Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk came across a startling realization after doing some grunt research regarding the final tally of top rushers in the NFL. Not only was Howard being second in the NFL in yards impressive considering he was a fifth round pick, but there was a far more shocking twist.
“For the first time in NFL history, two rookies stand atop the list of rushing leaders.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott easily won the NFL’s rushing title, finishing with 1, 631 yards despite taking Week 17 off. And in something no one could have seen coming at the start of the season, Bears rookie running back Jordan Howard finished second, with 1, 313 yards.
That has never happened before in the NFL: Before Elliott only 13 rookies had led the league in rushing, and in none of those seasons had the No. 2 rusher also been a rookie. (Rookies did go 1-2 in rushing twice in the AFL, in 1960 and 1968.)”
Keep in mind this league has been around since the 1920s. In all that time the NFL has never had two rookie running backs lead everybody else. That’s a span of almost a century. It seems so fitting that Chicago and Dallas are the two organizations who featured those players. After all, they have arguably the richest running back histories in pro football. The Cowboys will Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. The Bears with Bronco Nagurski, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton.
