Eric Dickerson’s 1984 Season – Sportz Almanac Sensational Seasons

No running back burst onto the NFL stage with a splash like Eric Dickerson. After having a successful college career at SMU, he was taken 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1983 NFL Draft. The smooth runner stood out with the curl and goggles but make no mistake, he came to dominate. After a sensational rookie year in which he ran for a new rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards, the talk of breaking O. J. Simpson‘s record of 2,003 yards and becoming only the second RB in NFL history to crack the 2,000 yard mark became louder. The kid from Sealy, Texas had a 1984 season for the ages as he set a new mark of 2,105 yards.

Best Games

Dickerson had 12 100-yard games that year, a new record that had been broken by Barry Sanders in 1997. Of those 12 games he rushed for 200 yards twice. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, Dickerson rushed for 208 yards on 21 carries. Late in the season against the Houston Oilers, he gashed his way to a season high 215 yards and 2 TDs on 27 carries. He cracked the 2,000 yard mark in this game and set a new mark at 2,007 with one game to go.

Not So Best Games

In four of the games in which he was held under 100 yards, the San Francisco 49ers was the only team (division rival) to keep him under 100 twice, including a season low 38 yards in the first meeting. The Pittsburgh Steelers (49) and Cincinnati Bengals (89) also held him in check during his record-setting season.

Sensational Season Summary

There’s no denying the greatness of Eric Dickerson and his performance during the 1984 season, his second in the league. For the record, Dickerson did have 16 games to surpass Simpson’s mark but he broke it in only fifteen. Although Dickerson’s record has been threatened in recent years, including a valiant 2,097 yard effort by Adrian Peterson in 2012, it is still standing over 35 years later!

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