O.J. Simpson. Earl Campbell. Ricky Williams. Jay Ajayi.
One of the more exclusive clubs in the NFL got a new member on Sunday, as Ajayi, the Miami Dolphins running back, became the fourth player in NFL history to post back-to-back 200-yard rushing games and the first in well over a decade.
Ajayi had 214 yards on 29 carries (7.4 YPC) and a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 28-25 win over their AFC East rival, the Buffalo Bills.
As a rookie in 2015, Ajayi didn’t even total 200 yards for the season – he had 187 yards on 49 carries, as he played in just nine games. And through his first four games this year, as free-agent pickup Arian Foster was sidelined with an injury, Ajayi was still a footnote, with 31 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
So when Ajayi had a breakout game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 204 yards on just 25 carries plus two scores, it was easy to question whether he was a one-hit wonder. After all, there are 46 other running backs who have posted at least one 200-yard game.
But doing it in back-to-back weeks? Ajayi certainly has our attention.
Simpson accomplished it twice, in Weeks 13 and 14 of his record-setting 1973 season and in Weeks 12 and 13 in 1976. Campbell did it in the seventh and eighth games of the 1980 season. Williams’ came in the 12th and 13th games of the 2002 season. In all four of those previous cases, Simpson, Campbell and Williams ended the season as the NFL rushing leader.
No comments:
Post a Comment