Feeling he had to listen to his boss, Kiesling had quarterback Jack Scarbath toss the ball which resulted in a touchdown to Goose McClairen. If youve followed the Steelers, you've probably heard the term "Steelers Football." He scored seven touchdowns and caught the ball 22 times for an additional 204 yards and a 9.3 yards-per-reception mark. During recent years, he's become somewhat forgotten in Buffalo, but McCoy has both All-Pro seasons and multiple 1,000-yard campaigns to his credit this decade. Since reliable yardage statistics were not recorded prior to 1932, the first NFL player recognized as the career leader in rushing yards was Cliff Battles, who played from 1932 to 1937 for the Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins. By his second season as a Steeler, he had become the heir apparent to Jerome Bettis. He would retire with 3,965 yards on the ground, second best in history for the Steelers at that time. In 2011 Jones-Drew led the league with 1,606 rushing yards and 386 touches. Current team members are listed in bold. The real results of who touched it first is still undetermined to this day. Johnson was a bruising fullback who spent time in San Francisco and Detroit before coming to Pittsburgh in 1960. He made another Pro Bowl in 1993 but only rushed for half as many yards due to injuries. He is currently a free agent and the third oldest running back in the NFL, as well as the second oldest active running back. Franco Harris was the man during The Renaissance, and Jerome Bettis was the man in The Modern Era. In a move many in the NFL community felt was inevitable, the Washington Commanders released quarterback Carson Wentz on Monday in a move that will save the team $26.12 million against their 2023 salary cap. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. PITTSBURGH (AP) Mike Tomlin wasn't ready to go there, with all due respect. All-time Scoring Leader: Gary Anderson 1,343 points He spent his first year in the NFL with the Giants before coming to the Steelers in 1970. Pittsburgh has fielded plenty of those defensive units over the years, and there are more than a few Steelers defenders in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is more famously known for his post-retirement with ESPN as an analyst which he has excelled at and has become one of that networks finest announcers. He holds the team record for most rushing yards in a career (11,950) as well as most rushing touchdowns (91) and total touchdowns (100). Najee Harris warming to Steelers' running back-by-committee approach. He finished with 585 yards and scored six touchdowns including a 75-yard run. The Steelers have had several players enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being a part of the Pittsburghs ground game for most of or all of their entire careers. That changed over the last decade or so, due to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's emergence as an elite . Chubb is not the most dangerous or highly . His career ended on a sad note in Minnesota, but Peterson regained his form with another 1,000-yard season with Washington in 2018. Pollard played most of his career at a time when the Steelers struggled. Bleier only ranks ninth in all-time rushing yards for the franchise, and he never made the Pro Bowl, but there is no denying the impact this gutsy running back had in winning four Steelers' Super Bowl championships. Draft Henry with absolute confidence this season if you have a top-five pick. The next ingredient is a tough, hard-nosed rushing attack that controls the ball and methodically plows through opposing defenses. Fuqua led the . Who Is The Best Wide Receiver In The NFL Right Now? Despite the occurrences of injury, Hoge ran for 3,115 yards as a Steeler and rushed for 21 touchdowns. While that trio may be the best-best-of-the best to run behind Pittsburghs all-time offensive lines, there have been more than a handful of outstanding running backs for Pittsburgh since they began play in 1933. Hunt only played eight games with the Browns last season after serving an eight-game suspension. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Follow Holcomb on Twitter at @dmholcomb. Fuqua would have to be the most colorful player in Steelers history as well as the most controversial. Merril Hoge: Lasting until the 10th round in the 1987 NFL draft, Merril Hoge was a tough as nails runner for the Steelers who suffered a rash of concussion injuries that would cost him his career. But Hoak is probably best remembered for his ever-so-long tenure as the Running Backs coach with Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. In the following AFC title game against Miami, Pollard was held to just 48 yards rushing. He already has as many touchdowns rushing as Bam Morris Unfortunately, before the season began last year, Bell was arrested with LeGarrette Blount for a DWI and possession of marijuana. Only other is safeties at sub lb and doesn't change their ratings just where they are on the field. But from 2015-16, he posted more than 1,000 rushing yards, 1,500 yards from scrimmage and at least 13 touchdowns each season. By Ross Kelly and Tony Adame, updated on October 18, 2022. Hoak retired from pro football in 1970 but stuck around to coach Steelers running backs from 1972 to 2007. No matter what happens with the evolution of this position, these Pittsburgh tight ends have left a legacy for this that cant be taken away. Best: Franco Harris. Overall, Charles recorded 8,110 yards from scrimmage during the decade with the Chiefs, Broncos and Jaguars from 2010-18. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . One of the best free agent signings of the Mike Tomlin era, DeAngelo Williams was never thought to be more than a top backup running back. But since then injuries have slowed him, and he's averaging 3.6 yards per attempt. Some teams also used them as receivers, and fullbacks like Larry Centers made a living catching passes out of the backfield. Overall contributions to the Steelers franchise. Jerome Bettis was a 250-pound battering ram with incredible quickness for a man his size. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. To no ones surprise, Art Rooney Sr. mailed a post card to his running back while in recovery that said, Rock We need you. That was the kind of man The Chief was. He is currently the third leading rusher in Steelers history. Tracy ran for 2,717 yards and 15 touchdowns in his time with Pittsburgh and caught 96 passes for 1,322 yards and 14 touchdowns. Picking Le'Veon Bell here might be one of those choices that spurs debate among fans, but it comes down to the belief he's going to become the Steelers' version of Marshall Faulk. Today, Abercrombie spends his days atsthe Executive Director for his alma mater leading the Baylor B Association which is an organization of previous letter winners for the university. 2. Fuqua will be forever remembered by Steelers fans as the intended receiver of Terry Bradshaws Immaculate Reception pass, which ricocheted into the arms of Franco Harris. With a 3.5 yards per carry average and zero touchdowns, his rookie season was a major disappointment, but Gordon has answered all his doubters since then. West Virginia's Senate passed a bill Monday that would give $25,000 in tax credits to former residents who move back to the state to work. In the previous nine years, however, the Steelers had a top-15 player seven times. His rookie contract was voided after his fourth season, after just one in Pittsburgh, and there were opportunities to leave. With teams shifting more to the passing game, these old-school running backs are becoming obsolete. All-time Scoring Leader: Gary Anderson 1,343 points Rashard Mendenhall only played five seasons with the Steelers but rushed for a respectable 3,549 yards in 57 games. The All-Modern Era team is made up of 26 players 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and four specialists. Sidney Thornton: Another stout running back for Pittsburgh was the bullish Thornton who weighed in at 230 pounds during his play days in Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1982. Born Byron Morris, drafted in the third round of the 1994 draft, Morris immediately made an impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to them from Texas Tech University. He ended his career with only 1,512 rushing yards, but with two Super Bowl rings. Rashard Mendenhall: Like Barry Foster before him, Rashard Mendenhall was done with professional football by the age of 26. Rocky Bleier: For some Steelers fans it might be hard to believe that Robert Patrick Bleier, known best in Steelers Nation as Rocky turned 69 years of age this year. For the Steelers he would rush for 2,243 yards five seasons. In 27 games Hunt has 2,151 rushing yards, 2,984 yards from scrimmage and 25 touchdowns. The top photos of RB Le'Veon Bell throughout 2014 season. He started alongside Franco Harris in four Super Bowl victories and both backs ran for over 1,000 yards in 1976. He had the highest usage rate among running backs at 35.8% and was third in red-zone touches with 61. He was intensive care for 48 hours and this forced his retirement. That's Steelers football. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some great tight ends throughout the franchises history. In the second concussion he encountered, it resulted in Hoge having to be resuscitated when he stopped breathing. He'll continue to split time with Nick Chubb in the backfield, but the Browns are a run-first team that will use the talents of both. Matte took over for another fantastic white running back, former Heisman Trophy winner and 1958 NFL Championship Game hero Alan Ameche. Find out more. Williams led the NFL in touchdowns last season with 17. TODAY: Running backs Since the merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have rushed for more yards than any other team in the National Football League, and this commitment got two of their running backs elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Offseason Strategy: Already having their starting running back for the immediate future, the offseason as it concerns the running back position will be dedicated solely toward seeking out quality . In both seasons, he made All-Pro. TEAM SEASON GP REC W% W L T TD PTS PPG OPP PTS OPP PPG 1DWN 3DWN% 4DWN% Pittsburgh Steelers: 2013: 16: 8-8.500: 8: 8: 0: 41: 379 . All of that, plus the fact Bettis averaged over 1,000 yards per season with the Steelers (10,571) and scored 78 touchdowns, puts him on the All-Modern Era team, and his partner in the backfield is Le'Veon Bell. The days of Jim Brown or John Riggins getting 40 carries a game are gone. For the purposes of this article, I will be considering the following: Its tricky to piece it all together, but I think these are the best Steelers running backs of all time. He joins Franco Harris and John Henry Johnson. Visit ESPN to view the Pittsburgh Steelers team depth chart for the current season In an era that de-emphasizes the workhorse back, McCoy has nearly amassed 10,000 rushing yards and more than 13,000 yards from scrimmage this decade. His entire career was with the Steelers and he would finish those six seasons with 1,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. Year Top Defense. But there were bright spots, and Walter Abercrombie was one of them. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . Parker was perhaps the fastest running back ever to play for the Steelers. As a Steeler running back, Hoak would spend his entire career with Pittsburgh that began in 1961 as a seventh round draft pick after running for the Penn State Nittany Lions. At 244 pounds, Morris was a load running behind the offensive line and his numbers backed up his train rushing efforts. Most Steelers fans think of Rocky Bleier as Franco Harris running mate throughout the 70s, and rightly so. Harris is one of the main reasons the Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. Touchdowns. But from 2010-17, Forte averaged 1,419 yards from scrimmage per season. does st martin parish have school tomorrow. Dudley owns 44 touchdowns to his credit. All Rights Reserved. He would play six seasons in Three Rivers Stadium when the Steelers were home and finish with 3,343 yards rushing. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. 'We'll probably move a little slower than most of our peers, but we don't worry about the Jonses', 28-14 victory caps 7-2 finish, but season ends because Miami's win claims final playoff spot, 'He drinks the Kool-Aid that is Pittsburgh, Pa., he's a Steeler, he teaches it to the young guys', His 111 yards rushing, 10-yard catch for a TD, and physical presence throughout keyed 16-13 win, 'His versatility, his experience allows us to move him and Minkah to diversify our attack', 'The most challenging component of the weather, man, are the poor fans sitting in the stands', Dan Rooney: 'One of the finest, most thoughtful human beings I have ever known', 'I wanted to see Mitch's ability to bounce back from the last game relative to taking care of the ball', Three interceptions, blocked FG prove to be insurmountable mistakes in 16-14 defeat, 'You can take the energy out of an arena on the road when you do some of the things he does', The 19-16 victory represents first winning streak of season and is the third in last four games, The defense made some plays, such as Heyward's sack, but also allowed two 90-yard TD drives, 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. A dominant defense and an unstoppable running gamethats Steelers Football. Jackson never led the league in rushing and never made the All-Pro team. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, injured during his tour of duty and told he would never play football again. During the decade, he has posted 9,187 yards five 1,000-yard seasons and 56 touchdowns. He finished his career in Pittsburgh with 3,115 rushing yards, 241 receptions, and 34 total touchdowns. 8. Cameron Heyward (2011), T.J. Watt (2017), Terrell Edmunds (2018), Devin Bush Jr. (2019), and Najee Harris (2022) are the five remaining first-rounders still on the Steelers roster. Well, he's worth a lot more now. In 1999 the Chiefs cut him and his life spiraled out of control with drug problems and jail time. Anderson was traded mid-season in 1986; he played four games for the Cardinals and eight for the Giants. 10 on the Steelers' all-time rushing list with 3,549 yards. In 2012, he made the All-Pro team with 1,590 rushing yards and 1,786 yards from scrimmage. Quite a contrast to kick off this list. Myles Jack 61 Minkah Fitzpatrick . This is a list of National Football League running backs by total career rushing yards, and includes the 31 running backs who have rushed for at least 10,000 yards, for which sixteen of them have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. He also earned the first of two consecutive First-Team All-Pro selections. After a slow start (for a seventh overall draft pick from . The Steelers have always had great defensive playersand that hasn't changedbut the Steelers of today have fallen into the trendy traps of modern offenses with little use for a fullback. Still, I think he is deserving of the number 16 spot on this list of all-time great Steelers backs. But he still turned in two more 1,000-yard seasons and recorded at least 800 yards from scrimmage in four seasons this decade. These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. During this decade, he earned two Pro Bowl nominations and an All-Pro bid. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Overall, he ran for 4,731 yards and 28 touchdowns playing for the Rams, Falcons and Patriots from 2010-15. There have been some running backs in Steelers history who had one or two good seasons in Pittsburgh, then went on their way. With the Bears and Jets, Forte posted 7,629 rushing yards and 11,353 yards from scrimmage from 2010-17. Not entirely. Landry Jones (2015-2017) Tommy Maddox (2002-2005) Terry Bradshaw (1970-1983) The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right of their name: Season. Do you have a blog? steelers running backs last 10 years Barkley reminded the NFL world this past season that he's one of the best running backs in the league by rushing for a career-high 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. It's an inspiring story, but if Bleier wasn't one of the best running backs in Steelers' history, he wouldn't have made this list. That meant Bell joined Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with 1,350-plus yards rushing and 850-plus yards receiving in the same season. The Steelers ran out the pro set for most of the 1970s and 1980s under head coach Chuck Noll. In 1992, we found out who the heck that guy was: the man who would run for more yards in one season than any Steelers running back in team history. He has six 1,000-yard seasons and six Pro Bowl nominations with the Eagles and Bills during the 2010s. How an 8-year-old inspired Najee Harris' 5-TD performance vs. Ole Miss. He'll go down as one of the best power backs in history, and in this decade Lynch has carried the ball 1,791 times for 7,778 yards. Ingram's best season came in 2017 when he posted 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Best Pittsburgh Steelers Tight Ends Of All Time, Vote up the players who had the most success playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 6:02; See All. Dick Hoak: The running backs coach for the Steelers for an incredible 35 years, Hoak was also an excellent player at the position he would spend so many years coaching up. Bill Dudley also played with the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins after leaving the Steelers, and finished his career with 3,057 yards rushing, 1,383 yards receiving, punted the ball for a total of 7,304 yards, and on defense intercepted 23 passes. 2022 AFC North Standings. He made the Pro Bowl three times, from 2014-16. Others were blocking fullbacks who spent their careers opening holes for star backs. Bell will pay the price this season with a three-game suspension to start the 2015 season. The role of the fullback changed dramatically when the I-formation came into vogue in the 1980s. He's another back who never led the league in rushing and never made All-Pro. Everything in the NFL goes in cycles. 3 in NFL history. This list of past Steelers tight ends features former greats, current impact players, and even future stars. Bleier starred in Super Bowl XIII with a touchdown reception and a recovered onside kick to seal Pittsburghs third NFL title. The Steelers have had some incredibly talented players over the years . His 6-foot-2, 230 pound frame made it virtually impossible for one defender to take him down. Allain died on February 21, 2023, following a . However, from 2010-14 he was the best all-purpose back in the league. In 2012 he was just a mere few yards away from the single-season rushing record with 2,097 yards. In 1984 while beating the Denver Broncos in the playoffs, Pollard ran for 99 yards and two scores, a game won by Pittsburgh 24-17. Postseason. While Gore has never led the league in rushing or made All-Pro, his consistency lands him at No. [3], List of National Football League career rushing yards leaders, Players with at least 10,000 rushing yards, Players with at least 1,000 postseason rushing yards. 22. In 2012, the Steelers found themselves with JONATHAN DWYER as their leading rusher, which is what led to the spending of a second-round pick in the following draft on Le'Veon Bell. Instagram Twitter Facebook Snapchat Shop Icon Profile Overlay Avatar Add Airplay Arrow Left Arrow Right Arrow Up Arrow Down Audio Back 5s Back 10s Back 30s Calendar Chart Check Down Left . Preston Pearson: Pearson wore Rocky Bleiers college number of 26 and was a solid football player who was a member of the Steelers first Super Bowl winning team in 1975 when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX. Photos from the career of former Steelers running back and Hall of Fame finalist Jerome Bettis. When it comes to this room, the Steelers are indeed looking for them to step up. Emmitt Smith has held the record since surpassing Walter Payton's long-standing total in 2002. If Lions general manager Brad Holmes follows that plan exactly, Minnesota Golden Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim would be a great late-round running back prospect for Detroit to target. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. In 1944 he led Army to an undefeated record with 12 victories and was named the teams Most Valuable Player. Bill Dudley: Bullet Bill was his nickname and a great running back he was. The Steelers will win 5 games this year, Canada will be fired, and Tomlin will "resign." . Doctors had told him following the enemy attack that his football days were over. Pittsburgh Steelers Draft History. The 23-year-old was on his way to two straight special years to begin his NFL career before the Chiefs cut him following his involvement with a woman in a domestic dispute. But Stewart posted 5,366 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in the decade. Still, "CJ2K" comes in at No.