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The 8 finest running back performances in a loss

Eight single games in which the back did his part and his team lost anyway.

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This is a let's-have-an-argument list. Eight single games in which a running back's team lost, regular season or playoffs, ranked on what he produced, who it came against and how much of the offense he carried. Rushing and receiving both count, because the job is yards and touchdowns, not carries. A loss is a loss, whether by one point in a Super Bowl or by 13 on Thanksgiving. If you think a better game in a losing cause is missing, or that one of these belongs higher, say so. Every case below is there to be argued with.

  1. 1

    O.J. Simpson, Bills at Lions

    Nov. 25, 1976: 29 carries, 273 yards, 2 TD; Lions 27, Bills 14

    O.J. Simpson broke his own NFL single-game rushing record on Thanksgiving 1976 in Detroit, carrying 29 times for 273 yards and two touchdowns, more than nine yards a carry. The 273 beat the record of 250 he already held. Buffalo lost 27-14. The rest of the Bills' offense gained 49 yards. That's the case: the most rushing yards anyone had gained in a game to that point, with almost no help, in a loss by two scores. It's still the Thanksgiving rushing record. The counterargument is that a back who carries 29 times in a losing game is partly a symptom of an offense that couldn't do anything else. True. It's also exactly what this list is about, and nobody here gained more on the ground.

    Sources: Wikipedia: O.J. Simpson · BuffaloBills.com · FanSided · StatMuse.

  2. 2

    Priest Holmes, Chiefs at Seahawks

    Nov. 24, 2002: 197 rushing yards, 110 receiving, 3 TD; Seahawks 39, Chiefs 32

    Priest Holmes gained 307 yards from scrimmage at Seattle in November 2002: 197 rushing on 23 carries, 110 receiving on seven catches, and three touchdowns. Kansas City lost 39-32. No player has gained more yards from scrimmage in a loss. He was the running game and a large share of the passing game at once, and it still wasn't enough, because the Chiefs' defense gave up 39. The counterargument is that big yardage comes a little easier in a shootout, and this was one, with 71 points between the teams. Fair. But more than 300 yards is more than 300 yards, and nobody else has done it in a losing cause.

    Sources: FootballDB game log · Sports Illustrated · StatMuse · Yahoo Sports.

  3. 3

    Herschel Walker, Eagles at Cowboys

    Dec. 14, 1986: 6 carries for 122 yards, 9 catches for 170, 2 TD; Eagles 23, Cowboys 21

    Herschel Walker touched the ball 15 times against Philadelphia in December 1986 and gained 292 yards, a Cowboys record for total offense. Six carries went for 122 yards, nine catches for 170, and he scored twice, on an 84-yard run and an 84-yard catch. Dallas lost 23-21. Only Holmes, on this list, gained more. Two 84-yard touchdowns in one game, one on the ground and one through the air, is the kind of range most backs never show. The case for ranking it this high is efficiency: nearly 20 yards every time he had the ball, in a two-point loss. The counterargument is that six carries is barely a running back's workload, and his biggest numbers came as a receiver. That's fair. But this is a list about a back's performance, not a rusher's, and nobody here did more with fewer touches.

    Sources: FootballDB game log · Wikipedia: Herschel Walker · StatMuse.

  4. 4

    Chris Johnson, Texans at Titans

    Sept. 20, 2009: 197 rushing yards, 87 receiving, 3 TD; Texans 34, Titans 31

    Chris Johnson scored from 57, 69 and 91 yards out against Houston in September 2009, two runs and a catch. He finished with 197 rushing yards on 16 carries and 87 more on nine receptions, 284 in all, and Tennessee lost 34-31 to fall to 0-2. More than 12 yards a carry against a division rival is the argument. The counterargument is that big plays inflate a line, and those three touches account for 217 of the yards. That's true. It's also the point of a back like Johnson: every snap was a chance to go the distance, and three times in one afternoon he did.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Chris Johnson · Yahoo Sports · StatMuse.

  5. 5

    Thurman Thomas, Super Bowl XXV

    Jan. 27, 1991: 15 carries for 135 yards and a TD, 5 catches for 55; Giants 20, Bills 19

    The biggest stage on the list. Thurman Thomas ran 15 times for 135 yards and a 31-yard touchdown in Super Bowl XXV and caught five passes for 55 more, and Buffalo lost 20-19 when Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal try went wide right with eight seconds left. Nine yards a carry, in a Super Bowl, on a team that came within a kick of winning. It's the only Super Bowl on this list and the only game here decided by a single point. The counterargument is volume. Fifteen carries is a light load for the biggest game of the year. But the Giants held the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds, a Super Bowl record, which is exactly why he didn't get more chances. He made the ones he got count.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXV · FootballDB game log · StatMuse · Fox Sports (AP).

  6. 6

    Marshall Faulk, Colts at Ravens

    Nov. 29, 1998: 192 rushing yards, 75 receiving, 2 TD; Ravens 38, Colts 31

    Marshall Faulk set an Indianapolis record with 267 yards from scrimmage at Baltimore in November 1998: 192 rushing on 17 carries, including a 68-yard touchdown, and 75 receiving on seven catches, including a 34-yard touchdown. The Colts lost 38-31. More than 11 yards a carry on the road, plus a second score as a receiver, is the case. The counterargument is workload. Faulk had 24 touches, where Simpson carried 29 times and Holmes touched it 30. The backs above him carried more of their offense, and on this list that counts. It's close, and the yards per carry say he could have gone higher.

    Sources: Colts.com · FootballDB game log · StatMuse.

  7. 7

    Jamaal Charles, Colts at Chiefs

    Dec. 23, 2012: 22 carries, 226 yards, 1 TD; Colts 20, Chiefs 13

    Jamaal Charles ran for 226 yards on 22 carries against Indianapolis in December 2012, including an 86-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half. Kansas City rushed for 352 yards as a team and lost 20-13, the first team in NFL history to lose a game in which it ran for 350 or more. The passing game didn't keep up: Brady Quinn went 10 of 22 for 162 yards with two interceptions, and Andrew Luck's 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter won it for the Colts, dropping Kansas City to 2-13. The counterargument is that one run made up more than a third of Charles's total. Take away the 86 and it's 140 yards on 21 carries: still a good day, still not enough.

    Sources: FootballDB game log · StatMuse · Fox News (AP) · NFL.com.

  8. 8

    Adrian Peterson, Vikings at Packers

    Dec. 2, 2012: 21 carries, 210 yards, 1 TD; Packers 23, Vikings 14

    Adrian Peterson ran for 210 yards on 21 carries at Lambeau Field in December 2012, including an 82-yard touchdown, and Minnesota lost 23-14. The passing game gave him nothing. Christian Ponder completed 12 of 25 for 119 yards and threw two interceptions to Morgan Burnett, one of them in the end zone. Ten yards a carry on the road against a division rival, with that little help, is the case. The counterargument is that 82 of the 210 came on one run, which leaves 128 yards on his other 20 carries, a good day rather than a great one. That's why it's eighth. It's here because he did it for a team whose quarterback threw for 119.

    Sources: NFL.com · CBS Minnesota (AP) · FootballDB game log · NFL.com: Burnett · Packers News.

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