Barry Sanders is the GOAT and according to a list put together by CBS Sports, his 1997 season with the Detroit Lions was the greatest season by a running back in NFL history.
Here is Barry’s game log from the 1997 season. As you can see below, he had only 53 yards rushing through Week 2 before ripping off 14 straight 100 yards or more games to end the season.
| Date | G# | Week | Age | Tm | Opp | Result | Att | Yds | TD | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | TD | Pts | Fmb | FL | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997-08-31 | 1 | 1 | 29.046 | DET | ATL | W 28-17 | 15 | 33 | 2.20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 13.00 | 0 | 50.0% | 6.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1997-09-07 | 2 | 2 | 29.053 | DET | TAM | L 17-24 | 10 | 20 | 2.00 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 102 | 12.75 | 1 | 72.7% | 9.27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1997-09-14 | 3 | 3 | 29.060 | DET | @ | CHI | W 32-7 | 19 | 161 | 8.47 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | 100.0% | 3.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 1997-09-21 | 4 | 4 | 29.067 | DET | @ | NOR | L 17-35 | 18 | 113 | 6.28 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 17.00 | 1 | 33.3% | 5.67 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 1997-09-28 | 5 | 5 | 29.074 | DET | GNB | W 26-15 | 28 | 139 | 4.96 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20.00 | 0 | 100.0% | 20.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 1997-10-05 | 6 | 6 | 29.081 | DET | @ | BUF | L 13-22 | 25 | 107 | 4.28 | 0 | 5 | 2 | -1 | -0.50 | 0 | 40.0% | -0.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 1997-10-12 | 7 | 7 | 29.088 | DET | @ | TAM | W 27-9 | 24 | 215 | 8.96 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 1 | 100.0% | 7.00 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 1997-10-19 | 8 | 8 | 29.095 | DET | NYG | L 20-26 | 24 | 105 | 4.38 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 10.50 | 0 | 66.7% | 7.00 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 1997-11-02 | 9 | 10 | 29.109 | DET | @ | GNB | L 10-20 | 23 | 105 | 4.57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 | 1997-11-09 | 10 | 11 | 29.116 | DET | @ | WAS | L 7-30 | 15 | 105 | 7.00 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 9.00 | 0 | 50.0% | 4.50 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 1997-11-16 | 11 | 12 | 29.123 | DET | MIN | W 38-15 | 19 | 108 | 5.68 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 34.00 | 0 | 100.0% | 34.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 12 | 1997-11-23 | 12 | 13 | 29.130 | DET | IND | W 32-10 | 24 | 216 | 9.00 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 5.00 | 0 | 50.0% | 2.50 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 13 | 1997-11-27 | 13 | 14 | 29.134 | DET | CHI | W 55-20 | 19 | 167 | 8.79 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4.00 | 0 | 100.0% | 4.00 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 1997-12-07 | 14 | 15 | 29.144 | DET | @ | MIA | L 30-33 | 30 | 137 | 4.57 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 | 100.0% | 2.00 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | 1997-12-14 | 15 | 16 | 29.151 | DET | @ | MIN | W 14-13 | 19 | 138 | 7.26 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 37 | 7.40 | 0 | 83.3% | 6.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | 1997-12-21 | 16 | 17 | 29.158 | DET | NYJ | W 13-10 | 23 | 184 | 8.00 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3.33 | 0 | 75.0% | 2.50 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 16 Games | 9-7-0 | 335 | 2053 | 6.13 | 11 | 50 | 33 | 305 | 9.24 | 3 | 66.0% | 6.10 | 14 | 84 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
http://gty.im/51614768
Barry Sanders ranks No. 1 on greatest NFL season of all-time list
During his amazing 1997, Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards (4th most in NFL history), had 14 consecutive 100-yard rushing games (NFL record), and averaged a whopping 6.1 yards per carry (highest yards per carry for a running back since Jim Brown in 1963).
Oh, by the way, Sanders was named NFL MVP for his amazing season.
From CBS Sports:
The ’97 season was a testament to the greatness of Sanders, who did more with less than any running back before or after him. Sanders ran for 53 yards during the season’s first two games, then proceeded to run for exactly 2,000 yards during the final 14 games. He eclipsed over 100 yards in each of those games while leading the Lions to the playoffs. The ever-elusive Sanders finished the season with 2,053 yards (then the second-highest total in NFL history) while averaging a whopping 6.1 yards per carry.
https://twitter.com/EricFitch15/status/1126894831542968325?s=20&t=n-oP-mzckdT2yYrPGDl5ug
