	5	36	2.76	-811	Bob Davis; Milt Crain; George Cafego
6	NWE	1986	469	1373	10	77	4.83	-808	Craig James; Tony Collins; Mosi Tatupu
7	CHR	1948	484	1719	8	102	5.78	-783	Eddie Prokop; Jim Mello; Dewey Proctor
8	WAS	1961	361	1072	9	55	4.84	-778	Dick James; Sam Horner; Don Bosseler
9	PHI	1954	401	1196	4	66	4.66	-774	Jim Parmer; Toy Ledbetter; Jerry Williams
10	BAL	2013	423	1328	7	68	4.92	-772	Ray Rice; Bernard Pierce; Joe Flacco
11	TAM	1983	428	1353	9	72	5.1	-756	James Wilder; James Owens; Mel Carver
12	WAS	1956	501	1743	5	91	5.31	-751	Leo Elter; Tommy Runnels; Dick James
13	BKN	1943	333	610	4	39	3.13	-733	Pug Manders; Merl Condit; Ken Heineman
14	WAS	1962	371	1088	10	59	4.9	-724	Billy Ray Barnes; Don Bosseler; Jim Cunningham
15	WAS	1973	459	1439	9	76	5.02	-719	Larry Brown Jr.; Charlie Harraway; Duane Thomas
16	PHI	1971	407	1248	6	65	4.8	-715	Ronnie Bull; Lee Bouggess; Tom Woodeshick
17	ATL	1978	533	1660	13	90	5.12	-712	Bubba Bean; Haskel Stanback; Ricky Patton
18	BOS	1947	343	973	5	49	4.41	-698	Frank Seno; Boley Dancewicz; Bill Paschal
19	NYG	1951	491	1713	10	81	5.38	-694	Eddie Price; Joe Scott; Kyle Rote
20	MIA	1946	408	848	13	50	3.82	-694	Pres Johnston; Jimmy Nelson; Don Reece
21	TEN	2003	486	1623	11	84	5.35	-689	Eddie George; Robert Holcombe; Chris Brown
22	DET	1988	391	1243	7	63	4.99	-687	Garry James; James Jones; Tony Paige
23	BOS	1948	365	1170	4	55	4.78	-687	Bill Paschal; Frank Seno; Frank Muehlheuser
24	WAS	1974	470	1443	11	77	5.01	-684	Larry Brown Jr.; Duane Thomas; Moses Denson
25	PIT	1936	472	1100	4	117	4.73	-672	Warren Heller; Bull Karcis; Art Strutt

Showing 1 to 25 of 200 entries

The expansion Texans take the #2 spot, and with good reason. That was as pathetic a rushing team as I’ve ever seen, and the ranking here bears that out (Jonathan Wells showed up #3 on this list, too). The 2013 Ravens check in as the 10th worst rushing team of all time, and certainly one of the most surprising. Here’s another weird one:

In 1970, Washington (led by Larry Brown) produced 610 yards of value over average, checking in at #99 on the first table. Then in 1971, Brown and the team produced 517 yards of value below average. In ’72, Brown won the AP NFL MVP award. But in ’73 and ’74, Washington was again one of the worst rushing teams ever. That’s a pretty wild ride.

What sticks out to you from the two tables?

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