Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #5: Marshall Faulk

Marshall Faulk

Teams

Indianapolis Colts (1994-1998)

Saint Louis Rams (1999-2005)

Playoffs

Appearances - 7 (1995,1996,1999,2000,2001,2003,2004)

Conf Champ Games - 3 (1995,1999,2001)

Super Bowls - 2 (1999,2001)

Championships - 1 (1999)

Awards and Honors

Offensive Rookie of the Year - 1994

Offensive Player of the Year - 3 (1999,2000,2001)

MVP - 1 (2000)

All-Pro First Team - 3 (1999,2000,2001)

All-Pro Second Team - 3 (1994,1995,1998)

Pro Bowl - 7 (1994,1995,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002)

Hall of Fame - 2011

All-Time Ranks

Scrimmage Yards - #5

Total Touchdowns - #7

Rushing Touchdowns - #8

Rushing Yards - #12

Receptions - #41

Rushing Yards per Game - #44

Yards per Rush - #86

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#5-1994,1999,2001, #6-1998, #8-2000)

Rushing Touchdowns (#1-2000, #2-2001, #3-1994, #4-1995, #9-2003)

Yards per Rush (#1-1999,2000,2001, #7-1994)

Rushing Yards per Game (#1-2001, #4-2000, #5-1994, #6-1999, #9-1998)

Receptions (#3-1998, #8-1999)

Receiving Touchdowns (#5-2001)

Total Touchdowns (#1-2000,2001, #4-1994, #7-1995,1999, #10-2003)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-1998,1999, #2-2000,2001, #4-1994, #8-1997)

Yards per Touch (#3-1999, #5-1998, #9-2000, #10-2001)

Marshall Faulk rushed for 386 yards and 7 touchdowns in his second college game at San Diego State, then went on to finish #2 for the Heisman as a sophomore and #4 as a junior before leaving school a year early to enter the 1994 NFL Draft, where he was taken #2 overall by the Indianapolis Colts.

Faulk opened his career by winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award after rushing for 1282 yards and 11 touchdowns, then followed that up with 1078 yards and another 11 touchdowns in his second season. He led the Colts to the AFC Championship Game that year, but he missed the game with a toe injury, and the team fell short of the Super Bowl by a game.

The toe injury lingered through the next season, and Faulk was limited to only 587 yards on 3 yards per carry, a terrible year by any standard, but he raised that back up to 1054 in 1997, then 1319 in 1998. That season, he also had 908 receiving yards, which put him at 2227 from scrimmage for the season, good enough to lead the league.

The Colts decided to move on from Faulk after that season, trading him to the Saint Louis Rams, where he had a huge and immediate impact. He set a new NFL record with 2429 scrimmage yards, still the #2 total of all time, while leading the league with 5.5 yards per carry. He also became the second player ever to have 1000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, and he set the record for most receiving yards by a running back in a season as well. 

He was named the Offensive Player of the Year for those accomplishments, but he also saw huge team success that year. The Rams went all the way to the Super Bowl behind Faulk and Kurt Warner, and though he had only 17 rushing yards in that game, he had 90 yards receiving, and the Rams beat the Titans 23-16.

He remained amazing in 2000. He led the league again in yards per carry, and had 18 rushing touchdowns, also best in the league. He also broke the league record for total touchdowns in a season, with 26, which is now #4 on the all-time list. He also broke the 2000-yard mark on scrimmage yards for the third year in a row, and was given the Offensive Player of the Year and MVP awards for the season.

There was no dropoff in 2001. He led the league in yards per carry for the third year in a row, and total touchdowns for the second straight year, and became the first player ever to record 2000 scrimmage yards in 4 straight seasons. He won the Offensive Player of the Year award for the 3rd straight season, and guided the Rams back to the Super Bowl after missing it the previous season. He had 130 total yards in that game, but the Rams lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots 20-17.

He was still effective the next season, gaining nearly 1500 scrimmage yards, but age had finally started to catch up to him. After gaining only 818 rushing yards in 2003, he began splitting carries with Steven Jackson in 2004, officially becoming a backup to him in 2005. After missing the entire 2006 season with a knee injury, Faulk officially retired in 2007.

From 1998 to 2001, Faulk had one of the greatest 4-year runs in history. He had over 2000 scrimmage yards in all 4 seasons, the only player ever to do that in 4 straight years, leading the league twice each in scrimmage yards and total touchdowns. He won an MVP and 3 OPOY awards, and led his team to 2 Super Bowls and a championship, cementing himself as one of the greatest of all time.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #63: Todd Gurley

Todd Gurley

Teams

Saint Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2015-2019)

Atlanta Falcons (2020)

Playoffs

Appearances - 2 (2017,2018)

Conf Champ Games - 1 (2018)

Super Bowls - 1 (2018)

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Offensive Rookie of the Year - 2015

Offensive Player of the Year - 1 (2017)

All-Pro First Team - 2 (2017,2018)

All-Pro Second Team - 1 (2015)

Pro Bowl - 3 (2015,2017,2018)

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Touchdowns - #41

Rushing Yards per Game - #46

Total Touchdowns - #72

Rushing Yards - #99

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#2-2017, #3-2015,2018)

Rushing Touchdowns (#1-2017,2018, #5-2015,2019)

Yards per Rush (#8-2015,2017)

Rushing Yards per Game (#2-2017,2018, #3-2015)

Total Touchdowns (#1-2017,2018, #5-2019)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-2017, #4-2018)

Yards per Touch (#9-2017)

Todd Gurley had a great freshman year at Georgia, picking up 1385 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, then had a bit of a down year as a sophomore, followed by a strong junior year that ended early due to an ACL tear, but he was still drafted by the Saint Louis Rams with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft despite the injury.

He returned from his injury faster than expected, and made his debut in the 3rd week of the season. He played in 13 games and gained 1106 yards and scored 10 touchdowns, earning him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and a spot on the All-Pro Second Team.

He started every game of his second season, but had his worst season as a pro, gaining only 885 yards on the season on 3.2 yards per carry during the team's first season back in Los Angeles. The team had a disappointing season as well, leading to a change at head coach, which changed Gurley's trajectory immediately.

In 2017, Gurley led the league with 2093 scrimmage yards, 1305 on the ground and 788 through the air, both of which are still his career highs. He also led the league with 13 rushing touchdowns and 19 total touchdowns, won the Offensive Player of the Year award, and came in second to Tom Brady in the MVP vote. 

He was nearly as good again in 2018. He ended up with only 1831 scrimmage yards, but led the league in rushing and total touchdowns again, this time increasing those totals to 17 and 21, and led the Rams to the Super Bowl. He missed the final 2 games of the regular season due to knee soreness, then returned for the playoffs, but after a solid first game, his knee started giving him trouble again, and he gained only 45 yards in the final 2 playoff games, and the Rams lost the Super Bowl to the Patriots 13-3.

Gurley never fully recovered from his knee issues. In his final season with the Rams, he gained only 857 yards on the ground, though he did score 12 touchdowns, but the Rams released him after that year. He joined the Falcons for the 2020 season, and after gaining only 678 yards that year, was once again let go, and after a year with no contract offer, he retired officially in 2022.

Gurley is still only 29 years old, but wear and tear on his knee felled him at his peak. He was the best back in the league for 2 straight years, but it all ended as quickly as it started. Even though his career was extremely short, Gurley was so dominant in those two seasons, and so good in his rookie year as well, that he must be remembered as one of the best to play the game.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #15 - Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner is probably the greatest player in league history to go undrafted, and while he only had 6 seasons as a great quarterback in the NFL, when he was at his best, there weren't many who could match his performance.

After going undrafted in 1994, he spent 4 years playing in the Arena Football League, and set tons of league records along the way. It finally earned him a contract with the Saint Louis Rams in 1998, but he spent the entire season as a 3rd-string quarterback, throwing only 11 passes all season.

Everything changed for Warner in 1999, and it was immediate. He was promoted to second string in the preseason, then became the starter before game 1 when Trent Green went down with a broken leg. He stepped in and immediately became the top passer in the league, throwing for 3 touchdowns in each of his first three games, becoming the first starter in league history to achieve that feat. He followed that up with 5 touchdowns in game 4, which extended his record.

He would finish the season with 4353 passing yards, a league-leading 41 touchdowns, and only 13 interceptions, and St. Louis finished first in the NFC with a 13-3 record while Warner won the MVP in his first full season. His dominance continued in the postseason with 391 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first ever playoff game, and after a hard-fought win over Tampa Bay in the NFC title game, he led the Rams to the Super Bowl. He threw a Super Bowl record 414 yards along with 2 touchdowns, which earned him the Super Bowl MVP in his first season as well.

He missed 5 games the next season due to a broken hand, but still led the Rams to the playoffs after throwing 3429 yards in just 11 games. He threw 365 yards and 3 touchdowns in their first playoff game, but his 3 picks lost the game for them.

He came back at full strength in 2001, throwing a career-high and league-high 4830 yards and 36 touchdowns, also tops in the league. Saint Louis finished at 14-2, best in the entire league, and Warner took home his second MVP award. They were able to make it back to the Super Bowl, where Warner threw 365 yards, the second-highest total in Super Bowl history at the time, although they lost to New England on a last-second field goal.

A broken throwing hand during the offseason was nearly the end of him. He was unable to fully grip the ball, causing him to throw 11 interceptions in just 6 starts in 2002, and to fumble 6 times in the first game of 2003. He was released after the season and signed by the New York Giants, but was replaced by Eli Manning halfway through the season.

He signed with Arizona in 2005, but was unable to hold onto the starting job for his first three seasons with the Cardinals, although he finally started to show signs of his former greatness after Matt Leinart went down with an injury early in 2007.

He took the starting job back at the beginning of 2008, and rocketed right back to the top of the league, throwing 4583 yards, #2 in the league, along with 30 touchdowns. Arizona sneaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, then went on to upset three straight teams with better records on their way to the first Super Bowl appearance in Cardinals history. In his third Super Bowl appearance, he threw 377 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the Cardinals lost on a last-second touchdown to Pittsburgh.

He decided to come back for one final season, and was solid during the regular season, helping Arizona to improve to 10-6, and was amazing in the wild card game, with 379 yards and 5 touchdowns as he outdueled Aaron Rodgers in the highest scoring game in playoff history 51-45. The following week he was injured making a tackle after an interception, and he was unable to finish the game as the season and his career ended.

While his career lacks the longevity of the rest of the top 20, he has a lot going for him. His 1999 season was one of the most dominant in league history, and he always played well in the playoffs. In case you missed it above, there have been 53 Super Bowls, meaning a total of 106 starting quarterbacks, and 3 of the top 6 passing games in Super Bowl history belong to Kurt Warner in his only 3 appearances. He won 2 MVP's and could have had another, and he also won a Super Bowl MVP. It may have been the oddest career of any of the greats, but he has earned this ranking.

NFL Rankings - 6 Oct

New England had the week off, which might have been a good thing, because many of the top teams in the league were upset this week, including the teams ranked 3 through 6 last week. The Patriots are still #1, and are one of 6 remaining undefeated teams. Here are my full rankings through 4 weeks:

				Rec		ProjRec		SOS
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	Curr	Over	Seed
1	1	New England	-16.94	3	0	14	2	15	9	A1
2	2	Atlanta	-14.97	4	0	15	1	7	32	N1
3	8	NY Giants	-12.69	2	2	11	5	3	8	N4
4	6	Arizona	-10.61	3	1	12	4	30	24	N2
5	10	Cincinnati	-8.477	4	0	12	4	24	14	A2
6	9	Pittsburgh	-7.707	2	2	10	6	10	11	A5
7	3	Buffalo	-7.04	2	2	9	7	9	6
8	4	Philadelphia	-6.354	1	3	8	8	1	2
9	7	NY Jets	-6.104	3	1	10	6	26	10	A6
10	5	Dallas	-5.596	2	2	9	7	2	1	N5
11	11	Denver	-4.496	4	0	12	4	23	25	A3
12	13	Green Bay	-4.098	4	0	12	4	29	31	N3
13	17	Baltimore	-2.831	1	3	8	8	4	16
14	16	Washington	-1.968	2	2	7	9	11	4
15	20	St. Louis	-1.8	2	2	9	7	5	22	N6
16	14	Seattle	-0.412	2	2	8	8	25	13
17	19	Carolina	0.441	4	0	9	7	32	17
18	24	Minnesota	2.576	2	2	7	9	28	18
19	22	Kansas City	2.863	1	3	7	9	8	23
20	25	New Orleans	4.136	1	3	6	10	17	15
21	15	Tennessee	4.39	1	2	7	9	31	30	A4
22	21	Oakland	4.91	2	2	7	9	21	19
23	28	San Diego	5.3	2	2	7	9	20	28
24	12	Indianapolis	5.744	2	2	7	9	18	20
25	18	Cleveland	6.352	1	3	4	12	22	7
26	30	Detroit	6.705	0	4	5	11	16	27
27	23	Miami	7.115	1	3	4	12	12	3
28	27	Houston	8.787	1	3	5	11	19	21
29	29	Jacksonville	10.23	1	3	5	11	14	26
30	26	San Francisco	10.59	1	3	4	12	6	5
31	31	Chicago	12.83	1	3	4	12	13	29
32	32	Tampa Bay	15.73	1	3	3	13	27	12

The Cincinnati Bengals are still undefeated, and though they haven't played the toughest schedule so far, they have had a couple of very convincing wins, including this week's 15-point win against Kansas City. The schedule gets tougher from here, with Seattle and Buffalo coming up in the next two weeks.

Saint Louis made a big move this week after upsetting Arizona on the road on Sunday, and that goes nicely next to their win over Seattle to open the season. Their next big test comes against Green Bay this weekend, and the Packers don't lose very often at Lambeau Field, but a win would prove that the Rams are a team on the rise.