TODAY’S SPORTSTAT — Running the ball — a lot — has benefits
By JERRY TAPP
These days with the NFL being such a “pass-happy” league, we don’t expect a running back to get 35 or more carries in a game. For the fourth time this season, however, it happened yesterday. Arizona’s Adrian Peterson had 37 carries in the Cardinals 20-10 win over San Francisco. He gained 159 yards.
It was the second time Peterson had 35 or more carries in a game … the other time was in a 2013 game when he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings. He had 35 rushing attempts for 211 yards in a game versus the Chicago Bears.
Since the 1970 merger, there have been 89 running backs that have had 35 or more rushing attempts in a game. In fact, there have been 146 games where a player carried the ball 35 or more times in a contest. Teams are 127-16-3 (.880 winning percentage) in those games.
Peterson became the 26th running back with two or more games with 35+ carries in a career. Walter Payton had the most career games with 35+ carries with seven. He is followed by Earl Campbell and Curtis Martin with six, and Ricky Williams with five.
Gery Woelfel
Gery Woelfel is an award-winning reporter and columnist. Gery has covered a wide-range of sports over his three decades as a professional journalist. During his career, his primary beat has been the NBA and has been a recipient of the Pro Basketball Writers Association of America award. Gery has conducted one-on-one interviews with numerous legendary sports figures like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has also been a regular contributor for HoopsHype.com and Lindy’s Pro Basketball Magazine and been on various sports talk shows around the country while serving as a pro basketball insider for WSSP (105.7 FM) in Milwaukee. Gery has covered every one of the NBA pre-draft camps, dating to the early ‘80s, along with numerous NFL combines.