The St. Louis and formerly Los Angeles Rams franchise has a heralded history of running backs. Eric Dickerson was the feature back of the 80s, playing four full seasons for the LA Rams. An instant success, he set rookie records for rushing yards (1,808) and touchdowns (18). These incredible feats as a rookie warranted All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Offensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year honors. In his second season, Dickerson continued smashing the NFL record book. He gained more than 100 yards rushing in eleven games, breaking the record of 100-yard games in a season held by O.J. Simpson. He amassed an unthinkable 2,105 yards rushing in the 1984 NFL season, a record that still stands today.

Marshall Faulk is the second Rams rusher to etch his name in the NFL record books. During the “Greatest Show On Turf” days, he totaled an NFL record 2,429 yards from scrimmage, an NFL record. When Faulk totaled 1,381 rushing yards, 1,048 receiving yards, and scored 12 touchdowns, he would, along with Roger Craig, be one of the only men to total 1,000+ yards in each category in a single season. He was named Offensive Player of the Year Award and also led the league in rushing yards with 1,389.

Who is the man that’s trying to make Rams fans forget both of them? His name is Steven Jackson, or SJ39. Jackson is currently the league’s second leading rusher, but has no business being that close to the top. The Rams are the worst team in the NFL, and have been playing from behind nearly the entire season. When a team is playing from behind, they tend to ditch the run and try to move the ball up the field faster with passing. While this is a standard thought process, SJ39 is too much of a talent to be taken off of the field. As previously mentioned, he’s topped the 1,000 yard plateau already this season. He has done this five consecutive years for the Rams, a feat neither Faulk or Dickerson ever completed. Jackson also broke Dickerson’s team record of 1,525 rushing attempts and currently has 1,528 with two games remaining.

Jackson is more than just a talented running back. He is one of the most fearless warlords on the football field, and runs not only for gains, but to punish defenders at the second level. Watching Rams games weekly will show you that the man cannot be arm tackled, and he constantly requires more than one defender to bring him down. As all good running backs are trained, Jackson keeps his legs moving and is unstoppable at pushing the pile. While his touchdown count is not as high as one would think, the Rams anemic offense can be blamed for this. Defenses always load the box with eight defenders, and even have BOTH safeties up on first downs and obvious running plays. This makes Jackson’s season even more impressive, as he not only faces the risk that the team will be more likely to pass, but when they do run he will be outnumbered by the defense.

It’s been an incredible season for NFL running backs. The always marvelous Adrian Peterson continues to run rampant on defenses. Along with Minnesota’s Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew has fifteen touchdowns and is pushing Jacksonville towards a playoff berth. After an 0-6 start, Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has lit the field on fire with 1,730 rushing yards through fourteen games. With these single season efforts by backs for playoff caliber teams, it’s easy to see why Jackson’s performance has gotten lost in the shuffle. However, any NFL defense will tell you, Jackson is hard to miss.

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